Memory Jug with tintype photograph. American. 1880s-1910
Memory jugs are a humorous type of Southern American folk art that were made from recycled common things — bottles, ceramics, mirrors — in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This example, which pays homage to a man who was clearly a laborer, is decorated with trinkets, including glass shards, coins, mirrors, small tools and other visual reminders of a loved family member. It's unusual to find jugs with photographs or those overpainted in gilt. Like other popularly recognized art forms, it was briefly revived in the 1960s-80s.
