Of the many crafts indigenous to South Carolina, one of the most interesting is the pottery face jug, or "ugly jug". The tradition of pottery with faces dates back to Egyptian times and appears in many other cultures throughout the ages. The first face vessel created in the U.S. was created by an unknown Massachusetts potter around 1810. What makes the face vessels so unique and special to our area of South Carolina is how they were created. It was the combination of site and situation that the most prolific production of face vessels occurred at the Southern Porcelain factory in Bath, South Carolina during the mid 1800's. Kaolin clay was combined with the dark stoneware clays on the jugs to make features that clearly mimmic human eyeballs and teeth. Research has shown that both white and black potters created these vessels - not just the slave potters. The vessels sold well because there was a need to store moonshine in a container that didn't look like every other jug in the house pantry. Children were strongly warned against touching that jug or "the boogie man would get ya!" Consequently the jugs were made as mean looking and ugly as possible, and generally the faces were crudely fashioned. After the Civil War, pottery production in South Carolina declined. Itinerant potters, who hired out their skills, moved on following the westward expansion of our country and the tradition of "ugly jug" making continued in North Carolina and Georgia with some generations of potter families who farmed and threw pots to make a living. Face jugs continued to be a good seller - especially during the temperance movement. Today, contemporary potters have resurrected the interest in face jugs and some of the older generation of potters (Craig, Meaders & Brown - now deceased ) who could hardly get 25 cents for their jugs are now selling at four and five digit prices for a big jug!

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