SPARKS, MD. — A six-gallon stoneware crock by J. & E. Norton, elaborately decorated with a stag and doe in a landscape, achieved $45,000 and top-lot status in Crocker Farm’s November 6-15 auction. The 14-inch-tall vessel had slip-trailing characteristic of John Hilfinger, a German-born artisan considered one of America’s leading Nineteenth Century stoneware decorators, and combined with a rarely seen double-deer motif. What Crocker Farm described as “among the finest examples of Norton family stoneware that we have ever offered” had been estimated at $25/45,000 and was one of about 350 offered by the Mid Atlantic firm; according to Mark Zipp, an advanced folk art collector won it. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house; watch for a more extensive review in an upcoming issue.