Extremely Rare and Fine Two-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher with Elaborate Floral Decoration, Stamped "H. SMITH & CO.," Alexandria, VA origin, circa 1825, thin-walled pitcher with bulbous body, tooled shoulder, delicate strap handle, and semi-squared rim, the body decorated around its circumference with a brushed cobalt floral design featuring numerous leaves and flower blossoms resembling tulips and bellflowers. Additional profuse floral decoration around collar. Wide cobalt band at base. Impressed with the scarce maker's mark of Hugh Smith and his son, Hugh Charles Smith, below the spout, along with a two-gallon capacity mark. This pitcher is one of a very few known bearing this desirable Alexandria, VA maker’s mark. This fact, coupled with the pitcher’s exceptionally large size and fine decoration, make it one of the best examples of Alexandria stoneware to be offered in recent years. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, having descended in a VA family. Heavy chipping to base. Chip to right side of spout. Wear to front of spout. Two faint lines in rim, measuring 2" and 1 1/2," which do not appear to extend through the body of the pitcher. Horizontal hairline in handle. H 13 5/8".
