c. 1923-1936

Devil Face Jug

Inscribed: T.S. MORRISON HARDWARE STORE LEXINGTON AVENUE ASHEVILLE NC

North Carolina is home to a long tradition of small family potteries that produce primarily domestic objects. A distinctive southern form, face jugs were created from standard jugs to which facial features were added. They supposedly originated as grave markers, but were just as likely to have been a potter's whimsy. As the inscription attests, Davis Brown designed this stoneware jug for display in the window of T. S. Morrison's hardware store in Asheville, which sold utilitarian wares by the Brown Pottery. However, women from a local church were offended by the image of Satan and demanded the jug's removal.