Rare and Important Ovoid Stoneware Jug with Elaborate Incised Pheasant Decoration, Remmey or Crolius Family, Manhattan, NY, late 18th or early 19th century, highly-ovoid jug with rounded spout and ribbed handle, decorated with a large incised and cobalt-highlighted design of a pheasant with crest, ringed neck, heavily-feathered wing, and long scallop-ended tail, the figure standing atop a stylized leaf or mound of earth. A small number of jugs and one highly significant flask bearing this distinctive pheasant design have surfaced over the years, all attributed to the Remmey or Crolius families of Manhattan, NY. This rare group represents some of the very earliest uses of bird designs in American stoneware, and, as such, pieces bearing this decoration are considered important objects. The sure-handedness of the incising indicates a craftsman well-versed in this decorative technique, at a time when much incised decoration exhibited a more naive quality. A particularly fine example of Manhattan stoneware. Excellent condition, particularly remarkable when considering the jug is over two-hundred years old. Very minor base chips. Small, in-the-firing flake below decoration and a few other small, typical iron pings to surface. Short, faint line at base of handle. H 14 3/4".
