Diversity Plays Key Role at Pottery Auction

Crocker Farm, Inc., York, Pennsylvania

by Karl H. Pass

Crocker Farm, Inc. held its eighth specialized pottery auction of antique stoneware and redware on Saturday, November 3, 2007, at the York Expo Center's Old Main Building in York, Pennsylvania. Over 80 consignors made the 437-lot sale possible. The total (including the 15% buyers' premiums) was $519,713.75. There were 148 in-house registered bidders, 85 phone and absentee bidders, and 269 registered bidders through eBay Live.

"We are already working toward our spring sale and have some great material," commented Crocker Farm's Barbara Zipp during the sale.

Crocker Farm sales offer a broad spectrum of quality material from multiple regions and periods. This diversity is a strong component that separates the operation from other specialist pottery auction companies. Diversity was particularly evident at this sale.

Most of the middle-market category items did not command the prices they would have under stronger market conditions, and ten of the 15 reserved items (several with aggressive estimates) failed to sell. The mixed results of the sale were mostly expected, given the overall state of the market and strength of the broader economy.

Although some things in the sale sold relatively low, there were exceptions. Several pots of early New York City and New Jersey stoneware did quite well. A squat-form open-handled jar attributed to Thomas Commereau with extensive glaze flaking inside and out went past its high estimate of $2000 and sold for $5865. A desirable open-handled ovoid jar stamped by another early potter, "David Morgan/ New York," estimated at $4000/6000, sold for a strong $12,075.

The top lot of the sale and of the New York City stoneware was a 13" high two-gallon ovoid stoneware jug stamped "C. Crolius/ Manufacturer/ Manhattan, Wells/ New-York." It sold to New York City dealer and collector Leigh Keno, bidding by phone, for $60,375 (est. $55,000/ 65,000). The rarity had been purchased by the consignor from Keno's mother, Norma Keno, in 1981 at Shupp's Grove in Adamstown, Pennsylvania, for $1200.

What made this particular Crolius jug special was the incised bird figure in profile view filled with cobalt-a very rare feature for the potter's work. The bird's stylistic elements have excited early American ceramic scholars interested in studying the variations in decoration on New York City wares, particularly pots made by members of the Crolius and Remmey families. It is not known whether another pot signed by Crolius exists with an incised bird. The jug has the expected wear, such as multiple chips to its base and a small hole on the back. There has been restoration to the rim and repairs to cracks.

"I love the jug. It is possibly the only incised Crolius jug with a bird," remarked Leigh Keno following the sale. "Of all the pieces my brother Leslie and I owned as children, this jug has some of the greatest sentimental qualities. I didn't buy it to resell it."

An interesting redware inkwell, covered in bright yellow slip and a clear lead glaze, incised "S. Halsey" and "Sparta 1824," sold for $9200 (est. $5000/7000). A lot of credit goes to the Zipp family for producing the most in-depth and thoroughly researched catalogs of any specialized pottery auction firm. For this inkwell they provided a full historical account for its likely owner, Dr. Seymour Halsey (1802-1852), who opened a medical practice in Sparta, New Jersey, in 1824, the place and date on the inkwell.

Quality Shenandoah River valley redware remains sought after by collectors. One of three known multi-glazed redware pitcher and washbowl sets stamped "J. Eberly & Co./ Strasburg, VA" sold just under its high estimate for $29,900. A multi-glazed eggcup from Strasburg, Virginia, with typically flared base and minor wear sold for $977.50, and a multi-glazed tankard pitcher with wear on its spout sold for $2875.

A large selection of western Pennsylvania stoneware was offered with mixed results. Stoneware from the western part of the state, largely produced in the third quarter of the 19th century and often profusely decorated with freehand and stencil decoration, received a great deal of attention in 2007. That attention came with the help of the exhibition Made in Pennsylvania: A Folk Art Tradition, which was held at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. This region of stoneware and tanware production has long been on the radar of collectors.

A 20-gallon stoneware crock profusely decorated with freehand designs and stenciled "Hamilton & Jones/ Star Pottery/ Greensboro, Pa," with some minor pitting, sold for $3335. A 12-gallon Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, advertising stoneware crock with a deep cobalt stenciled eagle with some blurriness to a portion of the decoration sold for $1207.50.

Alert bidders could find bargains. Among the items that sold for below market prices was a glazed open-handled redware vase attributed to Jacob Medinger with several base chips. It sold for a very low $603.75. A large glazed redware domed-lid jar with some wear and chips sold for $805, and an unsigned decorated stoneware pitcher with a hairline on the underside sold for a wholesale $690.

Crocker Farm's next sale is scheduled for March 8, and in conjunction with this sale the Zipps plan to hold their first formal ceramics show and sale in half of the Old Main Building. For further information, contact Crocker Farm at (410) 337-5090; Web site (www.crockerfarm.com).

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