More than 400 lots of American stoneware and redware representing all the major pottery regions from New England to Virginia and west to Ohio were offered recently at Crocker Farm’s auction. On the heels of its last highly successful sale, Crocker Farm principal Tony Zipp and family were able to pull together a stellar assortment for their May 22 event.

“Due to an overwhelming response from consignors, we have been able to construct a sale that is unprecedented in quality and variety,” stated the Zipps in the catalog. The firm’s assessment of the merchandise rang true with a quality assortment of wares ranging from the extravagantly decorated wares of New England and New York to the sublimely decorated stoneware pieces of the Shenandoah Valley.

Also included in the selection of merchandise was an assortment of pottery banks that carried a provenance of the collection of well-known toy dealer and auctioneer, the late Bill Bertoia. Many of the banks had come from the Seamen’s Bank auction conducted by Christie’s in 1991, and all of the pottery banks had been consigned from a Midwestern collector.

The redware Santa Claus bank sold for $33,000.

The first lot of the auction would set the tone for the dayas a rare Shenandoah Valley redware figure of a whippet in aBennington type glaze was offered. Termed by the auctioneers as”one of the most important examples of Shenandoah Valley pottery tohave surfaced in recent years,” the piece was made by John Bell andwas marked with his stamp three times on the base.

“Few examples of highly ornamental redware by John Bell have survived,” says Zipp, and this is one of the only known glazed examples. The vast majority of the whippets produced by any of the Bell potteries have painted surfaces. Measuring 10 inches in length, the rare piece had recently been discovered in Missouri. Bidding on the lot was intense as collectors battled for the lot with it finally hammering down at $41,800, becoming the top lot of the auction.

One of the most unusual pieces in the auction was a rare glazed redware Santa Claus bank that had a provenance of Bill Bertoia and the Seamen’s Bank collection. The extremely rare figure of Santa standing along side of his bag, was actually a double bank with coin slots in both the figure’s back and the toy bag. Decorated with slip, the piece had incised facial features and hand molded details. The rare Nineteenth Century Pennsylvania figure was also actively bid with it hammering down at $33,000.

Other banks offered included a rare cobalt decorated stoneware log cabin bank with a raccoon perched on the roof. The bank, attributed to Thomas Haig Jr, Philadelphia, was also dated 1846 in cobalt on the base. Also with a Bertoia/Seamen’s provenance, this bank also saw serious bidding with the lot selling at $18,150. A folky redware hen bank with a whistle in the tail and decorated with slip carried the same provenance and sold at $6,056.

A Burger churn with lion decoration sold at $31,900.

The top piece of northern stoneware came as a J. Burger,Rochester, N.Y., eight-gallon churn was offered. The rarelarge-sized churn was decorated with a bold lion with an elaboratemane and spotted body standing on a speckled ground in front of atree. Several small cracks and a rim chip were noted on the piece,along with a small amount of cobalt fry to the tree. This piecealso attracted serious attention with the lot selling for $31,900.

Another large Burger churn, this one decorated with a partridge under a tree, also did well. In overall excellent condition, the piece sold for $26,400. A Harrington, Lyons, two-gallon jar with large snowflake decoration with a face in the center was bid to $11,550, while a large Whittemore, Havana crock with house and flag decoration realized $10,450.

Southern pieces of stoneware included a three-gallon straight sided crock that was script decorated with “Dry River Pottery, 1876.” The piece, attributed to John Heatwole, Rockingham County, Va., is thought to be unique and was desirably dated with the centennial date. Serious attention was paid to this piece with bidding ending at $13,750.

This salesman’s sample grave marker brought $8,800.

A rare salesman’s sample grave marker, attributed toWashington County, Tenn., maker Charles Decker, was an interestingitem. The piece, measuring 12 inches in height, was described inthe catalog as being “one of the rarest stoneware forms produced in19th Century America.” Bidding on this lot was also active with itselling at $8,800.

Two stoneware spaniel banks made from the exact same mold, one in a salt glaze with cobalt decoration, the other in an Albany slip, brought substantially different prices. Both banks carried the Bertoia provenance and while the condition on the Albany slip glazed example was mint, the cobalt decorated piece had a portion of the front leg broken and glued. Bidding on the cobalt decorated dog bank ended at $11,550, while the Albany slip glazed piece left the block at $1,045.

Shenandoah redware included an Eberly pitcher with a cream glazed body and decorated with green and brown splotches did well at $4,180, a small seated dog with a basket in its mouth brought $3,960 and a pair of Eberly wall pockets with applied flowers sold for $2,970.

Prices include the ten percent buyer’s premium charged.