$3,750
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts
Auction: October 7, 2014 11:00:00 AM EDT
Deep rounded form, the bowl modeled as an orange rind encircled by mistletoe and holly picked out in colors against the yellow ground, supported by the recumbent figure of Punch in brightly colored guignol costume resting on a mottled tortoiseshell base, the base impressed with registration lozenge, other marks, hand painted 2468 with three dots.
H: 10, D: 14 in.Provenance: Property from the collection of Debra and I. Michael Coslov, Haverford, PA.
The decoration of the 'punch' bowl with mistletoe and holly points to its status as one of the special yuletide designs created by George Jones. The glaze of the base is also characteristic of Jones' work. The distinctive tortoiseshell mottling in brown and green was widely copied, though less successfully executed, by American and English potteries.
George Jones trained with Minton's, where he would work for twelve years and contribute majolica designs known for their naturalism. In 1861 he established the Trent pottery behind Minton's in Stoke-on-Trent with the intention of creating parian ware. The firm however soon turned its creations to the production of majolica, creating works similar in quality, but less formal in appearance than that of Minton's. His work was awarded medals at the international expositions in Paris in 1867 and London in 1871, by which time his pottery had grown to include nearly six hundred workers. His majolica continued to win awards at expositions in Vienna in 1873 and Sydney 1876.
LITERATURE: Marilyn G. Karmason, Joan B. Stacke. Majolica: A Complete History and Illustrated Survey. Henry N. Abrams, New York, 1989. pp 101-102.