Exceptional Three-Gallon Stoneware Jug with Impressed Heart-and-Drape Motif, Stamped "DAVID MORGAN. / NEW YORK," Lower East Side, Manhattan, NY origin, circa 1800, ovoid jug with heavily-tooled neck and footed base, impressed with the cobalt-highlighted maker's mark, "DAVID MORGAN," surrounded by an impressed and cobalt-highlighted heart-and-drape motif. Additional cobalt highlights are brushed at the handle terminals. This jug is among the finest stamp-decorated works known by potter, David Morgan, a relatively close neighbor of Corlears Hook potter, Thomas Commeraw. Morgan emulated Commeraw's style, using a related impressed drape motif to decorate his ware, but replaced Commeraw's tassel stamps for a stylized heart device. Little is known of Morgan or his operation and few signed examples of his products have survived. This jug is not only the largest signed Morgan jug that we are aware of, it is the only example that we have seen featuring a composition of his stamped motifs surrounding the potter's name and location. This outstanding treatment appears to again copy his contemporary's work as a few of Commeraw's best jugs also feature impressions bordering the maker's mark. A noteworthy example of early Manhattan stoneware, exemplary in its form, decoration, condition, and elusive maker's mark. Excellent condition with an in-the-firing contact mark to top of spout, various small, typical in-the-firing flaws to surface, and some staining. H 17 1/2".
