Very Rare Stoneware Face Jug attrib. William Hewell at the "Daddy Bill" Dorsey Pottery, Mossy Creek, White County, GA

Winter 2025 Auction of the Carole Wahler Collection

Lot #: 159

Price Realized: $9,000.00

($7,500 hammer, plus 20% buyer's premium)

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Auction Highlight: Winter 2025 Auction of the Carole Wahler Collection Auction | Southern Pottery | Face Jugs

Winter 2025 Auction Catalog

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Very Rare Albany-Slip-Glazed Stoneware Face Jug, attributed to William Hewell at the "Daddy Bill" Dorsey Pottery, Mossy Creek, White County, GA, early 20th century, wheel-thrown, ovoid form with narrow vent hole in top, applied tubular pouring spout on reverse, and vertical strap handle with unusual placement on the vessel's side; decorated with a hand-modeled and applied clay face including raised eyes and pupils set within flattened lids, C-scroll ears, a nose with carved nostrils, slightly open mouth, and broad chin. This jug includes a treatment regionally popular for this form: a depressed area following the contour of the jawline, creating a neck below the head. Top of head and reverse include incised strokes forming hair. Surface covered in a chocolate-brown Albany slip glaze. Affectionately referred to by Wahler as "Zonka," this jug is perhaps the finest Georgia face vessel to come to auction in years, a masterwork by a dynastic potting family that is active to this day. Literature: Illustrated in Burrison, Brothers in Clay, p. 230. Excellent condition with a minor in-the-firing ping and tiny nick to proper right ear and a minor chip and nick to nose. H 9 3/8".