Click on image to enlarge.

Water Cooler
Alkaline-glazed stoneware with slip decorations

Turning attributed to Thomas Chandler
Phoenix Factory, Edgefield District, SC, ca. 1840-46

Purchase in honor of Audrey Shilt, President of the
Members Guild of the High Museum of Art, 1996-1997
with funds from the Decorative Arts Endowment and
Decorative Arts Acquisition Trust, 1996.132

This water cooler is painted with slip (liquid clay)
and depicts an African American slave bride and
groom. The hog, a symbol of fertility, and a distinc-
tive ceramic vessel (perhaps the cooler itself) are
rendered beneath the couple, who toast one another.