Rare African-American Alkaline Glazed Stoneware with Kaolin Inserts Face Jug, Edgefield District, South Carolina, circa 1860-1880

a rare small scaled face jug with delineated brow and eye. 

Overall fine condition, with a hairline crack at the base of the left ear and some loses from the bottom of the ear to the cheek, and an old chip in the neck of the jug.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Recent scholarship has theorized that these vessels were largely ceremonial and possibly used for conjuring.  Recommend readings included Mark M. Newell with Peter Lenzo, "Making Faces: Archaeological Evidence of African-American Face Jug Production," American Ceramics 2006, ed. Robert Hunter, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone foundation, 2006), pp. 122-38, Claudia Arzeno Mooney, April L. Hynes, and Mark M. Newell, "African-American Face Vessels: History and Ritual in 19th-Century Edgefield," American Ceramics 2013, ed. Robert Hunter, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone foundation, 2013), pp. 2-37, and the Chipstone foundation's exhibition Face Jugs: Art and Ritual in Nineteenth-century South Carolina accessible online at  http://chipstone.org/exhibitionframe.php/5/Face-Jugs/.