Lot #: 79A
Price Realized: $1,035.00
($900 hammer, plus 15% buyer's premium)
PLEASE NOTE: This result is 8 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. 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.
Exceptional Stoneware Face Wig Stand, Southern U.S. origin, possibly North Carolina or Georgia, first half 20th century, large-sized, bulbous form with footed base, wide opening at top, and original hole in underside, decorated with an applied clay face featuring an open mouth with china teeth and highly unusual lamb chop sideburns. Surface covered in a streaky Albany slip glaze, overlain with darker runs. Matte red and black highlights to eyes, nostrils, and mouth. Heavily-combed embellishments to sideburns, forehead, and shoulder area on front and reverse, forming the figure's hair. While the wig stand became popular as a Southern folk art form in the second half of the 20th century, produced on occasion by Lanier Meaders and Burlon Craig, this example predates such works and is possibly the earliest to have surfaced. It may have been produced by a member of the illustrious Brown family of potters, who were active in Georgia and more predominantly North Carolina, sharing some similarities to the work of Evan Javan Brown (1897-1980). The form and certain aspects of the face, however, are unknown in Brown family products. This recently-surfaced work has a wonderful presence about it, created by its size, folky features, and elegant potting. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, previously from a South Carolina private collection. Excellent condition with a small rim chip, small chips to ears, and some minor wear to high points. Original hole in underside plugged with black wax. H 12".
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