Jug
Date1816-1822
Maker
David Seixas
MediumLead-glazed earthenware (black-glazed redware)
DimensionsOH: 7"; OL: 9 1/6" (handle to spout); OW: 6 7/8"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund
Object number2022-53
DescriptionJug or Pitcher: Half-gallon red-earthenware jug or pitcher slip cast in a diamond or pineapple pattern; allover black glaze; the bulbous body with its diamond pattern rising to a fluted neck with a slightly flared mouth; a pronounced beak-shaped spout is opposite the squared ear-shaped handle with three spurs.Label TextPhiladelphia was a hub for American manufacturing in the early 19th century. In the midst of trade tariffs and bans on the importation of British goods surrounding the War of 1812, Philadelphia potters sought to fill the need for refined wares, often closely mimicking Staffordshire pottery products. This finely slipcast pitcher or jug with its molded diamond or pineapple pattern is one such object that aped popular British black-glazed earthenwares of the same period. The manufacturer, David Seixas, was a New York-born businessman of Sephardic Jewish descent who moved from New York City to Philadelphia in the early 19th century in order to pursue his career as an agent of Harmon Hendricks' metal trading venture. After several years working for Hendricks selling sheet metal, Seixas set out on his own, first producing crucibles and then expanding into the production of refined earthenwares such as this pitcher. Green-glazed and black-glazed wares can be attributed to his manufacturing endeavors. A philanthropic businessman, Seixas went on to find the Philadelphia Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb (later, Pennsylvania School for the Deaf).
ProvenanceEx Coll: Susan H. Myers, Smithsonian curator and author of the book "Handcraft to Industry: Philadelphia Ceramics in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century."
