Permanent Collection Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
1945.10162 |
Collection |
Ceramics Collection |
Media Collection |
American Art Pottery Collection |
Manufacturer |
Attributed to Stine Pottery |
Title |
Face Jug with Wire Handle |
Date |
Circa 1870 |
Artist |
John M. Dollings (1835-1926) |
Makers Marks |
This piece is unmarked. |
Description |
This piece is one of seven known early Ohio stoneware face jugs by farmer John M. Dollings circa 1870. Recent research suggests that Dollings learned the pottery tradition from his father; and that he worked at Stine Pottery in White Cottage, located 8 miles southwest of Zanesville, Ohio. Primarily a farming region, this area’s rich clay and natural gas deposits supported the Ohio pottery trade in the 19th century. Dollings’ jugs were likely stylistically influenced by the face jugs crafted by enslaved Africans, specifically the Congolese, who worked in the Edgefield region of South Carolina. Research by the Chipstone Foundation drew a connection between nkisi, or spirit containers found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the South Carolina face jugs. But as a white, midwestern farmer, Dollings’ face jug represented something different. Within white communities, face jugs were viewed as caricatures of enslaved African Americans, parodying and stylizing their lips, hair, skin color, and eyes. Unsubstantiated theories persisted into the 21st century that these Ohio vessels were intended to hold poisons or were created for "voodoo" ceremonies. But these vessels date to the post-civil war reconstruction era in America, which was a time of deep-seated conflict about African American enfranchisement. Slogans for the 1868 presidential election demonstrate the divide: "Let Us Have Peace", on the one hand, and "This is White Man’s Country! Let White Men Rule!" on the other hand. |
Medium |
Stoneware, Glaze |
Technique |
Hand Thrown, Sculpted, Glazed |
Height (in) |
12.000 |
Diameter (in) |
10.500 |
Culture |
American |
School |
Folk |
Place of Origin |
White Cottage, Ohio, United States |
Credit Line |
Gift of J.H. Chilcote |
People |
Chilcote, J.H. Dollings, John M. |
Search Terms |
American Art American Art Pottery American Artists American Ceramics Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Brown Faces Folk Art Handles Jugs Ohio Art Ohio Artists Ohio Artists Ohio Companies Ohio Manufacturers Pottery Artists Pottery Decorators White Cottage, Ohio Zanesville Artists Zanesville, Ohio |
Location |
Not on view |