Rare and Fine Early Hagerstown, MD Redware Pitcher w/ Green and Brown Slip Decoration, possibly Peter / John Bell

Summer 2023 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 440

Price Realized: $4,800.00

($4,000 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: The American ceramics market frequently changes, often dramatically. 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.

Summer 2023 Auction Catalog

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Rare and Fine Slip-Decorated Redware Pitcher, Hagerstown, MD origin, possibly Peter or John Bell, first quarter 19th century, short, swell-bodied pitcher with footed base and tooling to rim and base of collar, the exterior surface dipped in yellowish slip over manganese slip and decorated around the body in slip-trailed copper and manganese slip with an abstract vine featuring arched elements and dashed leaves. Collar decorated on each side in slip-trailed manganese with two circles joined by a wavy line. Brushed manganese slip highlights to handle terminals. Interior and underside lack the yellow slip coating, revealing the initial manganese slip application. Clear lead glaze to interior and exterior. The rare doubly-dipped glaze treatment on this pitcher relates to later pieces by Waynesboro, PA master potter, John Bell. Pieces like this pitcher may have served as inspiration for Bell during his formative years as a potter in Hagerstown; the possibility even exists that the pitcher is in fact a Hagerstown product of Bell or his father, Peter Bell, although no related signed examples are known. Similarly glazed pitchers that we have offered lack an initial application of manganese and included significant restoration. The survival of this early Shenandoah Valley work in strong condition, coupled with its extraordinary glaze treatment and wonderful form, make this a particularly noteworthy example. Provenance: Recently surfaced in Virginia. A tight crack along edge of underside, forming a T with a 2 1/8" hairline ascending from base. A tiny base chip. Spout with two small chips and wear. Minor rim chips. A 1/2" hairline from rim on reverse. A 1" surface line from rim on interior, not visible on exterior. H 6 1/4".