Two Headed Face Jug (Congressmen and Senators)

Quillan Lanier Meaders, Two Headed Face Jug (Congressmen and Senators), ca. 1976, glazed stoneware with stones, 9 x 7 ⁷⁄₈ x 8 ⁵⁄₈ in. (22.9 x 20.0 x 21.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase, 1997.124.164

Artwork Details

Title: Two Headed Face Jug (Congressmen and Senators)
Artist: Quillan Lanier Meaders
Date: ca. 1976
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
/
3rd Floor
/
28B
Dimensions: 9 x 7 ⁷⁄₈ x 8 ⁵⁄₈ in. (22.9 x 20.0 x 21.9 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase
Mediums: stone
clay
Mediums Description: glazed stoneware with stones
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Figure — fragment — face
Object Number: 1997.124.164
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.164

Artwork Description

In Two Headed Face Jug, Quillan Lanier Meaders modeled two faces: one to represent a United States congressman, the other a senator. One face has red eyes and a cunning expression, while the other wears a confused expression. It is up to the viewer to decide which is the congressman and which is the senator. By presenting them as two sides of one jug, Meaders was suggesting that it is impossible for both parties to look in the same direction at the same time.