“Our America” Chop Plate

Pattern Designed by Rockwell Kent, Shape designed by Gale Turnbull, and Jane Bennison Howell, Manufactured by Vernon Kilns

1940

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Black figured fabric, high neck, ruffled yoke; long, straight sleeves with lace cuffs; jet bead trim around yoke front and at cuffs
Log cabin quilt in bright colors
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.
Turkey Tracks variation quilt