Josiah Chapman, Troy, NY
Date:
1803-1815
Maker:
Josiah Chapman, Troy, NY
Dimensions:
13 3/8 H x 10 1/2 Dia. (at waist)
Materials:
Salt-glazed stoneware with cobalt glaze
Marks:
Impressed: J. CHAPMAN / TROY / FACTORY
Provenance:
Purchased from Warren F. Hartmann
Credit:
Albany Institute of History & Art Purchase, Rockwell Fund
Accession Number:
2006.6
Comments:
By 1803, Chapman was producing stoneware in Troy, NY, on the opposite bank of the Hudson River from Albany. As one of the region's earliest stoneware potters, Chapman may have seen a potential market for his product since little competition existed. Even though Chapman remained in the pottery business for at least twelve years, very few stoneware vessels marked by him survive. This pot is a striking blue-grey color, indicating it was made using less local clay (which produced brown- and pink-toned vessels) than usual, and was thus of higher quality. The five wavy lines probably represent its capacity (using the lines as an alternative to marking it 5).
