Plate

Inscribed: "Since I have heard of it I will soon come to your meal"

The Leidy family of potters made both slip-decorated and sgraffito wares in Souderton in Franconia Township.  Both John Leidy I and his nephew, John Leidy II, frequently decorated their plates with the stylized tulip motif favored by many Pennsylvania German potters.  They also often ornamented the borders of their hand-thrown plates with proverbs or whimsical inscriptions, reflecting their connection to German and Swiss tradition. 

Pie dishes such as this were usually glazed only on the surface of the dish.  The sgraffito designs were scratched through the glaze and colored slip to reveal the red clay body underneath.  Wares such as these, with elaborate decoration and inscriptions likely served a commemorative or purely decorative purpose.