Burlon Craig, Face Jug, after 1974, glazed stoneware with porcelain, 18 5⁄8 x 12 3⁄8 x 13 in. (47.3 x 31.4 x 33.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase, 1997.124.150
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Face Jug
- Artist
- Date
- after 1974
- Location
- Dimensions
- 18 5⁄8 x 12 3⁄8 x 13 in. (47.3 x 31.4 x 33.0 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase
- Mediums Description
- glazed stoneware with porcelain
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Figure — fragment — face
- Object Number
- 1997.124.150
Artwork Description
During Prohibition, face jugs were used to store whiskey and were often made with ugly features to scare children away from sneaking a taste. Burlon Craig made the blue glaze on this pot using ground glass, oak ash, clay, and water found near his home in Catawba Valley. After he molded his jugs on a foot-powered wheel and gave them their first firing, Craig would “dip ‘em in a drum of glaze, let some run inside, and give ‘em a roll.” (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia, 1990)