This beautiful pottery face jug is a rare example of southern folk art pottery. Crafted in Georgia by Reggie Meaders, of the Meaders family, the most famous folk potters in the United States, this face jug is a charming piece of folk art. With a cheerful grin and a rarely seen full head of hair, this jug is sure to make you smile. Signed on the bottom \"Reggie Meaders\" and standing at around 8 inches tall, this piece is the perfect size for a collector. Meaders family pieces are rare and in high demand - Reggie would occasionally work individually, but often worked with his wife Flossie. Make sure that you don\'t miss out on adding this very culturally and historically significant piece to your collection!Please note that there is a maker\'s flaw on the top inside of the handle - but it is glazed and not a crack.  Note that the bottom of the handle is perfect which shows the handle was not broken off.There is no doubt Lanier Meaders is the most famous folk potter in the United States.  He is the third son of Aire and Cheever Meaders.  Lanier can be credited with single-handedly keeping Southern folk pottery from all but dying with his distinct style and sculptural creativity.  These qualities are best evidenced in Lanier’s one-of-a kind face jugs, without which no Southern folk pottery collection is complete.Lanier\'s dedication to Southern folk pottery has not gone unnoticed.  Meaders face jugs, being sought after by collectors everywhere, are a featured exhibit in the Smithsonian Institute and other museums around the country.  Lanier along with his mother Arie Meaders, was honored by the Library of Congress with a Meaders Pottery Day in 1978.  In 1983, Lanier was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts and in 1987 he received the Governor’s Award for the Arts in Georgia.  Lanier has received numerous other recognitions and awards.Many peoples lives have been touched by Lanier Meaders: whether they were one of the 10,000-15,000 people who turned out simply to have items autographed by or shake hands with Lanier at his 80th birthday celebration where he was guest of honor for Hewell’s Turning and Burning Festival, Gillsville, Georgia; or whether it was purchasing pottery from the trunk of one of Lanier’s cars.   Through the influence of Lanier, the face of Southern folk pottery will never be the same, whether it be carried on in the tradition of utilitarian wares or face jugs. Lanier Meader’s contributions to Southern folk pottery are best summed up by John A. Burrison in Brothers in Clay:  The Story of Georgia Folk Pottery with his dedication,  \"For Lanier Meaders, without whom all this would be just history.\" Face jug history is surrounded in mystery. Stories vary about who created face jugs and the reasons for their creation range from the 1700s to the present. One version is that an unknown potter in Massachusetts created the first face jug in or around 1810.  This is inconsistent with the theory that face jugs originated with African slaves who worked on American plantations.  A great many slaves brought to the United States were processed in the Caribbean where they acquired a belief in Voodoo. The exposure to Voodoo, along with their own beliefs brought with them from Africa and the introduction to Christianity must have created extraordinary confusion to people from an entirely different culture. Jug shards have been found on grave sites and along underground railroads. This might imply that the face jugs were very important to the escaping slaves.  Speculation is that slaves who were not allowed to have tomb stones. So they developed face jugs as grave markers designed to scare and keep the devil away.  In the 1820\'s the practice of making face jugs spread throughout South Carolina and into Georgia, North Carolina and other states. In the 1830s about seventy folk potters operated pottery shops within a four mile area of Mossy Creek in White County, Georgia.  This became one of the largest pottery communities in the South. Names like Dorsey, Meaders, Craven, Davidson, Pitchford, Brownlow, Warwick, Chandler and Anderson became known, at that time, for their pottery.The purpose of the jug evolved. The face jug also became known as the ugly jug in the 1920\'s and was used to store alcohol. The jugs became uglier in an attempt to identify the contents and frighten children. Parents warned the youngsters to stay away from them. Lanier Meaders (1917-1998) is the most famous Georgia folk potter who made face jugs.  The Meaders family was famous in Georgia for their stoneware pottery.  Lanier was the face jug maker who kept folk art pottery alive in the south   almost on his own! Today, a few family-operated potteries are still making face jugs in the traditional way.  They start with the local clay and fire their work in a wood-burning kiln.  The traditional way of making a face jug would often incorporate the use of porcelain teeth and eyes.  At the end of a long the day of production, scrap clay is frequently used to make face jugs just for fun. Please look closely at the provided images for details of size, condition, design, and authenticity. Additional images and measurements are available upon request.