Odd Jug I have not been able to find out much about

[ROBBYBOBBY64]

Yes, southern Pa. is where the barn is...it's still there.
I just measured it for the first time...interesting...it is 13 inches from tip to tip across the "football" and 13 inches tall from base to top of handle. Very close anyway.
It weighs 4 pounds 8 ounces.

No markings at all when it comes to names, maker's marks, and so on.

It just has those neat little snakes and frowns all over it.

It's white and it looks to me to be made out of clay or a terra cotta material more than stoneware or crock. The funny swirls and dots all over it are strange. Do they have meaning or are they just abstract decoration?. It looks Meso-American or Pre-Columbian or from some other ancient civilization. The big spout side has different decoration than the little spout side. Meaning?. Two frowns parallel on the little spout and one large diagonal frown on the larger spout. Are those squiggles represent snakes?. Looks like it but I'm not sure.

Thanks, I will relay this information and new images. I have to say, it looks like it was never used. If it was maybe just water as you said in a previous post.
ROBBYBOBBY64.

 

[rich]

OK, $.02...Diane and I picked up a ceramic fired vessel in Portugal back in 1980 at a local market. It had the larger opening to fill and cork, with the smaller nipple to pour from into one's mouth. I imagine it could be filled with some sort of alcohol to "disinfect" but was primarily used for water. Your football shape makes me think of the ease to lift and pour, ours was hourglass shaped with the bottom 3x larger than the top. Ring handle on the top as yours. About 13" tall with a 10" diameter. The glazing on ours was painted with blues and reds on a creamy yellow base.

 

[Jamdam]

So, I’m also going to ask a couple of archeologists I work with but am pretty sure this is not American Indian pottery. I’ve seen a lot and this is too well done with decorations not typical in any vessels made by prehistoric people like American Indians. Just to be clear, the native Americans like the Pueblo and especially the Caddo made spectacular pottery in a lot of varieties and forms including effigy pots. My guess is early Dutch settler made as decorations look a lot like examples on Dutch chests. I’ll let you know what my friends say.

 

[Codozalator]

Thanks for your interest and persistence. I, too, doubt it is American Indian pottery, but more likely Pa. Dutch.
Pa. Dutch, which is really German, decent would make more sense as this area was settled by those folks. Classic rural Appalachian foothills. Scot-Irish, German, some English. Names once popular in this area were Imes, Perdew, Lashley, Wertz, Bennett, Swartzwelder, Beck, et, al.
As can be seen, many are German names. The jug actually came out of a barn owned by a gentleman by the surname Ash. Ergo, your "Dutch" assessment would make sense. I am anxious if there would be someone out there in this Universe that actually knows about this oddity. I have never run into an item so unknown and obscure.

 

[Jamdam]

I’ve been looking at a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art chests, baskets, and boxes and am more convinced this jug uses similar iconography but simple compared to most of their work. They used flowing vines, flowers, and other natural images on everything. I attached a typical example. The similarities with your piece seems to me to be the flowing plant-like nature of some the engravings. I may be way off here but best I have for now. Archaeologists confirm not traditional Native American pottery. They pointed out the even coloration which points toward a temperature controlled kiln and not a traditional fire cured pot. Also the tooled lips and near perfect symmetry point towards more sophisticated manufacturing. See what you think about any stylistic similarities

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