Exceedingly Rare and Important Stoneware Ring Flask with Incised Federal Eagle and Brushed Cobalt Floral Decorations, Inscribed "George Duncan / 1827," Loudoun County, VA, 1827, wheel-thrown, ring-shaped form with heavily-tooled and applied spout, the shoulder decorated with an incised design of a Federal eagle with shield across its chest and dotted treatment to the bird's elongated neck. Incised along the body of the vessel with the signature and date, "George Duncan / 1827." Opposing side and edge of jug lavishly-decorated in brushed cobalt slip with a distinctive flowering vine motif bearing eight blossoms with curved, pointed petals- now considered a hallmark of Duncan's production- along with a four-petaled floral motif at the shoulder. This outstanding work combines visual appeal with extreme rarity to produce one of the pinnacle examples of Virginia stoneware. It survives as one of two known vessels bearing the signature of Loudoun County, Virginia potter, George Duncan (1788-1855), and one of a handful of pieces firmly ascribed to a regional stoneware school created by the intermarried Duncan and Gardiner families. Of extreme import is the vessel's incised Federal eagle motif adorning the shoulder. This design connects it to a small group of eagle-decorated stoneware pieces known from the entire state of Virginia, placing it in rarefied air with other masterworks such as the George N. Fulton / David Parr, Jr. cooler with incised eagle from Richmond, two John Morgan pitchers with incised eagles made in Rockbridge County, and a few Henry Lowndes/Petersburg vessels featuring molded eagles. Of interesting note is the exceptionally early style of the eagle motif depicted on this flask, related to renderings of this image dating to the late 18th century. Compounding the significance of this object is its ring flask form, essentially non-existent from the state of Virginia and rare in American cobalt-decorated stoneware production as a whole. Remarkably, the flask retains a 19th century leather strap, likely original to the vessel's use, displaying how this form was carried and stored in its day. Melding maker, decoration, and form, this unequivocal masterwork stands among the most significant discoveries in Southern cobalt-decorated stoneware of the past few decades. Literature: For more information on Loudoun County, Virginia, stoneware, see Bertsch "Lost Potters of Loudoun County, VA," Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Volume 40, 2019. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with an in-the-firing chip (kiln furniture scar) to "G" in "George." Leather strap is intact with expected wear and a few small tears to edges. L 9".
