Very Rare Small-Sized Stoneware Presentation Jug, Inscribed "JH Mott / June 4 / 1807," John Remmey III, Manhattan, NY, 1807, ovoid jug with footed base and heavily-tooled spout, the reverse featuring the incised signature and date, "JH Mott / June 4 / 1807." Front impressed with John Remmey III maker's mark, "J. REMMEY / MANHATTAN-WELLS. / NEW-YORK." Cobalt accents to maker's mark and handle terminals. The Mott family of Manhattan was an extremely prominent one whose memory best lives on in the presence of Mott Street in modern-day Chinatown. Perhaps the most legendary member of its family is Anne Coles Mott, who during the American Revolution administered aid to American POW's held in abject conditions in makeshift British prisons around Manhattan. Anne Coles Mott and her husband, Isaac Mott, a Quaker merchant, had three sons, Samuel, Jordan, Jacob, and a daughter, Jerusha. There seems to be some dispute over the exact namesake of Mott Street, but the most credible explanation we have seen is that it was named after this Jacob Mott, a deputy mayor and alderman of the city, who bought a sizable land holding there. Jordan Mott, a Pearl Street watchmaker, married a member of the prominent local Hopper family and a result of their marriage was John Hopper Mott, born in 1803. Through a long study of this family's genealogy, this seems to be the only reasonable candidate for the recipient of this jug, which may explain its unusually small size. A long, sealed inverted Y-shaped crack ascending from base on proper left side, extending onto shoulder area on reverse. Three minor base chips. A salt drip on front. H 9 1/2".
