Numerous New Records Set at July Ceramics Sale

July 20th, 2013

Crocker Farm, Sparks, Maryland

Photos courtesy Crocker Farm

Quite a few lots at Crocker Farm’s July 20 sale established new auction records. The large 605-lot sale, including addenda, grossed $1,091,580 (including buyers’ premiums). By a large margin, this was the highest-grossing total the firm has ever achieved and the highest-grossing stoneware auction ever held.

“The selection came together very well,” Tony Zipp said after the sale. “It was our largest crowd ever, and we again ran out of catalogs.” They had 99 in-house registered bidders, 221 on line, 316 on the phone, and 309 absentee.

Lot one set a new mark for Maryland stoneware at auction and was also the second-highest price achieved for any piece of stoneware at auction. The Morgan cooler from Baltimore was a skillfully decorated 17" tall six-gallon water cooler signed under one handle “Morgan/ Maker/ Balt.” The potter is believed to be William Morgan, the son of Thomas Morgan, and a second-generation stoneware potter. In 1822, William was the sole owner of his shop. A characteristic of his pottery is the pure gray coloration of his clay. It is thought the incised bird, flowering vine, and tree decoration on this piece was influenced by Manhattan-trained potter Henry Remmey. Remmey arrived in Baltimore at the beginning of the War of 1812. A small group of examples with incised bird decoration done during this period by either Remmey or his son Henry Harrison Remmey in Baltimore is known and is reflective of this skilled work.

The artfully rendered incised birds perched on flowering tree branches are well executed and decorated with vivid deep blue cobalt. The American stoneware cognoscenti regarded the Morgan cooler as a masterwork that transcended the regional appeal the piece had to the local ceramics community. “It would fit into any great art collection,” remarked one dealer.

The object served as a water fountain in the lobby of the historic Maryland Inn in Annapolis for over 60 years, according to the Zipps, and was acquired by the consignor’s grandfather from the inn in the late 19th century. It came from a 94-year-old consignor in Florida. “The piece had been in south Florida since 1935,” said Tony Zipp. Six phone lines were active, and there was tremendous excitement over the cooler. It sold for $230,000 (est. $30,000/50,000) to dealer Todd Prickett bidding by phone, underbid by New York state collector Adam Weitsman in the salesroom.

Not far behind the Morgan cooler in terms of rarity was a diminutive stoneware jar from Manhattan, New York. The small 5½" high jar also had interest surpassing the regional origin of the piece. It was profusely decorated with incised decoration of a spread-wing eagle and marked “NEW YORK/ Octr. 25/ 1802.” Recently found in Virginia, the jar was made by either the Crolius or Remmey families of potters in Manhattan and sold to dealer Todd Prickett on the phone for $195,500 (est. $20,000/30,000), underbid by collector Adam Weitsman in the salesroom. That is the highest price paid for New York state pottery at auction and the third-highest price for any stoneware at auction.

The third major lot in this sale, greatly helping to elevate the high sales total, was a matched pair of molded redware whippets, both signed “Samuel Bell/ Winchester Sept. 21 1841.” The whippet figure has come to symbolize the iconic folk art of the Shenandoah Valley. The form was produced by several members of the Bell family of potters and made in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and Winchester and Strasburg, Virginia. This pair was made early in Samuel’s career while employed at his father Peter’s shop in Winchester. They were both painted black and on green bases. One whippet was stamped “S. BELL” in a small font. This is a rare variation of the potter’s stamp and believed to be his earliest. Only pieces produced in Winchester are known with this stamp. It is possible that the “S.BELL” stamp in a larger font was created shortly prior to Samuel’s leaving Winchester for nearby Strasburg in 1843. The green-painted base was also a rare feature. The few other documented Samuel Bell whippets are painted solid black. There are no other examples known with identical dates that have a complete provenance. These whippets descended in the Williams family. According to family history, both figures were likely purchased by a Williams family ancestor directly from Bell in 1841. One had the head broken off and was reglued and touched up around the neck. Estimated at $25,000/40,000, the pair sold to an institution for $115,000, establishing an auction record for Virginia pottery by lot.

A pair of molded redware spaniels stamped “JOHN BELL” sold to a private collector in Texas bidding by phone for $42,550, setting an auction record for a lot of John Bell redware.

In addition, some very nice Pennsylvania and Shenandoah Valley redware sold. A wide selection of New York state stoneware was offered as well. A grouping of western Pennsylvania stoneware was noteworthy for its varied decoration. A small canning jar with stenciled asterisk designs sold for $1121.25, and a two-gallon jar with a large brushed “2” sold for $1150. Two good New Geneva or Greensboro tanware presentation pitchers sold for $4600 each, and a one-gallon stenciled “Hamilton/ & Jones” stoneware pitcher sold for $6612.50. The top lot among the western Pennsylvania material was an exceptional six-gallon stoneware jar by Hamilton & Jones with a freehand eagle design, setting a new auction record for the well-known Greensboro pottery at $20,700.

For more information, call Crocker Farm, Inc. at (410) 472-2016; Web site (www.crockerfarm.com).

Originally published in the October 2013 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2013 Maine Antique Digest