Face Jug

Quillan Lanier Meaders, Face Jug, ca. 1972, glazed stoneware and stones, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.28
Quillan Lanier Meaders, Face Jug, ca. 1972, glazed stoneware and stones, 9 148 128 18 in. (23.521.620.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.28

Artwork Details

Title
Face Jug
Date
ca. 1972
Dimensions
9 148 128 18 in. (23.521.620.5 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums Description
glazed stoneware and stones
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure — head
Object Number
1986.65.28

Artwork Description

The Meaders family pottery has made face jugs since it opened in 1893, using locally dug clays, foot-powered wheels, and homemade glazes. Quillan Lanier Meaders never understood the huge popularity of his face jugs, saying that the people who bought them must be "just crazy to start with" (The News and Observer, North Carolina, 1993). This piece is a devil jug, with pointed ears, slanting eyes, and small horns.

Works by this artist (3 items)

Quillan Lanier Meaders, Untitled (Face Jug), n.d., glazed stoneware and porcelain, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orren and Marilyn Bradley and Kohler Foundation, Inc., 2015.58.14
Untitled (Face Jug)
Daten.d.
glazed stoneware and porcelain
On view
Quillan Lanier Meaders, Face Jug, ca. 1972, glazed stoneware and stones, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.28
Face Jug
Dateca. 1972
glazed stoneware and stones
On view
Quillan Lanier Meaders, Two Headed Face Jug (Congressmen and Senators), ca. 1976, glazed stoneware with stones, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase, 1997.124.164
Two Headed Face Jug (Congressmen and Senators)
Dateca. 1976
glazed stoneware with stones
On view