Very Rare and Important Redware Jar with Green Foliate Decoration, Stamped "W. BURCHNELL / LONDON," William Burchnell, London, Madison County, Ohio origin, circa 1835, straight-sided jar with tooled midsection and shoulder, tapered neck, and flattened rim. Surface covered in a speckled, straw-colored slip applied over a speckled reddish ground, then decorated with a continuous band of brushed copper-slip vining around the midsection, paired leaves at the shoulder, and a wavy stripe at base. Top of rim decorated with copper-slip stripes. Interior and exterior surface covered in a clear lead glaze. The potter, William Burchnell, was trained in Morgantown, Virginia (now West Virginia), and had joined fellow Morgantown potter, James M. Thompson, Jr., in London, Ohio by 1830, establishing a pottery on the site of the town's Presbyterian Church. Only a few signed examples of Burchnell's work are known, this jar being the only such piece to feature brushed slip decoration and the only to employ copper-oxide in its design. This jar is a wonderful example of migration of style among 19th century American artisans. Its decoration can be directly linked to earlier vessels produced in Morgantown by Jacob Foulke and John Wood Thompson. Pieces bearing the jar's distinctive straw-colored ground have also been documented in the work of Morgantown's potteries. The high decorative appeal of this jar rank it among the better signed examples of Ohio redware known. Filled and colored rim chips. Heavy chipping to base, with some chips being filled and colored. Some in-the-firing flecks of exposed clay on surface have been touched up. H 6 3/4".
