Face jug

ca. 1500

Not on view

No vessel was too humble to decorate. Continuing a centuries’ old tradition in pottery, a comical face—complete with stuck-out tongue—has been scratched and modeled into this simple jug, which epitomizes cheap production for a local market. It was fired in a wood-burning kiln with more regard for economy of space than pristine conditions; indentations at top and bottom reveal that it was stacked with a mass of vessels. The uneven glaze indicates irregular heating, with the cooler, lighter area caused by the vessel’s proximity to its neighbor. The cracked indentation at its side was also caused during firing, probably by something falling against it. Nevertheless, the jug, still serviceable, was kept and used.

[Elizabeth Cleland, 2017]

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Face jug
Date: ca. 1500
Culture: German, Aachen or Raeren
Medium: Salt-glazed stoneware
Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 9 5/8 × 6 3/4 × 6 3/4 in. (24.4 × 17.1 × 17.1 cm)
Classification: Ceramics-Pottery
Credit Line: Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection, Gift of Robert A. Ellison Jr., 2014
Object Number: 2014.712.12
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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