Covered dish still bank c. late 19th century

Curator: Here we have George Ohr's "Covered dish still bank," dating from the late 19th century, made of glazed earthenware. Editor: It strikes me as profoundly earthy. The brown glaze is so tactile, it appears as though the clay itself is erupting, almost molten. Is this intentional? Curator: I think it absolutely is. Ohr's ceramics are very expressive, full of intentional imperfections. Think of it as a physical manifestation of thrift and future savings. The covered form, though simple, represents concealment and protection, evoking associations of trust, legacy, and inherited financial security. The fact that it’s a "still bank," lacking any mechanical parts, reinforces the permanence and solidity of the savings it contains. Editor: Speaking of the "still bank" construction, observe how the body's texture is disrupted. There’s a visible attempt at achieving structural equilibrium; note how Ohr uses form and surface treatment to communicate about value systems related to wealth. Curator: I'd concur. I also detect something else beyond mere functionality. The earthenware base can connote humbler origins in folk traditions—linking this personal safe or bank back into wider, sometimes rural and agrarian communities of meaning. Editor: Yes, I think there’s also a subversive tension at play, wouldn't you say? An attempt, or perhaps sub-conscious, desire to upset the rigid expectations about financial aesthetics of its era, by drawing our awareness to basic materials like ceramic, instead of gold or metallic representations? Curator: Precisely. Its unassuming form belies the more subversive intention: to reflect honestly, perhaps cynically, about personal responsibility with managing private finances. Editor: A simple yet resonant form—visually striking but materially, so much more. Curator: Yes, a complex layering of ideas compacted within seemingly mundane ceramic earthenware.