Face Jug
Date1997
Maker
Chester Hewell (born 1950)
MediumAsh-glazed stoneware
DimensionsOverall: 10 13/16 x 10 3/8in. (27.5 x 26.4cm)
Credit LineGift of Daisy Wade Bridges
Object number2010.900.4
DescriptionThrown basketball-shaped jug with tall, narrow neck and three handles, evenly spaced around the jug, each affixed to the neck and coming a quarter of the way down the vessel serving to separate one face from the other. Three faces decorate the jug, each with eyes composed from porcelain clay and blue glass, white porcelain teeth, and large noses.Label TextChester Hewell is a fifth generation potter. He works primarily in his family business producing unglazed horticultural ware. These low-fired earthenware pots are manufactured from locally harvested clay. Around 1979, Chester Hewell expanded his production to include traditional stoneware vessels including face jugs. He built a wood-fired groundhog kiln and followed in the footsteps of generations before him. According to Chester, “Workin’ the clay is a part of my history, and the history of Georgia. We make the gardenware because we have to eat. But we make the old-timey ware because we love it.” Although he considers his face jugs part of this tradition, Chester Hewell has put his own spin on these wares such as including multiple faces on the jugs or using blue glass for the eyes as on this piece.
ProvenancePurchased from the potter by Daisy Wade Bridges who gifted it to Colonial Williamsburg.
