Extremely Rare Oversized Stoneware Double-Handled Jug with Cobalt Bird-and-Foliate Decoration, Inscribed "YOUNG BROs. & MARIS Co. / WHOLESALE JOBBERS / of / AKRON STONEWARE," Akron, OH origin, circa 1882, cylindrical jug with semi-squared spout and two open handles applied at the shoulder, decorated with a slip-trailed design of a piece of fruit and three detailed leaves joined at the stem. Further decorated below with a large slip-trailed design of a plump-bodied bird with heavily-detailed body and sgraffito-incised tail. Boldly-inscribed in curved rows flanking one straight row with the slip-trailed cobalt words, "YOUNG BROs. & MARIS Co. / WHOLESALE JOBBERS / of / AKRON STONEWARE." Pairs of lightly-incised lines around parts of the inscription indicate the potter used a border to neatly and evenly apply the lettering. Slip-trailed branches extend to the left and right of the words "AKRON STONEWARE." This term, "AKRON STONEWARE," suggests that the pottery produced in this city was known and desired throughout the Midwest for its quality and that there was a sense of pride in its manufacture. The jug, a ceramic trade sign of sorts, was made to sit in the storefront of Decatur, Illinois wholesale grocers, "Young Brothers & Maris," to advertise the sale of Akron-made stoneware within. This firm's earliest year of operation was 1882, and it is likely that this jug was made about that time as the company sought to establish itself in the marketplace. The jug's extraordinary size and inscription link it to the famous twenty-seven-inch-tall Centennial water cooler, bearing the words "HARLY & CARLL / OHIO STONEWARE / AKRON / O," featured in the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, in 2004. The finest example of Ohio stoneware to come to auction in many years, this masterwork combines size, form, decoration, and a wonderful inscription revelatory of the marketing of the craft during the period. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with some small spots of fry to cobalt. H 27".
Important Note: Due to its large size, this object cannot be shipped via our ordinary in-house shipping. The winning bidder should either pick this up at our gallery or make special arrangements for shipping / transport with a third party art handler.
