Face jug
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.This jug was found in the ground in the Germantown section of Philadelphia in the 1950s. It was likely brought north by Lewis Gardner, a former resident of Edgefield, who moved to Philadelphia and worked as a chauffeur on the property where the jug was found. Gardner’s ancestors were enslaved workers at the Colonel Thomas J. Davies pottery in Edgefield, and this face jug may have served as an important connection to Gardner’s past. A close comparison of these jugs shows they were likely made at the same pottery, perhaps by the same potter.
Artwork Details
- Title: Face jug
- Maker: Unrecorded Edgefield District potter (American)
- Manufacturer: attributed to the Miles Mill Pottery (American, 1867-85)
- Date: ca. 1867-85
- Geography: Made in Edgefield, South Carolina, United States; Country of Origin United States
- Culture: American
- Medium: Alkaline-glazed stoneware with kaolin
- Dimensions: 7 in. (17.8 cm)
- Credit Line: Hynes Family Collection
- Object Number: L.2024.26
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing