Exceedingly Rare and Important F. STETZENMEYER / ROCHESTER, NY Stoneware Crock w/ Elaborate Deer Scene

WORLD AUCTION RECORD: ROCHESTER STONEWARE

Fall 2023 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 1

Price Realized: $108,000.00

($90,000 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.

Auction Highlight: Greatest Hits | Fall 2023 Auction | NY State Stoneware

Fall 2023 Auction Catalog

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Exceedingly Rare and Important Five-Gallon Stoneware Crock with Elaborate Standing Deer Scene, Stamped "F. STETZENMEYER & Co. / ROCHESTER, N.Y.," circa 1855, cylindrical crock with semi-squared rim and applied lug handles, decorated with an extravagant slip-trailed design of a deer with turned head, large rack, and spot-and-stripe decorated body, standing on a ground with shrubs between three pine trees. Slip-trailed "5" above. Brushed cobalt highlight to maker's mark. Frederick Stetzenmeyer's mark is among the most desirable in all of 19th century Northeastern U.S. stoneware. Few animal designs--either bird or mammal--are known from his shop. Believed to be the only example of Stetzenmeyer stoneware known depicting a deer, this work features a delicate and masterful rendering of the animal related to designs by his Rochester contemporary, John Burger. Accounting for condition, this crock is arguably the best example of Stetzenmeyer stoneware known as well as one of the definitive examples of deer decoration known in all of American stoneware. An approximately 8" hairline below one handle. Surface crazing extends off of this line, but is not visible on interior. A 2" hairline from rim on front. Some bubbling to cobalt. A 1 1/8" in-the-firing contact mark/shallow chip to rim on reverse. Two small spots of minor surface wear below decoration. Some staining to surface. H 11 7/8".