Exceptional Three-Gallon Stoneware Jar with Large Incised Bird and Floral Decoration, attributed to William Capron, Albany, NY, circa 1800, ovoid jar with footed base, heavily-tooled shoulder, and applied lug handles, decorated on the front with an incised and cobalt-highlighted design of a bird with impressed circular eye, standing on a stylized ground. Reverse with incised and cobalt-highlighted floral motif, modeled after Manhattan stoneware of the period. Brushed cobalt highlights to handle terminals. The distinctive jar form and bird decoration of this work lead to firm attribution to William Capron of Albany, NY. A small number of jars of this style, each featuring a bird on one side and a flower on the reverse, have survived, this example being the finest that we have seen. The size of this jar's decorations are noteworthy, as the bird and flower each measure approximately 8 1/2" in a diagonal length. Provenance: Property of a New York State collector. A 7 1/2" inverted Y-shaped crack on reverse, with an additional thin crack extending off from it approximately 5 1/2" onto side of jar under handle. A tight, inverted 3 1/4" line from rim on front. Heavy chipping to base, some of which occurred in the firing. A few small rim chips. A 3/4" in-the-firing contact mark to front. H 14 1/4".