Billy Ray Hussey (b. 1955, Robbins, North Carolina) Southern folk pottery lion, hand modeled in a standing pose with open mouth, pierced eyes, heavily textured mane and distinctive curled tail. The dark earthy surface and extensively worked texture give the animal a wonderfully primitive and sculptural character. Hussey comes from a multigenerational Seagrove-area pottery family and learned the craft as a child in the shop of his great-uncle, noted potter Melvin L. Owens. His work is represented in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. 9"x7" mint condition as fired from the aritst.