He suggested that his work be based on one of the chipstone foundations face jugs, serving as a kind of time capsule and archive. The exhibition has now moved down to the south carolina state museum, where about 20 of the 100plus examples are a bit closer to their birthplace of edgefield, s. Recreating 19thcentury face jugs with 3d scanning and. Important edgefield district, south carolina, stoneware. Face mug ugly faces being ugly stoneware pots lion sculpture statue jars sculpture. Its proud past also includes a perilous period that changed lives. Extremely rare and important edgefield district, sc stoneware.
Archaeological evidence of africanamerican face jug production. Apr 12, 2016 the grimace and greenbrown ash glaze are typical of face jugs made in edgefield during the 1850s and 1860s. From the early 1800s, pottery yards in edgefield were major producers of utilitarian. Palmers inclusion of a face jug is in some ways unsurprising as aiken was on the eastern edge of the historic edgefield district, about 20 miles away from edgefield itself, and it was here that the art form was born. Among the most recognizable of southern pottery forms is the edgefield face vessel. In terry zugs book, turners and burners, burlon craig is quoted as saying.
State museum hosts exhibit of early face jugs feature columns. A ceramic jug found in germantown, pa turns out to be an example of a significant 19th century protective relic and piece of art a face jug created by african american slaves and freedmen in. Between 1810 and 1865, an abundance of functional pottery was. Edgefield, sc face jug w important provenance, 19th. She then discovered that 200 congonese slaves from the wanderer had been brought to edgefield, sc. Mark discusses an important newlyrediscovered example of southern potteryan edgefield, south carolina, face jug with a relatively early publication histor. This installment concerns earthenware containers of history. See more ideas about face jugs, edgefield, folk pottery. The exhibit, which originated at the milwaukee art museum and was also on display at the. It is at gillsville that the old edgefield district tradition lives on, contributing to north georgias reputation as one of the last places in the united states where folk. Illustrated in the back of the book is an edgefield stoneware face jug. His pots and jugs were immense in size and notable for their handwritten inscriptions, which were. In his face jugs, mcdowell also honors dave drake, an enslaved person from edgefield who made pottery in the mid1800s.
Edgefield district, south carolina stoneware alkaline pottery face jug, made at the thomas davies factory 18611864 by an unknown african american maker. Now calm and serene, the savannah river was once a bustling, active route for importing and exporting goods in the river region. Examples include the english toby jug and the germanic bellarmine jug, or greybeard. Jim mcdowell, a potter who continues the face jug tradition using 19 th century techniques he learned from his jamaican ancestors, showed how the face would be created and attached to the jug. This face jug was crafted by an enslaved potter in the edgefield district. There is a very happy consignor following the july 18 stoneware and redware sale at crocker farm in sparks, md. Enslaved black potters in the edgefield district of south carolina made face jugs from around 1850. Light to dark olive green alkaline glaze at the georgia museum of art in athens, ga. I first read about the edgefield face jugs i was taking an african art history class at.
African ancestry most scholars agree that the first face jugs were made in edgefield, south carolina by african slaves who labored in the pottery factories there. It has an alkaline glaze with a handle and drinking spout. David drake doublehandled stoneware jug, incised lm august 31. Encyclopedia the term edgefield pottery is used to identify alkalineglazed stoneware first produced in edgefield district in the 1810s. Jul 18, 2016 researching face jugs online, hynes discovered that scholars had linked the face jugs like hers to africa, specifically the congo, and to the slave ship wander. Illustrated in the back of the book is an edgefield stoneware face jug that was found in portsmouth, n. This distinctive type of ceramic face vessel first appeared in the american south in the mid1800s learn more. Apr 10, 2010 they were decorated with crude wood faces that looked almost identical to the edgefield face jugs, dexter said. Since then, our curatorial team has uncovered the meaning behind the elusive inscription. Rare and important edgefield, sc stoneware face jug w. Edgefield pottery district history sciway dave the potter sciway edgefield face vessels smithsonian edgefield face vessels chipstone old edgefield folk potters m.
One instance of a northern pottery tradition influencing edgefield production is a stoneware harvest jug made at thomas chandlers manufactory around 1850 and first published in jill beute kovermans exhibition catalog making faces fig. See more ideas about face jugs, stoneware, pottery. The history of face jugs goes all the way back to the fourteenth century. Edgefield potteries was worked in part by artisan slaves who turned the pots, pushed. Archaeology of edgefield, south carolina pottery communities. These things get to be like your children after all these years. Less popularly associated with the edgefield pottery tradition. Edgefield, sc face jug w important provenance, 19th century. Edgefield pottery special to statehouse report 11042016 10. Edgefield, south carolina stoneware crocker farm stoneware.
This page provides information about archaeological research and excavations on the stoneware sites of the old edgefield district of south carolina. Beginning in the 1850s, these alkalineglazed stoneware objects were reportedly made by african american potters who worked in the edgefield districts vast network of potteries. This history has inspired some scholars to speculate further on the formal. Edgefield district of our state with its venerable history in the production of alkalineglazed stoneware. Face jug, edgefield district, south carolina, circa 1860 face jugs. One of the best known face jug potters from the edgefield district was a man named dave. The edgefield stoneware potteries are featured in a new book on the archaeology of.
