Memory Vessel with Encased Photograph

Object Details

Artist

Unidentified (American)

Luce Center Label

Some memory jars may have come from African American traditions of decorating graves with objects owned by the deceased. The objects embedded in the surface of these bottles and jars provide clues about when they were made or who made them. For example, Jug with Finial includes a campaign button for William Jennings Bryan, a Democratic presidential candidate between 1896 and 1908, while High-Buttoned Shoe shows a macabre row of teeth that may have belonged to the maker.

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson

after 1933

Object number

1986.65.308

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Decorative Arts-Ceramic

Folk Art

Medium

mixed media on ceramic

Dimensions

10 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (26.0 x 18.4 cm) diam.

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Decorative Arts

On View

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 26A

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Figure group

Allegory\other\memory

Record ID

saam_1986.65.308

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk700fc6a43-4994-4791-a5d0-8d3bcf744cad