(Mossy Creek, White County, Georgia, 1917-1998) circa 1977, tapered ovoid vase form, alkaline olive green lime glaze, applied cobalt and iron slip decorated snake over applied cobalt grape and alkaline glazed vine decoration, flared rim, signed "Lanier Meaders" on base, 15-1/4 in.

Provenance: From the Folklife Collection of Southern Pottery Scholar, Author and Professor of English at Georgia State University, Dr. John Burrison, Atlanta, Georgia

Note: In the catalog description from Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South, John Burrison, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pg. 127, cat. no. 267, Burrison writes, "Even with such elaborate pieces Lanier did not think of himself as an artist. 'When you see me putting snakes on' he said, 'you know I'm getting tired. It's an excuse to slow down and not make so much pottery.'  The Meaders family began making Oriental-shaped vases about 1930 in response to a tourist market. The grape motif was developed by Lanier's mother, Arie; his own contribution was the snake, inspired by real ones around the shop." 

Exhibited: Previously on Loan at the Atlanta History Center for viewing in the exhibition Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in the Changing South from 1996 to 2024

Illustrated: Brothers in Clay: The Story of Georgia Folk Pottery, John Burrison, University of Georgia Press, 1983, color plate 12, and pg. 273