Some of the most famous american types were made by the pottersville area and edgefield south carolina pottery company. Palmers image replaces the monkey with a boy and the nondescript face with an edgefield face vessel. Oct 17, 2015 the jug s form, and aspects of the face, including the shapes of its eyes, ears, and nose, link to a small body of work by an asyetunidentified school or maker. Just north of southern historic research, genealogy. This history has inspired some scholars to speculate further on the formal connections between kongo power figures. At a table covered in books and bits of paper, a sea of. Research suggests that the introduction of the form might relate to the 1858 arrival of the illegal slave ship wanderer, which brought 170 people predominantly from the kikongospeaking regions of central africa to the edgefield districtmany of whom went on to work in the pottery yards. We returned for another season of field research on the amazing heritage and history of edgefield pottery production. In contrast to the standard production items of the timeutilitarian jars, jugs, and churnsface vessels are relatively scarce. In the 1990s, the museum organized exhibitions and published books that revealed the edgefield area as the birthplace of southern pottery and. Michel bayne pottery sc edgefield double flower decorated jug. Palmer wilde woman of aiken cabinet card, 1882 cowans. Most prominent in this group is a monkey jug incised joe kirksey, illustrated on p.
Apr 02, 2021 the face jugs made by africanamericans working at edgefield area pottery factories were too small to serve a practical function and for many years were viewed as whimsical curiosities. Mar 03, 2021 a face jug produced at the landrum pottery in the horse creek valley around 1840. They are very small the examples above measure between 5 and 9 inches tall and are thought to have been made between 1860 and 1880. In the late nineteenth century, the face jug became a whimsical addition for many southern white potters working in georgia and north and south carolina, and no longer retained its original meaning. Odd stoneware jug shaped like a face is no longer a mystery. A handful of face jugs are even known to have been created by northerntrained white potters in america prior to 1858, with speculation that they were influenced by these european traditions. Though drake was not known to make face jugs, he was extremely skilled and created stoneware vessels of immense size. There, he recounts how his greatgrandfather who lived through slavery told the story of the pots made to memorialise individuals since slaves. Some richmond and henrico residents eligible under phase 1c are able to book their covid19 shot. After researching a book for well over three years i know a bit more about. Jul 03, 2012 brian proposed and created an artwork that responds to the early africanamericanmade edgefield face jugs. Ncpottery is offering another amazing jug was inspired by the edgefield potters such as from the colin rhodes shop circa 1850. Collection of the smithsonians national museum of american history. Nov 17, 2020 we first spoke with george and key meyer in our june 28, 2019 issue on the occasion of the publication of their book, early american face jugs, and the coinciding exhibition at the fenimore art museum.
He collected all of the material that had ever been published on face jugs, and worked with a bookmaker to create a small archival book containing all of the information he found. Last month i wrote about the chipstone foundations new acquisition, an early edgefield face jug with writing on the back. This jug is one of the earliest known alkalineglazed stoneware face vessels made by slaves or their descendants in the edgefield district of south carolina. From the early 1800s, pottery yards in edgefield were major producers of utilitarian stoneware, which was made by both enslaved and free persons. Jan 02, 20 the original 19thcentury face jug from edgefield, south carolina. In the case of edgefield face jugs, the use of white kaolin clay for the eyes and. Museum of art, ny storage jar by dave drake, 1859 phila. Michel embraced the kaolin trail slip technique to decorate this jug. Using local materials and his extensive knowledge, he began to produce a fine stoneware that was food safe and could be sold to markets up to 150 miles away. Shop books at chairish, the design lovers marketplace for the best vi. Abner landrum is credited with establishing the edgefield pottery tradition in the first decade of the 1800s. The wanderer connection is one of the best theories, although at least one white potter thomas chandler was known to make face jugs during the same period. History and ritual in 19thcentury edgefield ceramics in america 20.
Sep 27, 2019 illustrated in the back of the book is an edgefield stoneware face jug that was found in portsmouth, n. Jugs such as these are attributed to a small number of black slaves working as potters in the edgefield district of sou. Palmers inclusion of a face jug is in some ways unsurprising as aiken was on the eastern edge of the historic edgefield district, about 20 miles away from edgefield itself, and. June 10, 1853 jug by dave, enslaved potter of edgefield, south carolina lewis miles stoney bluff manufactory 03212020. Baldwins book, great and noble jar, and currently in the collection of. This book covers types of clay, basic modeling methods such as throwi. Ask potters or collectors what they think about face jugs and you will likely hear. Initially made by slaves and later by free africanamericans, early edgefield face vessels are wheelturned from stoneware clay and fired with alkaline glazes that range in color from sandy brown to olive green.
Alkaline glazed face jug with kaolin inset eyes and teeth and incised lettering. Photograph courtesy of the chipstone foundation and mark newell, ph. However, one of the most important contemporary potters jim mcdowell, known as the black potter, recounts on his website his familys oral history about the jugs. Many nineteenthcentury face jugs like this one came from edgefield, south carolinaa major producer of american stoneware potterywhere many factory. Lessons from the potters wheel smithsonian folklife. Its proud past also includes a perilous period that changed li. Beginning in the 1850s, these alkalineglazed stoneware objects. We know that edgefield face jugs were created by slaves, and later free. One of the best known face jug potters from the edgefield district was a man. Jun 18, 2019 among todays connoisseurs, edgefield face jugs command a premium. Face jug, edgefield district, south carolina, 18601880.
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