jug « Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Archive for the ‘jug’ Category

Gaudy Welsh lustre jug, c.1840

Sunday, December 8th, 2013

This type of pearlware pottery “Dutch” shape jug, decorated in the Oyster pattern, was manufactured in England and Wales between 1820 and 1860, although about 80% of the production of this popular form and pattern was done in Staffordshire, England. Standing nearly 5″ tall, it is hand decorated with cobalt blue underglaze and pink lustre, green, and burnt orange overglaze enamels. Although this is not a hard to find jug, I have yet to see one with this type of seemingly simple, yet elaborate inventive repair.

Sometime in the 19th century after the jug was dropped, causing its handle to break into four pieces, a repairer decided to reinforce the broken pieces, rather than create a new metal replacement. The simple loop handle now contains three metal rivets attached through holes drilled at each broken joint, an iron cuff at the bottom, a ring at the top attached to a rivet drilled through to the inside rim, and a splint made from two thin copper wires soldered to the ends and riveted along each joint. I applaud the anonymous repairer who took a different approach with this type of unusual repair and am glad to have the outcome of his creativity in my collection.

This jug with the same form and decoration has its handle intact.

Photo courtesy of Ruby Lane

Tags:English, lustre, metal handle, pottery
Posted in jug | 2 Comments »

English diptware jug, c.1800

Sunday, October 27th, 2013

I purchased this 7-3/4″ tall jug from a collector last February and it quickly became one of my favorites. The simple form, hot chocolate colored glaze, and impressive tin handle with strapping make it a visual delight. When I brought this jug to one of Don Carpentier’s workshops at Eastfield Village this summer, he marveled at it and said it was something special. So rather than try to describe it myself, here is what Don had to say:

“It is a baluster form English earthenware jug 1790-1810. It is technically know as diptware because it was decorated with slip. The design at the rim inslip-inlaid checkered rouletting. Made by impressing the design in the leather hard clay on the lathe with a roulette tool and then flooding the area with dark slip. When the slip sets up to leather hard it is put back on the lathe and trimmed down flush with the surface of the body and the design is inlaid.”

The tinsmith who crafted the metal replacement handle did a fine job securing it to the jug, by means of straps running diagonally across the ovoid form. He also added a comfortable hand support, thumb rest and small curled flourish at the bottom. Sadly, some of the jug’s best features are covered by the tin handle, such as the intricate leaf terminals and almost half of the checkered rim. But without the added handle, the original owner would not be able to use the jug for its intended purpose and I would have nothing to write about today!

This jug with similar form and rouletted black slip-filled herringbone mid-band, shows what the original loop handle on my jug may have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Prices4Antiques

Tags:English, metal handle, pottery, redware
Posted in jug | 7 Comments »

Nelson commemorative jug, c.1805

Saturday, September 28th, 2013

This colorful “Dutch” shape jug with transfer decoration and overglaze washes was made in Staffordshire, England to commemorate Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died in battle at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. After he was killed by a French sniper, Nelson’s body was preserved in brandy while being transported by ship back to England for burial. Nelson become one of Britain’s greatest war heroes and is memorialized by many London monuments, including Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.

In 1797 during the unsuccessful Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Nelson tragically lost an arm. The ship’s surgeon, James Farquhar, wrote in his journal: “Compound fracture of the right arm by a musket ball passing thro a little above the elbow; an artery divided; the arm was immediately amputated.” Legend has it that within 30 minutes of treatment, Nelson was back in battle commanding his troops.

It seems this jug, too, has been to battle, as sometime in the mid-1800s it’s original handle snapped off and was replaced by a metal one. The itinerant tinsmith did a fine job fashioning a simple yet sturdy loop handle with thumb rest and small flourish at the bottom, which might have been his signature embellishment. It’s a shame that Lord Nelson couldn’t find a replacement for his own missing arm, as seen by the empty draped sleeve in his famous portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott.

This jug, also commemorating the death of Admiral Nelson and with similar form, shows what the handle on my jug might have looked like before it was wounded in battle.

Photo courtesy of Toovey’s

Tags:commemorative, English, metal handle, pearlware, pottery, Staffordshire
Posted in jug | 1 Comment »

Glass jug with metal handle, c.1800

Sunday, August 25th, 2013

I had never seen an early metal replacement handle found on a piece of glassware, until now. This blown glass baluster form jug with cut decoration stands 5-3/4″ tall and was made in England in the late 18th to early 19th century. Etched on the underside is a cursive signature, Neale & Co. WH, above an unpolished pontil scar. James Neale, a London merchant who opened the Church Works in North Staffordshire in the second half of the 18th century, was famous for producing earthenware in the style of neighbor Josiah Wedgwood’s ubiquitous pottery. Neale’s wares were of the same fine quality and though rivals, he helped Wedgwood, when in a pinch, with large orders that needed to be filled. Though known mostly for producing ceramic tableware and figures, Neale & Co. also housed glassware merchants at the Church Works, which explains why this unusual mark is found on my glass jug.

As I usually come across either handles still covered in rattan or exposed bare metal handles with all covering long gone, I was pleased to find this hybrid. It reveals a half-round crimped support strip of rattan along the interior of the handle, and also shows the remains of a decoratively woven outer cover. Pieces such as this seemingly inconsequential imperfect repair help collectors and scholars discover the early methods of repair and insulation. So thanks to those who owned this wonderful jug before me, keeping the remains of this most inventive repair intact!

