This nineteenth century red earthenware jar with most likely its original lid sold yesterday at Pook & Pook in Downington, Pennsylvania, and it is probably related to a jar that sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in the spring of 2023 which was suggested to have been made in Chester County, Pennsylvania. However, the jar that sold yesterday was also inscribed on the base with what appears to be the name, "John Boll" and "1832."
Interestingly, there are some aspects about the way this jar was made that is similar to some of the known Vickers family production in Chester County, which was also a subject of a cover story I wrote for the September 2, 2022 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, The Vickers Family Of Pennsylvania: Abolitionists, Farmers And Quaker Potters - A Short Examination Into A Unique American Ceramics Story: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2022/08/new-published-cover-story-vickers.html.
When I first learned about this jar, I assumed the signature on the base was the name of the potter, but seeing that I cannot find any record of a potter with this name, I now question if this is a presentation jar made for a person with this name. For instance, the name John Boll is found throughout southeastern Pennsylvania in the 1800s, although there is nobody with this name that I can link to being employed as a potter.
As discussed in the cover story I wrote, the Vickers pottery is also known to have produced some presentation objects; in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is a large jar attributed to Thomas Vickers with incised decorations, a wreath on one side enclosing the words "Apple Butter," and on the other the name of the recipient, Edith Harlan, and the year, 1807. The entire surface is covered with a mottled, apple green enamel. Other examples in the museum's collection from this pottery include a sgraffito decorated flowerpot, inscribed, 1826, Leah Phipps, Harmony Hall, as well as a spherical jar with variegated glaze, inscribed with the year, 1822, and the name, Abigail Stromberg. There is also a jar in the museum's collection inscribed "Ann Starr" with 1805 on the base.
Additionally, the Vickers family is also known to have produced some red earthenware jars with rope handles. There are also presentation objects made by the Vickers family owned privately today, along with a bowl owned by Winterthur Museum in Delaware, as well as a presentation flowerpot, among other red earthenware objects.
In the case of this jar, among the John Boll's living in Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century, there was a 28 year old man with this name listed in the 1860 United States Federal Census as being married and living in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was employed in that year as a "hatter" and born in 1832.
Thoughts?
Nevertheless, this jar sold for $2,432 including the buyer's premium.
An Inscribed 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with Script
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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