Circa 1865 Cowden & Wilcox Stoneware Crock with a Cobalt Decorated Deer Sells at Conestoga Auctions in Manheim, Pennsylvania

The last example to sell at auction of a nineteenth century stoneware crock decorated with a cobalt deer stamped "COWDEN & WILCOX / HARRISBURG, PA" appears to have been in 2016 when one sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland for $13,800 including the buyer's premium.

However, auction results for rare and desirable examples of Cowden and Wilcox stoneware from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania have been extremely strong in recent years, such as a stoneware batter pail decorated with three cobalt man-in-the-moon motifs that sold in the spring of 2023 at Crocker Farm for $54,000 including the buyer's premium.

John Wallace Cowden (1817-1872) and Isaac Wilcox (1831-1906) initially established and ran this pottery in Harrisburg, although the company was also known as C.W. Pottery. The factory was a ceramic manufacturing company that was established in 1861, after Harrisburg was incorporated as a city on March 19, 1860, whereas the factory produced pottery until about 1923. This business mostly produced stoneware, but they also made some red earthenware, where production from this company was distributed locally, although it was also marketed in parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Nevertheless, another impressive piece of cobalt decorated stoneware marked "COWDEN & WILCOX / HARRISBURG, PA" sold last week at Conestoga Auctions in Mannheim, Pennsylvania. The three gallon circa 1865 crock was decorated with a deer, selling for $54,000 plus buyer's premium. 

Furthermore, this may be the second most expensive piece of stoneware from this manufacturer to sell at auction, where the auction record is a jug made by Cowden and Wilcox decorated with a Civil War soldier in cobalt, which sold at Crocker Farm in October of 2014 for $97,500 including the buyer's premium. The sale of this crock last week is also one of the most expensive examples of central Pennsylvania pottery to ever sell at auction.

Note: Another example of stoneware from Harrisburg, stamped "WM. MOYER / HARRISBURG PA," set an auction record for Pennsylvania stoneware at Crocker Farm in the spring of 2022 when it sold for $144,000 including the buyer's premium: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2022-04-08/lot-37/Exceedingly-Rare-and-Important-WM-MOYER-HARRISBURG-PA-Stoneware-Pedestal-Water-Cooler/.

Cowden & Wilcox Stoneware Crock with a Cobalt Decorated Deer

19th Century 3-Gallon Stoneware Crock Decorated with a Deer in Cobalt

Stamped "COWDEN & WILCOX / HARRISBURG, PA"

Circa 1865

Stands 8 3/4" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions

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