Very Rare Alabama Stoneware Face Jug Inscribed, "I Love You," attrib. Ham Family, Perry County

Spring 2024 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 376

Price Realized: $2,520.00

($2,100 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: The American ceramics market frequently changes, often dramatically. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.

Spring 2024 Auction Catalog

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Very Rare Salt-Glazed Stoneware Face Jug, Incised "I Love you", attributed to the Ham Family, Perry County, Alabama, late 19th or early 20th century, cylindrical form in the shape of a man's torso with applied spout in rear of head, the figure's head with applied eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, chin, and ears. Eyes and teeth formed from broken and applied pieces of china. Face and head include heavily-incised hair, eyebrows, mustache, and goatee. Front of jug incised with the inscription, "I Love you". This recently-discovered work features china-plate eyes and teeth, an incised mustache and goatee, as well as the highly unusual inscription, "I Love you", suggesting it was made as a gift for the potter's sweetheart. Perhaps in a more comical sense, the inscription is a term of endearment for the liquor the jug was designed to hold. The color of the jug's salt-glazed surface and its inscribed front, relate it to an important double-handled face jug, inscribed "Drink my blood / J.C. Ham", which was made by Jesse Calvin Ham (1870-1933) in Perry County, Alabama. The handwriting style and modeling of the face on the "I love you" jug are different than the aforementioned signed work, suggesting it may have been made by one of Jesse's several potter brothers, the sons of Ham pottery patriarch, Robert Solomon "Sol" Ham (1848-1912). A significant recent discovery in the Southern face vessel genre. Exhibited: Clay Body – Pottery and Stoneware of the Southeast, Auburn University, 2023. Provenance: Originally found in Florida; Crocker Farm, Inc., March 24, 2018, lot 20. Missing handle. A few small spout chips. A small chip to one eyebrow. End of nose with in-the-firing wear or possible chip. A minor base nick. H 8 3/4".