Scarce Mahoning County, Ohio Stoneware Harvest Jug w/ Incised Bird, "Elias Freyman"

Spring 2022 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 144

Price Realized: $720.00

($600 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 2 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.

Spring 2022 Auction Catalog

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Scarce Stoneware Harvest Jug with Incised Bird Decoration, Inscribed "Elias.Freyman," Mahoning County, OH origin, circa 1850-1880, beehive form with wide and narrow pouring spouts and horizontal handle, the surface covered in a reddish-brown Albany slip and incised with the name, "Elias.Freyman.", above a detailed bird with turned head, perched on a leaf. A harvest jug by the same hand, featuring an incised bird-on-leaf and the name, "Danil.Freymen," was sold in Crocker Farm's October 22, 2016 auction, lot 139. Elias and Daniel Freyman appear in the 1850 census as apparent brothers living in the household of their widowed mother in Jackson Township, Mahoning County, Ohio. Notably, Elias is denoted along with three of his siblings as being "Deaf and Dumb." He along with Daniel both served in the Union Army, appearing in an 1863 draft roll as farmers living in Jackson Township. This was a rural area located roughly ten miles west of Youngstown, and both brothers continued to live there at least through the enumeration of the 1880 census. While the jugs bearing their names may be the work of another Mahoning County potter who had some relationship with the family, we can locate only one potter listed in the federal census operating in Jackson Township during this time period: Frank Robins, an Ohio native born about 1840 and living very close to Elias Freyman in the 1880 census. It is likely that this jug was his handiwork. Missing smaller spout on reverse. A small spout chip. A minor, in-the-firing ping to shoulder. H (to top of handle) 9 1/2".