Face Jug

Copied 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
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
Mediums Description
glazed stoneware
Classifications
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.