EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Red Earthenware Vase Recently Discovered at an Estate Auction in Southern Connecticut

Sunday, August 20, 2023

A Red Earthenware Vase Recently Discovered at an Estate Auction in Southern Connecticut

While driving through New York City last fall, I came across an outstanding sgraffito decorated red earthenware vase or urn that I thought (along with others) was made by Isaac Stahl (1872-1950) in Powder Valley, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, circa 1933-1940s. That vase is shown here in the first photo to the right, and it is inscribed on the base with the initials "I.S."

Furthermore, this production was a result of a family company that had previously shut down. According to part of an article I wrote for the June 21, 2019 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, The 19th- And 20th-Century Stahl Family Pottery In Lehigh County, PA.: Stahl's Pottery Preservation Society Inc. Has Protected Homestead And Site, "...In 1933, Isaac and (his brother) Thomas chose to re-establish the family business, but they also decided to change some of the production style to accommodate fancier decorative wares. Although production was more colorful and creative. There was even a sense of modernism. They began to sign just about every piece of pottery and typically inscribed a description, as well. Nevertheless, color was clearly a point of emphasis when some objects were decorated with as many as seven colors, all of which were typically masterfully applied. The Stahls managed to produce a large amount of pottery during this period, largely thanks to their kiln. Built in 1933, the giant kiln could reportedly hold as many as 2,000 pieces of pottery, which was powered by burning wood. Some of the more desired production from this era includes large vases, urns, pottery decorated with historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, various styles of sgraffito, objects decorated with applied decorations, tobacco jars, compotes, and various wares decorated with tulips and floral work in slip and sgraffito."

Interestingly, while walking around the antique shows last month in Brimfield, Massachusetts, I came across a smaller unsigned vase that is shown here in the first photo to the left, which I thought might be related, whereas it shares a number of similar characteristics with the larger vase. The dealer told me that he had recently purchased it as part of a box lot of "old American pottery" out of an estate that was sold as part of a weekly antiques auction in southern Connecticut.

Red Earthenware Vase Recently Discovered at an Estate Auction