Rare glazed red earthenware monkey astride a reclining dog Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1850-1870

Incised underside of base: 20

Ronald Pook, Downingtown, Pennsylvania, 1981
David A. Schorsch, New York, New York, as agent, 1981

American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 154, fig. 118

Base has some loss to glaze which has been colored in.
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Redware figural groups such as these depicting monkeys and dogs are rare, and their making required the potter to have a masterful control over his clays and glazes. If the clay was too dense or sculpted too thickly, the figure might crack or explode during firing. Because of their larger volume, the forms were made hollow with vent holes to allow moisture in the clay to escape as it turned to steam and pressure built up. The potter could add ground feldspar or silica sands to the mix to create a more porous, open-bodied clay, but he then ran the risk that the form might slump or warp if the mix was uneven or if the kiln temperature grew too hot.

Modeled separately for greater detail, the individual figures, their accessories, and the bases were conjoined in their plastic state with liquid clay slip, which had to be carefully mixed from the same clays to assure a solid, lasting joint once fired. Glazes also presented specific requirements. If too much silica or lead sands were added, they became too fluid and would pool or run off the figure when fired, spoiling the sculpted detail. Or if the mineral oxides used for color were too concentrated, the glaze would pit and bubble. And imperfections left in the clay could cause unwanted spots and blemishes in the final color or surface. This technical expertise, gained through experiment, observation, and years of experience, enabled the traditional folk potter to create such animated masterpieces.

The images of the monkey and the dog were prominent motifs in traditional folktales and were published in the fables of Aesop and La Fontaine and numerous other sources. The monkey-upright, engaged in human activities, and stylishly costumed-was depicted as an animal trickster in folk sculpture and published cartoons in both northern and southern states. The monkey also frequently embodied prejudicial caricatures within the climate of slavery, abolition, and the conflict of the Civil War, as a minstrel or liveryman, part African slave and part animal.¹ Earthenware figures with bottles or jugs, or engaged in drinking contests, playing music, or traditional games, were also drawn from folk humor and may have been made in response to prohibitionist or evangelical assaults on such celebratory pastimes. -J.L.L.

¹ For similar examples combining these motifs, see Garvan, Collection, p.224.