“Free Hand” Vase

Imperial Glass Company

1923-1924

See More of the Collection

Green and red stars with green stripping
Thorny Crown quilt.
Uncle Sam dominates the center of the composition and waves miniature American flags with each hand, while standing atop a rainbow with the word "peace." Uncle Sam is surrounded by bust portraits of various United States presidents and famous quotes or slogans associated with them. From 11 o'clock, these are: Abraham Lincoln ("A house divided cannot stand"); George Washington ("Father of Our Country"); Richard Nixon ("I'm not a crook."); Dwight D. Eisenhower ("I Like Ike."); John F. Kennedy ("Ask not what your country can do for you…"); Woodrow Wilson ("Make the world safe for democracy"); Theodore Roosevelt ("…carry a big stick."); Franklin D. Roosevelt ("We have nothing to fear…"); and Harry S. Truman ("The buck stops here."). At center left and right, the word "WAR" is stitched beside firing cannons. The inner border consists of alternating red and white squares. The white squares are surmounted by blue five-pointed stars. The outer border is comprised of many small rectangular pieces of fabric in myriad colors.
Tall, baluster-shaped face jug of tan stoneware covered with a darker alkaline glaze, with lopsided ears and applied, prominent eyebrows, the brown eyes protrude from their sockets and are highlighted with white glaze, the nose has large, flared nostrils, the wide mouth shows a goofy grin with six upper, square white teeth, the double lower lip with four square white teeth on each side, with a handle in back, two gray streaks of glaze run down the backside, the entire body with flecks of blue.