AIRVILLE PLANTATION, VIRGINIA DECORATED STONEWARE JAR, salt-glazed, approximately one-and-one-half gallon capacity, ovoid form with incised shoulder ring, squared rim, and applied arched tab handles. Incised "Smith / Airville." in script at shoulder. Brushed cobalt horizontal floral decoration on both sides, additional cobalt at handle terminals. Baltimore, MD. Circa 1830. 11" H, 6 5/8" D rim.
Literature: For other examples of jars bearing the same inscription as the present jar, see Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, 6/19/2015, lot 38; and Crocker Farm, Fall 2021 auction, lot 245.
Provenance: From a Richmond, VA private collection.
Purchased at an onsite estate auction in Southside Virginia.
Catalogue Note: The present jar was made for Major Thomas Smith's Airville Plantation located in Gloucester Co., Virginia. Several pieces of stoneware inscribed for his plantation have been recorded. The latest attribution for these Airville jars has been assigned to Baltimore. The jar offered here displays a form and decoration that is consistent with this research.