SPARKS, MD. — Approximately 400 lots were offered in Crocker Farm’s Spring 2023 American Stoneware and Redware sale, which opened for bidding on March 21 and wrapped on Saturday, April 1. A cobalt-decorated stoneware ring flask with incised Federal eagle and patriotic inscriptions, made in 1827 in Loudoun County, Va., made the sale’s top price of $204,000, a significant improvement on its $20/40,000 estimate. Cataloged as “arguably the finest stoneware ring flask produced in the Nineteenth Century American South,” it is the only documented work by potter George Duncan (circa 1778-1850), who made it for Enoch Dove, who is believed to have been a resident of Fairfax County, Va., during the 1820s. The presence of an incised Federal eagle — reported to be seen on just a few stoneware pieces made in Virginia — also likely drove interest in the flask. The result bested the previous $92,000 record for Virginia stoneware; it was acquired by Rob Hunter, who was bidding on behalf of the William C. and Susan S. Mariner Private Foundation. The sale itself achieved a total of $1.85 million, the second-highest sale total in the firm’s history. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house; watch for a lengthier review in an upcoming issue.