Face Jug
Date1979
Maker
Burlon Craig (1914-2002)
MediumAsh-glazed stoneware
DimensionsOverall: 19 1/2 x 14in. (49.5 x 35.6cm)
Credit LineGift of Daisy Wade Bridges
Object number2010.900.2
DescriptionOvoid-shaped, thrown, jug with two applied strap handle on either side of the tall, narrow, and slightly everted neck. On the side of the jug are applied features creating a face including carved eyes with raised and applied eyebrows, prominent ears and nose, and a grinning mouth showing off teeth constructed from porcelain, rather than stoneware clay. The entire body is covered in a deep blue slip and white clay placed in the eyes liquefied during firing creating streaks of white down the side of the pot as though the face is crying.Label TextBurlon Craig was one of the first twentieth-century potters to revive the face jug tradition. He continued to work in a traditional manner during a time when many potters were converting to more modern electric kilns and purchasing clay rather than digging it themselves. Prior to the late 1970s Craig limited his production to useful wares. This piece comes from one of the earliest firings of Craig face jugs and is a wonderful example of his work.
ProvenancePurchased from the pottery by Daisy Wade Bridges who gifted it to Colonial Williamsburg.
