STORAGE JAR

In 1978, the existence of Benjamin DuVal’s stoneware manufactory in Richmond was confirmed when MESDA acquired a stoneware jar stamped “B. DuVal & Co/ Richmond”. Bradford L. Rauschenberg published the jar and a brief history of DuVal’s business in the Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts (May 1978), but the full range of wares produced at the Richmond pottery was not known prior to archaeological investigations in 2002. Most significantly, the excavations uncovered incised decorated pottery heretofore unassociated with Richmond stoneware traditions.