I have posted a number of articles about the good stoneware collection that I have been writing about over the past few months currently offered by Antiques Associates At West Townsend in Massachusetts, and this is the final object that I wanted to write a story about; however, it is still one of my favorites, seeing that it was possibly made in Manhattan in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century, otherwise a potter working somewhere near the Hudson River elsewhere in New York or New Jersey: https://www.aaawt.com/antique/late-18th-or-early-19th-century-stoneware-jug-likely-made-in-manhattan-or-hrv/.
This early jug is adorned with a hand-inscribed floral motif that is highlighted with cobalt blue, where after handling it last fall, I suspected that it may have been made by the Remmey family, Crolius family or David Morgan in Manhattan, although that was mere speculation on my behalf, seeing that I do not have archaeological proof of it. But I think this is a terrific object, nonetheless, and likely a good early example of production from New York City. I also wondered about a potter working in the Albany and Troy, New York area, although the shape of the jug and the style of the incised decoration does not appear to relate to any production known to me from this area.
A small but interesting aspect about the decoration on this jug is the circular design that was applied at the end of the floral motif, which reminded me of sprigs applied on the exterior of various types of stoneware made in Westerwald, Germany in the seventeenth and eighteenth century (see below).
Furthermore, I do wonder about David Morgan's production, seeing that there is not a lot known about it today; however, I recently posted two articles about objects possibly made by the Morgan family in New York City, one of which is a very good late eighteenth or early nineteenth century stoneware jug inscribed with a perched bird: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/04/a-very-good-late-18th-or-early-19th.html. The other object is a jug possibly made by a member of the Morgan family in Manhattan before they relocated to Virginia about 1825: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/03/a-significant-early-19th-century.html. Both of these objects are published in Brandt Zipp's book, Commeraw's Stoneware: The Life and Work of the First African-American Pottery Owner.
Furthermore, Massachusetts potter Mark Shapiro suggests that David Morgan was associated with Thomas Commeraw's Corlears Hook pottery (in Manhattan) from about 1805-1807. It was published in an article written by Shapiro for The Magazine Antiques in 2023, titled, Clay, Commerce, and a Free Man of Color, "In 1797 Commeraw struck out on his own, establishing an independent workshop at Corlears Hook, in the Seventh Ward, a growing manufacturing and shipbuilding neighborhood near the anchorage of the present-day Williamsburg Bridge.
The following year, David Morgan, another journeyman potter who had lived near Pot Baker’s Hill, also moved to Corlears Hook. Although the exact nature of Morgan and Commeraw’s relationship is unclear, it is likely that Morgan worked with Commeraw during his first years there, since Morgan was rooming in a nearby house in 1799. By 1801 tax records show Morgan himself owning a pottery a few blocks from Commeraw. The two employed similar motifs, including swags, tassels, and bowknots (also called clamshells), though Morgan’s tassels were his own variations. Morgan died a few years into the new century, though a son or brother, John Morgan, continued to work as a potter in the city and later moved to Virginia, where he carried on the decorative traditions of Commeraw and his presumed relative."
For more information about this stoneware jug - contact A.A.A.W.T.: https://www.aaawt.com/about/.
Note: For more information about stoneware production in New York City, see Brandt Zipp's book, Commeraw's Stoneware: The Life and Work of the First African-American Pottery Owner: https://www.commeraw.com/.
Stoneware Jug with Incised Floral Motif Possibly from Manhattan
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