Some of you reading this article may recognize this jar from a Facebook post this week, and as it is by itself, this is a nice nineteenth century southern stoneware jar stamped "W.H. LAHEW & CO. / STRASBURG, VA," circa 1870 or thereabouts. But the skilled artwork on this piece is what I feel really transforms this object into a unique work of art. I have seen plenty of stoneware through the years that was later amateurly painted, especially pieces that were done at some point in the twentieth century, but this is not an example of that.
I don't typically write about value on this website, but for me personally, the artwork really makes this piece worth a bit more as opposed to its value as just a stoneware jar, whether or not there is a small amount of cobalt hidden beneath the paint. The jar is decorated on four sides; two of the sides share the same blue and gold design, while the others are adorned in a still life of roses and what is thought to be a peacock or possibly a bird of prey. A peacock is typically native to places like India, southeast Asia and central Africa, but here is also a growing population in Florida, which is a result of the birds being brought there in the twentieth century.
Some of these later painted stoneware pieces can be quite well done - and in the case of this piece - the context of this artwork really needs to be taken into consideration. This was some sort of artist who painted this piece - this is not amateur art, meaning whoever did paint this jar had previous experience painting, and other works of art may exist from this hand. Although, this stoneware jar just so happens to have been what they used to create this work of art as opposed to a more traditional canvas. This artwork also appears to probably date from the late nineteenth century, which means it was created not that long after the jar was originally manufactured, even suggesting the artist may have been the original or second owner of the jar. Depending on where this jar was sold, I would also not be surprised to learn that whoever painted it may lived in the Shenandoah Valley.
And while the source of inspiration for this artwork may been drawn from a number of places, I also commented on the Facebook post last night, saying, "The artwork on this piece sort of reminds me of Martin Johnson Heade's (1819-1904) tropical bird and plant paintings so it might be indicative of that time period in American tropical art as well as other landscape and still life art. It is unrelated to Heade specifically, but it is kind of in that style, even sort of like John James Audubon (1785-1851), etc."
It is just my personal feeling, but I actually enjoy some of the utilitarian red earthenware and stoneware that was painted by a later owner - in fact, some potters even left their wares undecorated during this time period, seeing that the intent was for the owner to later paint it however they wished. This type of production is found with various potters in New England and even throughout the Mid Atlantic region, circa 1870 to the early 1900s.
Note: My most recent published book South Amesbury's Red Earthenware & Stoneware: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery illustrates a rare circa 1810 salt glazed stoneware jug from the Pecker Pottery that was later painted in the 1800s with a primitive scene of the Treaty of 1677 in Virginia. This is another piece that I would absolutely leave it the way it is painted.
A Circa 1870 Stoneware Jar from Virginia Transformed Into a Work of Art
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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