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FRIDAY MAY 3, 2024 • VOL. 54, NO. 18
Massachusetts Stoneware Eagle-Decorated Jug Soars
Yellow Garage’s June Festival Of Antiques Slated For June 8 Show Will Take Place In Mullica Hill, N.J.
Crocker Farm Sells Rarity For $180,000 By Karl Pass A Massachusetts stoneware jug with incredibly fine incised eagle decoration sold on April 6 at Crocker Farm. The “BARNABAS EDMANDS & CO./CHARLESTOWN,” ca. 1830 jug with a large incised design of a Federal eagle realized $180,000, selling to author and scholar Rob Hunter on behalf of the William C. and Susan S. Mariner Private Foundation. The Zipps considered this among the finest examples of eagle decoration on stoneware. “The decoration was incredibly beautiful, and the Mariners are branching out to other great examples, not just from the South,” noted Hunter. The contrast between the deep cobalt slip and light gray background, along with fine detail, created a dramatic image. Its decorative appeal and rarity of the decoration define it as one of the two finest examples of utilitarian pottery, either stoneware or redware, produced within the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. (The other leading Charlestown product, the “Elisabeth Tarbell/1806” stoneware jar by
Frederick Carpenter, was sold in Crocker Farm’s Spring 2021 Auction, also for $180,000). Rich in a ceramic legacy beginning with redware production in the early 18th century, Charlestown became a major manufacturer of stoneware at the turn of the 19th century with the work of Frederick Carpenter, who used a “BOSTON” stamp to identify his ware. In 1812, he became the master potter at the Austin Street shop of Barnabas Edmands, whose maker’s mark is on this piece. Edmands was not a potter, but rather a brass founder who became a pottery owner, hiring and even partnering with Carpenter until the latter’s death in 1827. As written in the Crocker Farm catalog, according to Lura Woodside Watkins’ book, “Early New England Potters and Their Wares,” Edmands hired out a new lead potter, Charles Collier, upon Carpenter’s death. Collier worked at the pottery for decades, and his abilities are evidenced by awards won in local 1839 and 1841 fairs for oversized stoneware vessels that he made, including a 15-gallon pitcher. Given his involvement with the pottery and years active, he
possibly created this jug. Edmands and his descendants would be a dominant force in regional stoneware production for nearly 100 years, serving as Charlestown’s sole producer of stoneware until 1905. According to Lorraine German’s “Ceramics in America” 2019 article, “The Picture of the Old Pottery,” Edmands’ son, Benjamin B. Edmands, would became a potter himself, working at the family concern until the Civil War, when he served as lieutenant in the 54th
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the Union’s first all-black regiments, famously depicted in the Academy-award-winning movie, “Glory.” An attributed Edmands Pottery jar of similar age to this jug, depicting a molded Federal eagle and date of the Battle of Bunker Hill on reverse, is on display at the William C. and Susan S. Mariner Southern Ceramics Gallery at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts,
The Yellow Garage Antiques Center, in collaboration with the Harrison Township Historical Society, is proud to present the 18th Annual June Festival of Antiques in Mullica Hill, N.J., on Saturday, June 8. The show will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and features quality antiques dealers from throughout the Northeast set up in an outdoor setting, under pavilion cover, and on the lawn at the Gloucester County 4-H Fairgrounds at 275 Bridgeton Pike (Route 77). This is one mile south of the Yellow Garage Antiques storefront and the Mullica Hill downtown historic district. The show will include antique country and formal furniture, fine art, glass, stoneware, textiles, dolls, Americana, jewelry, clocks, porcelain, Sterling silver, toys, advertising, metalware, and much more. Parking is free of charge, and a food truck by B & B Concessions will be available throughout the day. Visitors can also shop Continued on page 11
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Morgan Library And Museum Announces Endowment And 100th Anniversary T h e M o r g a n L i b ra r y a n d Museum recently announced the creation of a named directorship, made possible by a generous $10 million pledge from Katharine J. Rayner, trustee of the Morgan since 2011. To recognize this extraordinary gift to the endowment, the position of director at the Morgan will now be known as the Katharine J. Rayner Director for a period of 25 years. Dr. Colin B. Bailey, director since 2015, is the first to hold this title. This pledge has been made on the occasion of the Morgan’s 100th anniversary in 2024 and
toward its Centennial Campaign, which seeks to raise $50 million in critical funds to strengthen the future of the institution’s collections and campus. The Morgan also announced a $5 million pledge to the campaign from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation. This gift establishes an endowed fund to support the Morgan’s acclaimed exhibition program. It builds on a number of previous exhibition sponsorships by the JL Greene Foundation, including “Treasures From the National Museum of Sweden: Continued on page 11
In This Issue SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Morgan Library and Museum.
starting on page 2
SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . .
on page 5
EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR on page 6 AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . on page 8 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . . . . . on page 8
FEATURE AUCTION: Aces Gallery’s May 8 Auction - Page 7
CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . on page 11