Evening Dress

Possibly New Orleans, Louisiana

About 1920-1930

  • Titles Evening Dress (Descriptive)
  • Medium silk satin and lace
  • Dimensions 52 x 18 in. (132.1 x 45.7 cm)
  • Credit Line Gift of Barbara Adler Zeluck and Richard M. Adler in memory of their parents, Hermione and Julian Adler, 1991.807a-d
  • Work Type evening dress
  • Classification Costume

See More of the Collection

Strip quilt with polyester double-knit fabric.
A figural jug depicting an African-American man with exaggerated facial features, particularly his caricatured lips, nose and ears. His curly hair is formed by incised repeating loops, resembling scribbles. He wears a cap, hoop earrings, shirt with a stand up collar (and single visible stud or button), cravat, and a coat with broad lapels and buttons impressed with “J. LEHMAN,” the maker’s name. A large, buckle-like square probably surrounded a paper label for whatever product the jug contained. The figure has arms, but no hands, and is rendered to appear as if his hands are shoved in the pockets of his coat. There are small air holes at the back of each arm to prevent an explosion during firing. The jug’s handle is a shaped like the number 9, and is finished (where the tail of the handle meets the body of the jug) with a mold-formed grape and grape leaf motif found in some of Lehman’s other decorated vessels. There appears to be an oval incised on the bottom of the vessel.
Ovoid five-gallon jug with unusual shaped strap-handles from lip to shoulder
Boy's skirted gladiator style outfit, see photograph 565.2010