Something I do every now and again is compare past auction results over the past twenty-five years with a specific object that sold back then versus how it recently sold again. There are a number of factors that can contribute to changes, such as desirability, the antiques market, the economy, the auction venue, new scholarship, new collectors, etc. In fact, some of the most surprising prices are the wares that were made in the Edgefield District in South Carolina before 1870, although this may be the most surprising comparison! The jar shown to the right in this first photo sold as part of the landmark John Gordon Collection of Folk Americana at Christies in New York City in 1999. The jar sold for $4,370 including the buyer's premium.
The jar is attributed to Christian Klinker (d. 1798), who was active in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, circa 1773-1798. Examples of Klinker's production can be found prominently displayed at art museums around the country, including an outstanding inscribed multi-color slip decorated jar that is exhibited in a glass case in The Charles Engelhard Court in the Americana Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The MET also owns other examples of wares made by Klinker.
Three examples of Christian Klinker's production can also be found displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which includes a jar missing a handle that matches this form, albeit possibly with a more elaborate style of slip decoration, and dated in slip "1787."
It is certainly possible that Klinker manufactured this form of double-handled jar throughout his entire career, but the museum's jar does serve as evidence that this form was made in the late 1780s, which could provide a more exact period of production for the jar that sold at Christies.
According to Edwin Atlee Barber's (1851-1916) 1903 book, Tulip Ware of the Pennsylvania-German Potters: An Historical Sketch of the Art of Slip-Decoration in the United States: "One of the pioneer potters of Bucks County, Pa., was Christian Klinker, who is suppose to have come from Germany. An earthenware jar in the collection of the Pennsylvania Museum (now the Philadelphia Museum of Art), covered with colored slips in raised floral designs, bears on the bottom his initials, C.K., and the date of fabrication, 1773."
Nevertheless, the jar that sold in the Gordon sale at Chrsties in 1999 recently sold again at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in the summer of 2021. The jar was also previously owned by Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer Greg Kramer, as well as a collector in the Midwest. However, this time the jar sold for $132,000 including the buyer's premium.
Note: Other examples of Klinker's work can be found in Winterthur in Delaware and the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
An 18th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made by Christian Klinker in Bucks County, PA
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