Face jugs have cultural roots in the anthropomorphized pottery of West Africa. Slave traders often targeted skilled laborers, including potters, which contributed to the spread of West African traditions on American soil, such as anthropomorphized vessels. Many nineteenth-century face jugs like this one came from Edgefield, South Carolina—a major producer of American stoneware pottery—where many factory workers were of African descent. Face jugs have been found at sites along the Underground Railroad, suggesting they were so valued that people carried them during the dangerous journey to freedom.