Rare Two-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Floral Decoration, Stamped "KEESEE & PARR. / RICHMOND, / VA.," circa 1860, ovoid jar with tooled shoulder, squared rim, and applied lug handles, brush-decorated with a vertical tulip motif on the front and reverse. Cobalt highlights to handle terminals. Impressed at shoulder with the maker's mark of the partnership of potter, David Parr, Jr. and merchant, Thomas W. Keesee, above a distinctive two-gallon capacity mark. Unusual ovoid form for this maker. Exhibited: "From Kaolin to Claymount: Demystifying James River Valley Stoneware," Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, NC, November 6, 2012 - March 31, 2013. A filled 1 7/8" x 3/8" area to underside, adjoining a restored T-shaped crack on reverse, measuring 6" tall x 6 1/2" long at the top of the "T." A small area of restoration at the base of jar associated with this crack is slightly peeling. Some staining to surface. Stained surface lines throughout underside, one of which is visible on the interior base. Rim with a small in-the-firing ping and minor spot of wear. An in-the-firing slump to rim. H 12 1/2".
