Very Rare and Important Large-Sized Stoneware Devil Face Jug with Original Cold-Painted Surface, Stamped "Brown Pottery / Arden, N.C. / Handmade", Davis Pennington Brown (1895-1967), Arden, NC, circa 1940, large-sized cylindrical jug, decorated with a hand-modeled and applied clay devil face, including inward-curving horns, a large incised mustache and goatee, bulging eyes with pierced pupils, raised eyebrows with incised hair, large ears with incised dot on interiors, and an open mouth with china teeth. Surface boldly-decorated with original black, red, and white paint including folky white-spotted highlights to goatee, eyelids, and ears. Impressed near base on reverse, "Brown Pottery / Arden, N C / Hand-Made". A penciled price of $3.00 is written on the underside, presumably the jug's cost when it was made. Brown family face vessels reside in several of the nation's leading museums and private collections, among them the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the Smithsonian Institution. This jug is one of a relatively small number of large-sized devil jugs produced by Davis Pennington Brown circa 1940. Within this select group, it is one of the largest, standing 23 3/8" tall, nearly three inches taller than a related example sold in our July 22, 2017 auction, and less than 1/2" shorter than the finest example known, which resides in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Arguably among the greatest 20th century face vessels in existence, this jug's appeal as a work of folk art, already evident in its applied face and monumental size, is augmented by its wonderful painted surface. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, purchased by the consignor approximately forty years ago. Reglued section to goatee. Reglued pieces to one ear. Traces of glue and a tight line at base of one horn indicate the horn was most likely reglued. In-the-making damage to goatee and an in-the-making base chip, both covered in original paint. H 23 3/8".
