Original design.  "To love and be loved is the greatest joy on earth" - translated from the Pennsylvania German "Lieben und Geliebt zu werden Ist die Gröst Freud auf Erden”

This Redware plate was handmade in a mid-1700s stone house built before the American Revolution.

Signed and dated June 23, 2026, "rain". 
10" diameter, 1 1/2" deep.  Gift boxed. 

The clay was rolled flat with a rolling pin, and cut with a circle cutter.  Then the clay was laid over a bisque mold (drape molded) until leather-hard (stiff but not dry).  White liquid clay (slip) was painted over the surface of the red earthenware clay to create 2 layers. The design was created using the sgraffito method of scratching through the white slip to reveal the red clay beneath.  After drying , it was fired in an electric kiln.  The back is unglazed following the traditions of the early Pennsylvania German potters.