Extremely Rare and Important Two-Gallon Stoneware Jug with Elaborate Slip-Trailed Decoration Rooster Decoration, Stamped "HARRISBURG, PA," John Young & Co., Harrisburg, PA, circa 1856-1858, cylindrical jug with semi-rounded spout, decorated with a slip-trailed design of a rooster with comb, fanned tail, and heavily-detailed body, perched atop a stylized vine with scrolled ends. Lightly-incised carving delineates the bird's sharp bill. Additional stylized slip-trailing below the design includes a wavy line accented with spots and a stylized wreath. Among the finest examples of early-period Harrisburg stoneware that we ever offered, this jug combines a scarce maker's mark with a wonderful folk art rendering of a rooster, executed in slip-trailed cobalt, a highly-prized treatment from this potting school. Elaborate stylized slip-trailing underscores the bird, in the form of scrolled vines, a wavy line embellished with spots, and a wreath. Slip-trailed "2" at shoulder. Cobalt highlights to maker's mark and capacity mark. The New-York-inspired decoration and its slip-trailed application can be traced to Shem Thomas (John Young's partner at the time), who previously worked in Lyons and Penn Yan, NY. The import of this jug is enhanced by its illustration in Jeanette Lasansky's iconic book, Made of Mud: Stoneware Potteries in Central Pennsylvania, 1834-1929, the first resource written on the subject. Literature: Illustrated in Lasansky, Made of Mud, p. 51. Provenance: From a recently-surfaced Pennsylvania collection. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with three very minor nicks to interior of spout, a minor glazed-over base chip, and a few in-the-firing contact marks to body, including a 3/4" surface chip to shoulder on left side. H 15".
