Exceedingly Rare and Important F. STETZENMEYER / ROCHESTER, N.Y. Stoneware Lion Crock
Fall 2024 Stoneware Auction
Lot #: 1
Estimate: $20,000-$30,000.A Note About Estimates
Minimum Bid: $5,000.
Exceedingly Rare and Important Six-Gallon Stoneware Crock with Elaborate Cobalt Lion Decoration, Stamped "F. STETZENMEYER. / ROCHESTER, N.Y.," circa 1855, cylindrical crock with tooled shoulder, squared rim, and applied lug handles, decorated with an extravagant slip-trailed design of a lion with turned head, prodigious mane, and heavily-spotted body, standing on a shrubbed ground. Slip-trailed "6" above. Cobalt highlight to maker's mark. Oft admired and regarded among the most famous American lion-decorated stoneware pieces known, this crock was previously owned by pioneer collector, John Morgan, of Pike, New York. Morgan was responsible for recognizing stoneware as an art form during the early years of collecting, amassing a collection of many of the best figural-decorated pieces of Northeastern stoneware known today. To our knowledge, only two Stetzenmeyer stoneware pieces with lion decoration are known: this crock and a jar with front-facing lion, also restored, sold in Crocker Farm's October 17, 2015 auction, lot 346, from the collection of noted 20th century stoneware potter, Robert Diebboll. The crock in this auction features a more elaborate rendering of the animal. Measuring an imposing 11 1/2" around the curve of the vessel's front by 9 1/2" tall, the decoration exhibits the bold, enamel-like slip-trailing prized in the products of Rochester's mid 19th century stoneware industry. Given the rarity and desirability of the subject matter and the size and transcendent quality of the design, this crock should be regarded as Stetzenmeyer's masterwork. Despite condition issues, it was painstaking restored by Morgan several decades ago. Provenance: Acquired by the consignor decades ago from the collection of John Morgan, Pike, NY. Crock is broken and restored throughout, including some touch-up to the cobalt of the lion. Black lighting of the design shows some fluorescence to the decoration, primarily to the tail and hind legs. Bubbling to restoration at base, primarily on reverse. Both handles are original. H 14".
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