This is a really good multi-colored circa 1840s red earthenware mug that I picked up at Crocker Farm's recent sale in Sparks, Maryland. The mug was made in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania and is marked by the potter “John Bell” (1800-1880). As an added bonus - the handle is glazed green, as is the interior of the mug’s rim. From my experience, I have not seen this combination of decoration before on another object made at the Bell Pottery.
Furthermore, this is considered quite a refined thinly potted iconic nineteenth century form from Waynesboro, whereas perhaps the best lidded example (see below) is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, which the museum acquired in the 1990s from Manhattan antiques dealers Garrison and Diana Stradling.
Interestingly, though, a friend actually had the opportunity to buy the Bell mug in the 1990s that is displayed at the MET for $5,000, but back then, they thought it was too much money. Although, times have certainly changed for an object like this!
Note: For more information about John Bell - see a three-page cover story that I wrote for the December 14, 2018 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, The Bell Pottery Collection at the Renfrew Museum in Waynesboro, Pa.: https://antiquesandauctionnews.net/articles/The-Bell-Pottery-Collection-At-The-Renfrew-Museum-In-Waynesboro%2C-Pa~/
Red Earthenware Mug Made at the John Bell Pottery in Waynesboro, PA
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
No comments:
Post a Comment