Important Anna Pottery, Anna, Illinois Carved And - Jun 17, 2017 | Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates In Va
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IMPORTANT ANNA POTTERY, ANNA, ILLINOIS CARVED AND

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IMPORTANT ANNA POTTERY, ANNA, ILLINOIS CARVED AND
IMPORTANT ANNA POTTERY, ANNA, ILLINOIS CARVED AND
Item Details
Description
IMPORTANT ANNA POTTERY, ANNA, ILLINOIS CARVED AND DECORATED STONEWARE PRESENTATION VASE, salt-glazed with brushed cobalt highlights. The flattened, ovoid body covered with incised feathers surrounding a convex, circular reserve on each side. The neck covered with applied, individually delineated large feathers surmounted with two boldly molded eagle-head handles protruding symmetrically from the ends, each eagle’s mouth grasping a struggling fish detailed with scales and fins, a four-petal floral rosette placed on each side below the rim. The whole raised on four claw-and-ball feet terminating in individual talons. One reserve contains the presentation inscription "Amy R. Kirkpatrick / Architect and Builder / here off (sic) / Anna, Ill, Janr 1st 1886." The other reserve features a cherub-like portrait of a young girl, presumably Cornwall Kirkpatrick’s daughter Amy, with finely molded facial features and incised flowing hair. Made by master potter Cornwall Elihu Kirkpatrick (1814-1890) for his daughter Amy R. Kirkpatrick (1862-1935). 1885. 8 1/2" H, 13" W, 6" D.
Undamaged except for shallow chip to outer edge of rim near one handle. Firing separation under base, as made.
Published: Antiques & Fine Artmagazine, XVI, no. 1 (2017): 174.
Literature: See Mathis - The Family, Kilns, & Stoneware of Kirkpatrick, pp. 296, 297 for the mate to this vase, made for Cornwall’s other daughter, Anna.
Provenance: Descended directly through four generations of the Kirkpatrick family as follows.
Made by Cornwall Elihu Kirkpatrick (1814-1890) for his daughter Amy R. Kirkpatrick (1862-1935).
To her brother Cornwall Elihu Kirkpatrick II (1852-1939).
To his son Cornwall Edwin "Cornie" Kirkpatrick (1884-1972).
To his wife Bertha May Thornton Kirkpatrick (1893-1981).
To her grandson Cornwall Elihu Kirkpatrick IV (b. 1946).
A signed letter from Cornwall IV accompanies the lot.
Catalogue Note: The brothers Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick, proprietors of the Anna Pottery in Anna, Illinois, were responsible for the most important, boldly imaginative folk pottery produced in the United States during the second half of the 19th century. They are most famous for their elaborate snake-infested jugs and creative pig-form flasks, which typically carry incised Temperance-Movement-inspired inscriptions meant to elucidate the evils of drinking alcohol.
In addition to being innovative potters, the Kirkpatrick brothers always remained community minded, fulfilling, over the course of their respective lives, important roles in Masonic and Odd Fellow organizations, the Anna city government, and other civic entities. This close involvement with their neighbors and families led to the production of many presentation pieces and commemorative objects in honor of special events or individuals.
The recent surfacing of the presentation vase offered here represents one of the most important discoveries of Anna Pottery to date and illustrates the Kirkpatricks’ strong sense of family and place.
Amy R. Kirkpatrick was the fifth child of her father’s second marriage in 1849 to Amy Vance Kirkpatrick (1823-1903), sister of his first wife who died in 1848. Never married and often referred to as "Miss Birdie", the younger Amy was an accomplished artist who worked in oils and watercolors in an impressionistic style, having studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in 1882-83. She exhibited at the Vincennes Gallery in Chicago and the 1885 New Orleans World’s Exposition, where she won an Honorable Mention award. Her paintings include two circa 1902 depictions of the Anna Pottery buildings and several portraits of family members. She is represented in the Illinois Women Artists Project at Bradley University.
This example of Anna pottery provides a significant bridge between American utilitarian stoneware of the earlier 19th century and the more avant-garde American art pottery movement of the later 19th century. A major work with a personal connection to one of the country’s most important potting dynasties, this current discovery exudes a national sense of pride and accomplishment, and presents a story intrinsic to the true spirit of Americana and Folk Art.
Condition
Undamaged except for shallow chip to outer edge of rim near one handle. Firing separation under base, as made.
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IMPORTANT ANNA POTTERY, ANNA, ILLINOIS CARVED AND

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