SPARKS AUCTION BRINGS

Eagle Jug Flies High For Crocker Farm

SPARKS, MD. — Ceramics scholar and dealer Rob Hunter, bidding on behalf of a client, snapped up the top-selling lot at Crocker Farm’s Spring 2024 Stoneware and Redware Auction, in which more than 425 lots crossed the block on April 5. 

Earning the distinction of highest price at $180,000, and overflowing its $50/80,000 estimate, was a 2-gallon stoneware jug with incised spread wing eagle and fish decoration stamped “Barnabas Edmands & Co / Charlestown, MA” that stood 14½ inches tall and was dated to circa 1830. 

The decorative appeal of the jug makes it among the finest examples of utilitarian pottery — either stoneware or redware — made within the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown. Contributing to its desirability was its provenance with ceramics author and collector, Georgeanna Greer, who included it on the covers of both the first and second editions of her 1981 book, American Stonewares: The Art & Craft of Utilitarian Potters. 

The jug had last been on the market in 1992, when Harmer Rooke Auctions sold Greer’s collection in 1992. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. A more expansive sale recap will appear in a future issue.

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