Exceptional Six-Gallon Stoneware Crock with Elaborate Cobalt Lioness Decoration, Stamped "F. STETZENMEYER. &. CO. / ROCHESTER, N.Y.," circa 1860, large-sized, cylindrical crock with tooled shoulder and applied lug handles, decorated with a slip-trailed design of a lioness with spotted body and turned head, walking between an oversized flower and tall shrub. Several smaller shrubs appear on the ground below the animal. Slip-trailed "6" above. Cobalt highlight to maker's mark. The subject matter and size of this decoration are remarkable. The cat is the first female lion that we have seen depicted in the Rochester stoneware tradition. It exhibits classic Rochester traits in its refined, highly-artistic representation of the animal, its body profusely-marked with spots and dashes, its legs and feet depicted with lifelike accuracy. The lion features a prominent, slightly-sagging upper lip, a trait characteristic of the few male lion motifs known from Frederick Stetzenmeyer's stoneware manufactory. The striking floral motif behind the animal, incorporating a "bullseye" center, is also distinctive to Stetzenmeyer, and can be found individually-decorating various pieces bearing his mark. The decoration has expansive coverage over the large vessel's front, appearing almost oversized, measuring roughly 13" horizontally around the curve of the crock and 10" vertically. The lion alone measures roughly 9 1/2" long. Stetzenmeyer's animal-decorated works are regarded as some of the rarest and most desirable stoneware pieces produced in the entire state of New York. Relatively few are known. This example, featuring brilliant color and enamel-like cobalt, is believed to be unique in its design. Excellent condition with an approximately 4" hairline from rim on right side of crock's front, a faint, an approximately 3" hairline descending from a small rim chip on reverse, and a few bubbles to cobalt on plant to the right of the lion. H 14 1/4".
