Face Jug

Evan Javan Brown, Sr., Face Jug, ca. 1974, glazed stoneware, 7 ¹⁄₈ x 5 ¹⁄₈ x 5 ¹⁄₂ in. (18.1 x 12.9 x 14 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.27

Artwork Details

Title: Face Jug
Artist: Evan Javan Brown, Sr.
Date: ca. 1974
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 7 ¹⁄₈ x 5 ¹⁄₈ x 5 ¹⁄₂ in. (18.1 x 12.9 x 14 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: stoneware
Mediums Description: glazed stoneware
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Figure — fragment — face
Object Number: 1986.65.27
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.27

Artwork Description

Davis P. Brown, the founder of Brown's Pottery and Javan's brother, made the company's first devil jug in the early 1920s, which he placed outside the store's door to attract attention. Javan Brown probably crafted this face jug in his own workshop in Valdese, North Carolina. He made the teeth from pieces of broken plate, and used a thick black glaze to emphasize the face's ugly features.