Five gallon butter churn from the pottery of John Burger, Jr. in Rochester, New York. This stag-decorated vessel exhibits the superlative artwork of the master decorator at the Burger pottery.
In the post-1850's, stoneware production increased. As wares proliferated, the larger potteries sought to distinguish themselves through the artwork on the vessels. The potteries increasingly employed itinerant artists to create distinct decorations. Thus, the unfired objects became a medium for unsophisticated folk art design. Larger pottery operations became known for their trademark designs. The two generations of Burgers produced some of the finest cobalt decoration of all potteries.
