Rare Stoneware Face Jug, Inscribed "ReAD Hot / Still Heating", att. Brown Family, Atlanta, GA

July 22, 2017 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 150

July 22, 2017 Auction Catalog

Rare Stoneware Face Jug, Inscribed "ReAD Hot / still Heating", attributed to the Brown Family, Atlanta, GA, early 20th century, cylindrical jug with applied clay face featuring scrolled ears, small flattened nose, ball-shaped eyes, and an open mouth with curled tongue. U-shaped area below face was depressed while the jug was still malleable, creating the figure's chin and jaw line. Incised below the face with the inscription, "ReAd [sic] Hot / still Heating", presumably a reference to the firing process, in which pots are literally glowing red with heat. Albany-slip-glazed interior with a streak of Albany slip on the jug's side, extending from the spout to the base. Brown family face vessels from their early Atlanta period, produced prior to the establishment of their long-standing Arden, NC shop, are considered quite rare. A significantly-smaller, frogskin-glazed example, bearing the inscription, "Gon But Not Forgotton", was sold in Crocker Farm, Inc.'s March 19, 2016 auction. Excellent size and appealing inscription. Crack to shoulder area above face. Loss to lower eyelid of one eye. Other eye was apparently made without a lower lid. A chip to each ear. Wear to mouth. A minor base chip. Other minor wear to surface. H 11".