Unparalleled in artistry, the Broadway stoneware cooler is regarded as the finest example of American salt-glazed stoneware to come to auction since the famous Elizabeth Crane/1811 punch bowl sold in 1978. Superlatives fail to describe this newly discovered work of ceramic art, which ranks among the greatest examples of 19th century American utilitarian pottery in existence. The Zipps of Crocker Farm in Sparks, Md., will offer the cooler on Saturday, March 21. The seven-gallon stoneware water cooler with exuberant incised and impressed decoration of New York Citys Broadway is stamped twice W.H. FARRAR & CO. / GEDDES, N.Y., and dated 1846. Depicting a Broadway street scene during the Great National Jubilee of the Order of the Sons of Temperance, this coolers extravagant decoration is unprecedented in 19th century American ceramic production. The design illustrates the national headquarters of the organization, located at 315 Broadway and marked GRAND LODGE / CITY NY, beside a townhouse and a fire alarm bell tower with a female figure alighting a landing to ring the bell. (Period accounts note that the morning of the Jubilee was marked by a prominent ringing of bells). The distinctive dome and cupola of New York Hospital, located at 319 Broadway and a key New York landmark of the time, are visible behind the Grand Lodge. Another local landmark, the Canal Street Bridge, appears below the female figure, along with the three degrees of membership in the society, Love Purity & Fidelity, inscribed above. The arch of the bridge covers the inscription, Look not upon the wine, taken from Proverbs 23:31 and referencing the fraternal organizations rejection of alcoholic drink. An intricately-patterned design of Broadways cobblestone street forms a base for the architectural designs above. The left side of the cooler depicts a large flag bearing the Star of Temperance, emanating from a cartouche with a list of the positions of the societys officers. The collar is impressed with the three degrees of the societys membership, Love, Purity & Fidelity, above a radiating medallion of impressed decoration. The cooler, while depicting an 1846 celebration at the Sons of Temperance National Headquarters in Manhattan, bears a stamp for the Salina Division. No. 86 / Sons of Temperance, located in part of present-day Syracuse, the town in which the cooler was made. The makers mark of Geddes (now Syracuse) potter, William H. Farrar, is stamped at both the rim and body of the cooler, along with its year of manufacture, 1846, above the bunghole. Born ca. 1813, Farrar was among the countrys most influential 19th century potters, most well-known for the artistic slip-trailed stoneware he produced at his Geddes shop. However, his interests in American ceramic production were far-reaching, as he was also involved in the United States Pottery Company of Bennington, Vt., and the Southern Porcelain Company of Kaolin, S.C., both of which produced molded wares during the mid-19th century. This cooler is obviously his masterpiece. Hand-incising and at least 16 different decorative stamps, impressed in a variety of ways, were used to ornament this work, creating a design of scope, detail, and perspective previously undocumented in American stoneware. A sprig-molded floral motif further embellishes the rim and base. The coolers outrageous form, potted as a flare-rimmed urn with rope-twist handles and stepped pedestal base, is among the most expressive that we have seen in the 19th century American stoneware craft. Its monumental size enhances the beauty of the form, extravagant decoration, and, ultimately, its visual impact on the viewer. The piece is a fresh-to-the-market, recently-discovered work. Family history indicates this cooler was used during the 19th century to serve ice water at the Hanchett Inn of Ellisburg, Jefferson County, N.Y. It stands 26 inches high. For additional information, call Crocker Farm at 410-472-2016 or visit www.crockerfarm.com.