Summer Ceramics Sale Marks Firm's 14th Auction

Crocker Farm, Inc., York, Pennsylvania

by Karl H. Pass

Photos courtesy Crocker Farm

Crocker Farm, Inc. held its summer stoneware and redware specialty auction on July 11 with a 324-lot unreserved sale in the Old Main Building on the York (Pennsylvania) Fairgrounds. It marked the firm's 14th auction and grossed $375,906.25 (including buyers' premiums). There were 122 in-house registered bidders, 250 absentee and on-line bids through Artfact, and 129 total phone bids.

Based in Riderwood, Maryland, the family operation is known for getting fresh material for its sales. In part through a presence on the Internet, consignments are generated from all over the country, and as a result new pieces are continually discovered. This sale was highlighted by just such a piece.

A highly decorated stoneware flask purchased roughly 30 years ago on a house call kicked off the sale and sold for $40,250 to a dealer from Virginia, underbid by a private collector from Florida. Both bidders were in the salesroom. Attributed to the Webster family of Hartford, Connecticut, the wheel-thrown flask with incised bird and floral decoration was a rare survivor.

Other early American incised stoneware flasks have sold for more. A dramatically bulbous flask dated "February 14, 1804" and attributed to either the Remmey or Crolius potteries of Manhattan sold for $120,000 six years ago at Sotheby's. The pinnacle of the form and one of the finest pieces of early American stoneware in existence, it is in a league of its own (see M.A.D., July 2003, p. 28-A).

An early Thomas Commeraw ovoid stoneware jug was another piece fresh to the market. It measured 15" high, had an intaglio drape and tassel design highlighted with deep cobalt, was in mint condition, and represents an outstanding example of Manhattan stoneware. It sold in the salesroom for $28,750 to Virginia dealer Marshall Goodman, who also bought the flask. The consignor, from North Carolina, should have been thrilled with the outcome. According to Tony Zipp of Crocker Farm, it was given to the consignor as a gift while on a house call. The owner was selling things and threw in the jug with the deal; it had been in a barn in North Carolina.

Among the diverse offerings sold late in the auction was a four-gallon open-handled alkaline-glazed stoneware jug stamped "CHANDLER/ MAKER," Edgefield, South Carolina. Bidders on eight phone lines competed for it, and it went at a strong $14,950 to one of them, a collector from the South.

The variety of material consigned to their sales and their ability to bring out items fresh to the market make this family-operated business worth following and a factor in the marketplace. One could hypothesize that this area of collecting is doing better than many sectors of the antiques marketplace. As seen through auction market trends, American ceramics is a bullish commodity.

The Zipps held another ceramics show and sale, a relatively new event, in the other half of the open exhibition hall the day prior to and the morning of the auction. They had 25 vendors, according to Tony Zipp, and charged $50 for the first table and $20 for additional ones. The atmosphere is low-key, and the event has become a nice opportunity for exhibitors and customers to network with old friends and see what dealers are finding or selling from their collections. It also brings in more people, and though many dealers were not overly pleased with the quantity of their sales, all had praise for the show.

One of the highlights already consigned for the Zipps' fall sale, scheduled for October 31, is a rare, small gemel jug stamped "M" and "B" and with incised bird decoration; it is attributed to the Remmey or Crolius families in Manhattan. The father of the consignor had received it as a gift in the 1950's. "This piece is definitely Manhattan and fresh to the market," said Tony Zipp.

One could assume that the stamped letters represent the initials of an owner, yet they may refer to the jug's intended contents, madeira and brandy, which were popular liquors in 18th-century America. As explained by Mark Zipp of Crocker Farm, gemel jugs often held liquids, such as oil and vinegar or liquor. It is very likely that this jug was used in the kitchen, not a barroom, as madeira and brandy were used to cook a variety of things, including meats and desserts.

For more information, contact the Zipps at (410) 337-5090; Web site (www.crockerfarm.com).

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