ANTIQUE POTTERY FACE JUG PITCHER HAS NORTH WIND FACE? CAN YOU ID?

[magickman]

Wow over 110 views and still no one has offered and ID! Anyone? I bought this unique pottery pitcher at an estate sale a few years back and can not identify it. A deep internet search turned up nothing like this at all. Has anyone ever seen a face jug/pitcher like this? If so please write a reply. It stands about 13 inches tall. The face reminds me of a very old depiction of the North Wind. Then again it almost has Mayan quality to it. Perhaps it is simply whimsical folk art? It is very heavy, just over 5 lbs! It is made of thrown clay pottery and reminds me of some very old Indian pots I have seen. It appears to be earth fired and is very black inside. It has a matt type finish and an applied handle. As a curator of a museum I have seen a great deal of old pottery over the years and I can make an educated guess that it is between 100 and 150 years old. It could be older. It is not signed nor incised with any marks at all. Please help me to identify this mysterious piece of pottery. Thanks!
Magickman

[Monty]

No idea! Big help huh? Monty

[Tigger]

I was sure someone would have something better to add, but since no-one has chimed in, I'll give you what I've got. History Dectectives did a piece on face jugs a little while ago (http://whyy.org/cms/news/arts-entert...adelphia/35946) - they were quite different, but perhaps they might help you??
Tigger

[magickman]

If all the experts I know are out there at Treasurenet don't know then where to now?
Thanks for the replies! Magickman

[Breezie]

Hello, What makes you think it is 100 to 150 years old? I'm not doubting because you can hold it in your hand, and we only have a few pics in which to judge. The clay doesn't look crazed from the pics? Does it have hairline crazing that is not showing up in the pics? Pics of the inside would be good too.

Some of the first face jugs were crudely made by slaves in South Carolina in the early to mid 1800s. Your jug looks to have been thrown on a wheel with an applied face and handle.

Breezie

[DCMatt]

I spent a couple of hours on this but, without any additional information and my lack of background in the subject, further research was futile.

DCMatt

[magickman]

Well we will post it on ebay and see if anyone out there knows anything about it or its value...thanks again to those who wrote in. Magickman