• Stoneware/Redware
Lot 28

STAMPED "H.C. SMITH / ALEXA / D.C", ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA DECORATED STONEWARE JAR

Estimate: $400 - $600
Sold for

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$200 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$3,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$30,000 $2,500
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000

STAMPED "H.C. SMITH / ALEXA / D.C", ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA DECORATED STONEWARE JAR, salt-glazed, "1" gallon capacity mark, cylindrical form with rounded rim and double-incised shoulder rings. Bold brushed cobalt vertical flower to front and a twelve-link chain full round to neck/shoulder. Made for Hugh Charles Smith (1804-1854), Wilkes Street pottery, Alexandria, VA. 1847-1850. 9 3/4" H, 6" D rim.
Literature: Wilder - Alexandria, Virginia Pottery, 1792-1876, stamp as p. 320, fig. Mk VI.
Catalogue Note: Hugh Charles Smith, eldest son of Hugh Smith (1769-1856), partnered with his father in the management of the Wilkes Street pottery beginning in 1825. Hugh Charles, like his father, was a merchant and not a potter by trade. The stoneware vessels produced under their administration were made by numerous potters and decorators, both African American and white, hired throughout the 16-years the family owned the pottery. In 1833, Hugh Charles returned full time to the merchant business. At this time, the senior Smith officially leased the Wilkes Street pottery to potter and employee B.C. Milburn and by 1841, had sold the business to Milburn. Hugh Charles passed away at the young age of 50 in 1854.

Condition

Excellent condition, except having a shallow, square-form chip to base and rim having old restoration/filled-in chip.

Collection of the late Al and Billy Steidel, Alexandria, VA.