Bidspirit auction | Miller Pottery (Philadelphia, PA) Attributed

Miller Pottery (Philadelphia, PA) Attributed Relief-Molded Rockingham-Glazed Shaving Mug - Miller Pottery (Philadelphia, PA) Attributed Relief-Molded Rockingham-Glazed Shaving Mug Lead-glazed with light brown mottled Rockingham glaze over yellowware body, flaring cylindrical form relief-molded with an urn overflowing with fruit and flowers in an oval medallion, additionally decorated with two ”Greek key” bands below rim and one at the foot (probably originally a rouletted design), applied interior divider with ledge/shelf, applied molded spurred handle, unmarked base. Attributed to the Spring Garden Pottery of Abraham Miller. Mid 19th century. Dimensions: 4 3/8” H, 3 3/4” D base. Condition: Excellent condition with moderate overall wear and a few small chips to rim and shelf's interior. Provenance: The Stradling Study Collection. Purchased from Sloan's, 06/02/1984. Ex-George S. McKearin Collection of American Pottery, no. 1145 (retains sticker). Catalogue Note: Identical in form to a mug attributed by Edwin Atlee Barber to the Miller pottery, which now resides at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with accession no. ”1892-107”. The present example has a more attractive glaze and much better detail to the relief molding. It is understood that the PMA's mug was originally sold to Barber by a former workman at Miller's pottery (Myers 1980, p. 31). The ”urn of flowers” design on the mug appears to have been ingeniously copied from a pressed brass embellishment, which was used to create a sprig mold after trimming off other elements of the design. That sprig mold was used to embellish the master model from which this mug's master mold was cast. The same master model, while still in leather-hard clay form, seems to have had the ”Greek key” design rouletted onto its surface, enabling subsequent mugs to emerge from the mold with their ornamental designs ”already in place” (Stradling 2011, p. 27). Similar ”Greek key” rouletting can be seen on an earlier shard of engine-turned redware excavated in Philadelphia (Miller et al. 2017, p. 106). Auctioneer's Note: We are thrilled to bring the Stradling Study Collection to market in partnership with Connor Rush of SFR Antiques, whose help and scholarship enabled the completion of this session's catalogue. A bibliography for the sale can be found here: ( https://bit.ly/3RYodeh ). For questions about lots 1 through 111 in this sale, or for help accessing the bibliography, please reach out to connor@nyeandcompany.com. Condition: Condition reports are not provided in catalog descriptions. The absence of a condition report does not guarantee that the lot is in good condition or free from damage and wear. We encourage you to request a condition report and/or additional photos prior to bidding on any lot. We also recommend asking for a shipping quote before bidding. CASH, CASHIER CHECK, MONEY ORDER, AND WIRE TRANSFER ARE THE ONLY METHODS OF PAYMENT ACCEPTED FOR JEWELRY.