Highly Important "Hon. Fred Douglass" Face Jug by J. A. Roberts, Cookeville, TN, c1895
Winter 2025 Auction of the Carole Wahler Collection
Lot #: 5
Estimate: $25,000-$40,000.A Note About Estimates
Minimum Bid: $10,000.
Highly Important Salt-Glazed Stoneware Face Harvest Jug, Inscribed "The Hon. Fred Dougless" on Reverse and "Negro" on Underside, Stamped "J.A. ROBERTS / COOKEVILLE / POTTERY / TENN / 25 CTS," circa 1895, ovoid form with individually-thrown and applied spouts on the front and reverse shoulder, the handle modeled in the form of a squared tree branch with incised bark, the front featuring a hand-modeled and applied clay face, including orb-shaped eyes within almondine lids, small C-scroll ears, a nose with upturned tip and carved nostrils, and open mouth. Depressions around the eyes and flanking the mouth add structure and realism to the face. Incised on reverse with the inscription, "The Hon. Frederick Dougless," and on the underside with the word, "Negro." The exceptionally large impressed maker's mark of John A. Roberts appears on the reverse of the jug, extending onto the vessel's proper right side. The base includes the large, impressed price of "25 CTS.," a rarely-seen treatment suggesting this piece may have been displayed for sale at a local event. The surface features a dipped, brown slip coating with overlying salt glaze, which together create a greenish coloration where the salt vapors adhered in heavier concentrations. Regarded as Roberts's masterwork, this jug was likely made to commemorate abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, upon his death in 1895. Only a handful of face jugs by this potter are known. An undocumented example, inscribed for a local African-American farmer, corroborates the potter's stance on civil rights. A third, lacking an inscription, maker's mark, and handle, resides in the collection of Colonial Williamsburg's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, gifted by Rockefeller in 1935. The sculptural quality, fine condition, and large impressed maker's mark found on Roberts's Frederick Douglass jug place it among the finest face vessels known from the state of Tennessee. However, its extraordinary inscription honoring America's most prominent abolitionist establish this work as one of the most historically significant pieces of American stoneware known. Exhibited: Tennessee Turned, Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900, Museum of East Tennessee History, May 16-October 30, 2011. Provenance: Purchased by Wahler at a James Gill auction in Northern Ohio. Chipping to tip of nose. Other minor chips to applied face. One chip to spout on front. Two chips and edge wear to spout on reverse. Light wear to handle. H 11".
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