Originally from Louisiana, Milligan Frazier made pottery on demand in Mims Chapel, Marion County, in addition to working as a farmhand. Wares attributed to Frazier often have a dark, streaky glaze, the result of a mixture that included ground glass and sand. Frazier was enslaved by iron furnace and pottery owner Jefferson S. Nash for a short period of time near the end of the Civil War and may have continued to work for Nash after emancipation. It is not known how long Nash’s pottery was in operation or if Frazier made pottery for him; he may have worked at Nash’s iron foundry and furnace, or in some other capacity.

On this small covered jar, the glaze streaks associated with Frazier’s work take on a distinct vertical rhythm.