Very Rare att. Adam Kern, Winchester, VA or Thurmont, MD (Shenandoah Valley) Redware Pitcher

Fall 2022 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 221

Price Realized: $1,560.00

($1,300 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.

Fall 2022 Auction Catalog

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Very Rare Shenandoah Valley Glazed Redware Pitcher, attributed to Adam Kern, Winchester, VA or Mechanicstown (now Thurmont), MD, circa 1881-1883, squat-shaped, highly-ovoid pitcher with footed base, upswept spout, and large handle with applied thumbrest. Surface dipped cream-colored slip, decorated with heavily-speckled manganese, and covered in a clear lead glaze. Elegant form, related to the larger washbowl pitchers produced in Winchester and Strasburg, Virginia. The distinctive glaze of this example is closely-related to that seen on a few surviving flowerpots bearing the mark, "BAECHER & KERN / WINCHESTER, VA," made during Adam Kern's partnership with Anthony Bacher in 1883. According to Comstock's The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region, Kern, like Bacher, was a native of Bavaria. He was employed at the Big Hunting Creek Pottery in Mechanicstown, MD in 1882, the year it closed, while it was under the ownership of J.E. Simons. In 1883, he moved to Frederick County, Virginia to become Anthony Bacher's partner. An advertisement noted in Comstock reads, "We are requested to announce that Mr. Anthony Bacher, the well known Potter has taken in as partner, Mr. Adam Kern of Pennsylvania who is a native of Baveria, Germany and a skilled potter. The new firm is preparing to do an extensive business the coming season, as they expect to manufacture pots and enough earthen-ware to supply the entire Valley." This partnership, however, was very short-lived, dissolving by 1884, when Kern moved to Pennsylvania (Comstock, p. 430). A closely-related, larger-sized washbowl pitcher, signed "A. Kern," was sold along with its original bowl in Crocker Farm's December 4, 2020 auction. Very nice condition with some wear to rim and glaze loss to area where handle meets the pitcher's rim. H 7 3/4".