Jar with Bilateral Lug Handles
Unidentified (Artist)
Until the mid-twentieth century, people used large stoneware pots to store homemade butter, syrups, fruit, and meat. They also fermented and stored alcohol in heavy bell jars that kept the brew airtight and cool. Craftsmen used local clays and handmade glazes to create these pots and rarely applied any decoration. The glazes were made from sand, clay, lime, or wood ash, and often ran down the clay during firing to create a "tobacco spit" effect.
Credit: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
20th century (pre-1974)
Glazed stoneware
36.0 x 29.2cm
1986.65.37
Image and text: Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2024
Where you'll find this
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Permanent collection