Sold! $120,000.
Important Salt-Glazed Stoneware Temperance Jug with Applied Figural and Brushed Cobalt and Manganese Decoration, attributed to Anna Pottery, Anna, IL, circa 1880, globular jug with footed base, tooled shoulder, and tall spout with tapered molding, decorated throughout with a variety of applied animal and human figures, including four snakes, two frogs, a coated figure trapped inside the body of the jug, a molded bust of a woman with hat, a molded Native American's bust with headdress and bear tooth necklace, a large rattlesnake handle, and a bear ascending the body of the jug. The bear and Native American motifs are unique to us in Anna Pottery production. Scales, some incised and some executed with a coggle wheel, embellish the surfaces of the snakes while hand-incised fur covers the coat of the bear. Heavy stippled incising, mostly executed by hand and occasionally applied with a coggle wheel, adds texture and depth to the body of the jug. The surface is beautifully-decorated with a rare solid-cobalt ground and brushed manganese highlights to the figural decoration. Included is the jug's original snake-form stopper, decorated with manganese, a scarce survivor. Exterior surface covered in a clear salt glaze, the interior with honey-colored slip glaze. Noteworthy for its bold coloring and extravagant and unusual figural decoration, this masterwork also stands out for its immaculate condition. The majority of known Anna temperance jugs have damage of some sort, often significant. Based on these criteria, this lot is perhaps the finest Anna temperance jug that we have ever offered. A cornerstone piece from the collection of noted folk art enthusiasts, George H. Meyer and Kay White Meyer, it will include a copy of their book, Early American Face Jugs, in which it is featured. Exhibited: "Early American Face Jugs from the George H. Meyer Collection," Fenimore Art Museum and South Carolina State Museum, 2019-2021. Literature: Illustrated in Meyer and Meyer, Early American Face Jugs, pg. 185. Provenance: Descended in the Kirkpatrick family; acquired by Nancy and Gary Stass from one of the Kirkpatrick brothers' granddaughters; Ex-Don Walters; Ex-George H. Meyer and Kay White Meyer Collection, acquired from the above in 1985. This example survives in excellent condition with a glazed-over, in-the-firing loss to the bear's tail, a small chip to one frog's mouth, a minor nick to one smaller snake's nose, and in-the-firing clay residue beside Indian's bust, likely a kiln furniture mark. **THIS LOT INCLUDES A CONDITION UPDATE: ONE SMALLER SNAKE'S HEAD IS TIGHTLY REGLUED. H (including stopper) 12".
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