Extremely Rare Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Face Jug with Rock Eyes and Teeth, attributed to Cheever and Lanier Meaders, Cleveland, GA, circa 1967, ovoid jug with semi-squared spout, decorated with a hand-modeled and applied clay face featuring large rock eyes set within protruding lids, curved ears, rounded nose, and broad, slightly-open mouth. Light depressions on the front and side of jug mimic the structure of the human face. Surface covered in a mottled olive-green alkaline glaze with high gloss. The large rock eyes include this glazing with some areas omitted on the proper right eye, revealing visually-appealing iron oxide inclusions inherent to the quartz. A collaborative work by father, Cheever, and son, Lanier, this work was made when The Smithsonian purchased over two-hundred Meaders jugs to be sold at their Folklife Festival in 1967. A significant new discovery from Lanier Meaders's earliest years of face jug production. Provenance: A recently-surfaced example, acquired by the parents of the consignor at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1967. A minor in-the-firing chip to proper right handle, which is lightly glazed over. Some colored filler added to an in-the-firing separation to left edge of lid of proper left eye and underside of left eye, likely added at the pottery prior to sale. H 8 3/4".
