This is an extremely rare, cobalt-decorated stoneware jar stamped,
1 ½
J. SWANN
ALEXA
It was made at the pottery of John Swann in Alexandria, VA, circa 1813 to 1825.
This example is decorated with seven groups of cobalt leaves and flower heads around
the circumference of the shoulder. Fine, dark-colored cobalt, found on other vessels
of this vintage, was used. An incised line runs through the decoration. The Swann
stamp is very deep and clear, with all the letters, including the small "A" with the
dot below it, visible. This is an attractive tall jar, with a tapering shoulder that
leads to a semi-rolled, semi-squared rim. An interesting aspect of this piece is a
highly-detailed thumbprint pressed into the clay on the bottom, which may have been
done by Swann himself. This is truly an important example of Alexandria stoneware,
bearing perhaps the most desirable of Alexandria potter’s marks. Very little signed
Swann stoneware has survived. He is essentially known among collectors and historians
as the father of Alexandria stoneware. He was the master under which B.C. Milburn
apprenticed, and a potter whose cobalt motifs would influence Alexandria stoneware
for the next several decades, when his business on Wilkes Street was subsequently
owned by merchant, Hugh Smith, and then by Milburn.
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