Mocha Yellow Ware Jug with Puce Seaweed Decoration, Probably American, 19th C.
Located in Downingtown, PA
Mocha Yellow Ware Jug with Puce Seaweed Decoration, Probably American, Mid-19th Century This jug, probably American, is thrown in yellow ware, a buff earthenware that fires to a warm yellow beneath its clear lead glaze, and is decorated in the mocha technique with a broad band of seaweed dendrites in puce. The decoration is carried on a wide band of white slip around the upper body, framed above and below by pairs of fine dark brown lines, where a row of branching, fern-like sprays leans in one direction around the jug, their stems sweeping together toward the lower edge of the band. Each spray grew from a single drop of colorant touched to the foot of the band while the jug was held upside down, and the angle at which the pot was held set the wind-blown sweep of the stems. The purplish brown deepens to a darker puce where the colorant gathered. The baluster body swells at the shoulder and narrows to a spreading pedestal foot, with a pulled pouring lip at the rim and a molded loop handle whose upper terminal curls over in a small scroll. Below the main band the yellow body is left plain, save for a narrow band of white slip edged with paired dark brown lines above the foot. The interior is glazed yellow throughout, and the flat base is glazed. Dimensions Height: 6¼ inches (15.9 cm) Width: 8 inches (20.3 cm) Depth: 5½ inches (14 cm) Marks Unmarked, as is usual for yellow ware of this type. Provenance Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge. Condition Good antique condition, with no repairs. There are small chips and flakes of glaze loss to the edge of the foot rim, and scattered dark specks in the glaze from the original firing. References Jonathan Rickard, Mocha and Related Dipped Wares, 1770–1939 (University Press of New England, 2006). William C. Ketchum, Jr., American Country Pottery: Yellowware...
Mid-19th Century American Folk Art Antique Pottery Furniture
Pottery
