DISCOVERART

Artist unknown

Face Flask

1820–35
Stoneware and salt glaze with iron and cobalt oxide glazes
8.9 × 12.7 cm (3.5 × 5 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

By the early 1800s various groups of potters in the eastern United States were making ceramic vessels representing the human face. In this instance, the potter rendered the features through a combination modeling the eyes, nose, mouth, and one ear in three dimensions; incising the hair and other ear into the clay; and using contrasting glazes for the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth. Meant to hold shot or powder, the flask originally had a stopper. It was once owned by the Congregational minister, missionary, and explorer Samuel Parker (1779–1866), who was known for creating the earliest reliable map of the Oregon Territory in 1838. Parker also advised the US Government on locations for the Transcontinental Railroad.

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