This crystal jug shows what the original applied handle might have looked like on my jug.

Photo courtesy of Replacements

Tags:English, glass, metal handle, rattan
Posted in jug | 2 Comments »

German Maskau jug, c.1740

Sunday, July 14th, 2013

This rustic brown stoneware jug with ovoid body was made in the Muskau region of Germany in the mid 1700s. It is decorated with incised stylized foliate against a crosshatched ground above vertical fluting and black glaze highlights. Remains of the original stoneware handle can be seen beneath the metal replacement. It is attached at the top to the remains of the pewter lid hinge and at the bottom using a horizontal metal band, blending in nicely and appearing to be a part of the original design. An additional horizontal band around the neck helps to stabilize the multiple cracks beneath. The original pewter mounted lid went missing long ago, which is not uncommon for a much-used flagon of this age. It measures nearly 9-1/2″ high.

This fine example has its original handle intact and shows what mine would have looked like before it broke and was brought to the local tinker for repair.

Photo courtesy of Martyn Edgell

Tags:German, metal handle, pewter, pottery, stoneware
Posted in jug | 2 Comments »

Porcelain blue & white jug c.1785

Saturday, May 18th, 2013

Chinese porcelain baluster-form hot milk jug with sparrow beak spout, made in the mid to late 18th century during the Qianlong Period (1736-1795). Delicately decorated in underglaze cobalt blue, it shows a large vase sitting on a carved wood table and filled with precious objects surrounded by flowers and a pair of bees. The scale of these objects is a bit off-kilter, which adds a whimsical quality. Jug measures 5-3/4″ high and 4″ wide to the end of handle.

The original porcelain handle was replaced over one hundred years ago with a woven wicker-covered bronze replacement. I have dozens of examples of wicker-covered metal replacement handles in my collection, as this was a standard form of inventive repair; and at first glance, the handles all look pretty much the same, but upon closer inspection, you will see a variation in the pattern of the weaving. This handle has a straightforward checkerboard weave, while some of my pieces have the rattan in more than one color and woven in a more intricate pattern. I think a post dedicated to showing the many variations of woven-handle styles would be interesting, don’t you?

This blue & white decorated jug with similar form still has its porcelain handle and lid intact. Before my jug became an example of “inventive repair” it would have looked much like this one.

Photo courtesy of eBay

Tags:blue & white, bronze, Chinese, metal handle, Qianlong, rattan
Posted in jug | 3 Comments »

Small creamware jug, c.1810

Sunday, December 16th, 2012

This small, lightweight ribbed creamware jug with gadrooned rim was made in England at the turn of the 19th century. It measures 3-1/4″ tall and has a replaced handle made of aluminum, a material I rarely encounter on repaired items. Two small rivets hold the handle to the body, which can be seen from the inside of the jug. I am glad that some of the cream colored enamel, painted in the same color as the jug and intended to mask the early repair have chipped away, exposing portions of the raw metal underneath.

Tags:creamware, English, metal handle, pottery
Posted in jug | 2 Comments »

White ironstone water jug, c.1870

Saturday, October 27th, 2012

Not much is known about this large white ironstone water jug with impressed basket weave design and pearlware glaze. It was found at a bottle dig site in Harper’s Ferry, NY, and remarkably, the tin handle, buried in the ground for dozens of years, remained mostly intact. The neck and spout of the jug were not so lucky, as much has broken off, revealing an asymmetrical jagged edge. This scrappy jug was made in England in the mid to late 19th century, and measures 9-1/4″ hight to top of handle and is 7-1/2″ at its widest point.

This intact jug shows what the original handle and top edge of my jug would have looked like before the tumble.

Photo courtesy of One Kings Lane

Tags:English, metal handle, pearlware, pottery
Posted in jug | 1 Comment »

Small copper lustre gravelware jug, c.1840

Saturday, September 22nd, 2012

A tiny copper lustre jug, made in England in the mid-19th century, has an applied decorative gravel band at the bottom. It measures just 2-3/4″ tall.

In America, lustreware became popular in mid-19th century. During the Victorian period, a certain dinner party fad was to place lustreware pieces on a mirrored platform as a table centerpiece and watch the glow of gaslight sparkle and shimmer.

Over 100 years ago, a tinsmith made a sturdy replacement handle with two support straps after the original handle broke off. I particularly like the elegant loop the handle makes at the peak, avoiding the remaining broken fragment of the original.

This jug, with similar form and decoration, shows what the simple handle on my perfectly imperfect jug would have looked like before its disfiguring accident.

Photo courtesy of best military watch

Tags:English, lustre, metal handle, pottery
Posted in jug | No Comments »

Mini Sunderland jug with EHFDR, c.1850

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

I recently found a third example of a damaged piece repaired with an EHFDR (Emergency Handle for Domestic Receptacles). This little pottery “Dutch’ shape jug, with orange lustre and transfer decoration of a sailing ship, stands just 3-3/4″ high and is 4-3/4” wide. It was made in Sunderland, England, in the middle of the 19th century. The mass-produced replacement handle was added sometime after 1922.

Please take a look at a previous post showing 2 other completely different drinking vessels with the same commercially made patented replacement handles.