Object Details
maker
unknown
Description
The tradition of shaping human likenesses on ceramic vessels is thousands of years old. Face vessels held different meanings in different cultures around the world. Some were probably used in burial rituals, others satirized the person whose features were captured in clay, and still others were made just for fun.
Potters rarely signed their face vessels before the the 1920s, making attribution difficult. The maker of this face vessel, on the right, is not known. It features rough white clay to represent the teeth and eyes, much as the slave-made pieces used kaolin pieces.
This piece came to the Museum as part of the Van Alstyne Collection of American Folk Art. Eleanor and Mabel Van Alstyne collected more than 300 examples of American folk art over a period of about 40 years.
Location
Currently not on view (base)
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Eleanor and Mabel Van Alstyne American Folk Art Collection
date made
late 1800s-early 1900s
Date made
c. 1850-1860
ID Number
CE.65.1066
catalog number
65.1066
accession number
256396
Object Name
face vessel
vessel, face
Physical Description
stoneware (overall material)
Measurements
base: 1 3/4 in x 5 1/8 in x 5 1/2 in; 4.445 cm x 13.0175 cm x 13.97 cm
overall: 7 3/4 in x 5 13/16 in; 19.685 cm x 14.81658 cm
place made
United States
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
Face Vessels
Cultures & Communities
Domestic Furnishings
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Art Pottery
Blacks
African American
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1322493