AFA 20th Anniversary

20th Anniversary 154 www.afamag.com |  www.incollect.com Snake jug, Anna Pottery (1859–1896), Anna, Ill., ca. 1865. Salt-glazed stoneware. Museum purchase, partial gift of Mr. & Mrs. Milton Schaible (1976.900.5). This jug, with its cold painted writhing snakes, frogs, dung beetles, and human figures crawling in and out, has often been mistaken for a piece of visual propaganda in support of the nineteenth-century social temperance movement against alcohol consumption. However, Cornwall and Wallace Kirkpatrick, owners of the Anna Pottery, where this jug was made, were known non- supporters of temperance and recent scholarship suggests that the Anna Pottery snake jugs were actually social and political statements against what the Kirkpatricks regarded as late- nineteenth century Victorian prejudices. In fact, Cornwall spoke out against temperance during political speeches. Wallace served a six-month term with a local temperance group, but he was considered an embarrassment to that organization when his true views on the subject were revealed. This jug and others like it were actually meant to be ironic; a playfully cynical commentary on drinking and the temperance movement. Jardinière, Michael Crocker (b. 1956), Melvin Crocker (b. 1959), and Pauline Crocker (dates?); Lula, Hall, and Banks Counties, Ga., 1997. Ash-glazed stoneware. H. 35⅜ inches. Gift of Daisy Wade Bridges (2010.900.3). Unlike many contemporary potters, the Crockers of Georgia work only with local clays and handmade glazes. These traditional practices link them directly to the history of Georgia folk pottery. This jardinière or plant stand was crafted by several members of the Crocker family, each one lending his/her specialization to the object: Michael threw the body of the vessel, his brother Melvin sculpted the snakes, and their mother, Pauline, modeled the flowers. The result is a cohesive object that not only represents the skills of each potter, but also blends their talents to create an object with near lifelike features, from the venomous fangs and shimmering scales of the snake that entwines itself around the pedestal, to the petals of vining flowers.