Exceedingly Rare Slip-Decorated Redware Loaf Dish, Inscribed "Lafayette / & / Jackson," Norwalk, CT origin, circa 1824, rectangular form with rounded corners and coggled edge, decorated with the elaborate yellow-slip inscription, "Lafayette / & / Jackson," applied under a clear lead glaze. Among the rarest political inscriptions found on Norwalk redware, this loaf dish was undoubtedly made in 1824, during Marquis de Lafayette's famous "Farewell Tour" of America. Lafayette and Andrew Jackson held mutual respect for each other, and the two met in December of that year in Washington, D.C., during Jackson's first candidacy for president. At the time, the Presidential Election of 1824 was being decided, one that Jackson would ultimately lose to John Quincy Adams. Lafayette would later visit Jackson on May 4 and 5 of 1825 at his estate, The Hermitage, in Nashville, Tennessee. During this visit, Jackson showed Lafayette a pair of pistols that the latter had gifted George Washington in 1778. Lafayette's excited response was, "Oh my Pistols; the pistols I presented to George Washington," and indicated that he was glad they were in the hands of the "Hero of New- Orleans." While a number of "Lafayette" and some "Washington & Lafayette" Norwalk redware dishes have survived, this loaf dish is one of only two such pieces bearing the inscription "Lafayette & Jackson" that we are aware of. The second is a charger previously owned by well-known political collectors, Rex and Patti Stark. This loaf dish's size, brilliant color, and exemplary condition, make it a significantly finer example of the two, as well as one of the most outstanding examples of politically-inscribed Norwalk redware known. Provenance: Purchased by the consignor from David Wheatcroft. Exceptional condition for pieces of this type. Interior with light surface-level wear and minor surface residue. A shallow 3/4" chip to one corner on reverse. Other minor edge chips. Dimensions: 14 3/8" x 10 1/2".
