"Face Vessel"
Date1850-1875
MediumLead-glazed red and white earthenware; manganese dioxide
Dimensions5" x 4 1/4" x 6" (12.7 cm. x 10.8 cm. x 15.2 cm.)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles St. John Smith
Object number1985.900.2
DescriptionHollow, semi-flattened sphere of redware with shaped nose, applied eyes, mouth, and ears of a human face. Pinched nostrils. Yellow slip applied to eyeballs and teeth, with incising through the latter to suggest individual teeth. "Pupils" in eyes are body color. Manganese darkens most of the head except facial area. Rims of ears pinched or hand- crimped.Label TextOriginally designed to hold liquids, this flask has a hole at the top that would have received a stopper, probably a cork. Other small flasks modeled after pigs and fish are known, but those depicting the human face are rare.
ProvenancePossibly Lewis Edward St. John (1840-1930), Binghampton, New York, and Orange City, Fla.; to his son, Charles Nelson St. John (1858- 1947), Greene, New York; to his wife, Carrie Losee Williams St. John (1868-1848), Greene, N.Y.; to her grandson, Charles St. John Smith (b. 1919), Pennsville, New Jersey; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles St. John Smith.
