Exceptional Figural Stoneware Preacher Bank, probably Alabama, circa 1885
Fall 2024 Stoneware Auction
Lot #: 94
Estimate: $5,000-$7,000.A Note About Estimates
Minimum Bid: $1,500.
Outstanding Albany-Slip-Glazed Stoneware African-American Preacher Bank, probably AL origin, circa 1885, wheel-thrown, semi-ovoid form with hand-modeled and applied clay face including eyes with incised lashes and pupils, nose with carved nostrils, ears with vent holes on interior, open mouth with incised teeth, and broad chin. Applied clay "coleslaw" forms the figure's hair, sideburns, and eyebrows. The bank features a separately-thrown and applied preacher's hat with upturned brim, incised bow on front, and a carved cross-shaped slot on the reverse for receiving coins. An original opening in the top of the figure's head, which is covered by the hat, allows coins to drop inside. The "preacher man" form of the bank relates this work to a few large-sized torso figures from Rock Mills, Alabama, which also depict the figure with a wheel-thrown hat. Of interesting note is the inclusion of an incised cross on the hats of these larger figures, related to the cross-form slot on this bank. Possibly used to raise funds for a local church. Provenance: Ex-Allan Katz. Losses to brim of hat. Loss to bottom of proper right ear and minor nick to same ear. An in-the-firing contact mark to bottom of chin. H 8".
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