Ring Jug (with Stand)

Ring Jug (with Stand). 1880-1890.
Earthenware.
22.9 cm (d) x 6.35 cm (depth).
Courtesy of The Charleston Museum.

Attributed to the Landrum/Stork Pottery in Columbia, South Carolina, this stoneware ring jug is of a type produced in the South throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Ring jugs were made using the coil-built method, wherein the potter looped a roll of clay into the vessel’s intended shape, building coils upward from a sturdy base. The ring jug’s striking design is utilitarian in origin; Although they lack a conventional handle, ring jugs are convenient to carry, and slaves could easily strap them across their bodies while working in the fields. The jug’s circular shape also helped to keep water cool. Later, soldiers in the Civil War may have also used these handy jugs, wearing them around their wrists like bracelets, or hanging them on the horns of their saddles. 

Han Zaw ‘15