Exceedingly Rare Salt-Glazed Stoneware Presentation Flower Jug with Iron Slip Decoration, Inscribed "Miss E Davis on 1842" and "1842", Middle Tennessee origin, 1842, ovoid form with footed base and dramatic, recessed turnings to bottom half, fashioned with five wheel-thrown and applied tubular spouts, each with flattened mouths. Shoulder incised in script, "Miss E Davis on 1842". Additionally incised below with the date "1842". Attractive brushed iron-slip banding appears throughout the body and highlights the mouths of the spouts as well as the base of the central spout. Distinctly Southern in its form, the flower jug is related to the harvest or monkey jug, expounding on its overall style with additional spouts and, in the case of this example, additional handles. Each spout was used to display cut flowers. The highly-decorative nature of this form, and the amount of time it took to produce a single example, suggest it was predominantly made as a presentation piece. This particular jug was made for one "Miss E. Davis" in the year 1842 and features iron-slip decoration typical of Middle Tennessee stoneware. The year of manufacture, 1842, is particularly early for this form. Literature: For a Georgia alkaline-glazed example of this form, see John L. Burrison, "Journey of the Jug", Ceramics in American 2006, fig. 32. Missing its four small loop handles. Spout and base chips. H 10".
