Very Rare and Important New England Stoneware Jug with Incised Foliate Decoration, Stamped "ORCUTT & WAIT / WHATELY", Massachusetts origin, circa 1815-1817, approximately one-and-a-half-gallon, ovoid jug with tooled spout and ribbed strap handle, the front featuring the rare maker's mark, "ORCUTT & WAIT / WHATELY", surrounded by a wreath emanating from a stylized grape cluster or flower blossom. Cobalt accents within incising and highlighting the maker's mark and handle terminals. Few examples of incised stoneware from this short-lived partnership, involving the potters, Stephen Orcutt and brothers, Obediah and Luke Wait, are known. This jug is one of only three signed examples of Orcutt & Wait stoneware we have ever offered, and, of those three, the only piece featuring a decoration other than simple cobalt highlights. Jug remains in extremely difficult-to-find, as-made condition, with three in-the-firing iron pings near base. H 13".