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
Chastity belt.
Great find, Andrew
Thanks for sharing.
Étonnant ; et superbe, bravo !
Oddly enough, I used to own the complete jug you show for comparison. Your make-do is superb. I’ve had a number of jugs with the pendant below the snip (pouring lip) but had never seen this particular design. And the roulette pattern is new to me as well—not your everyday checkering!
De plus en plus fascinant!
Love it. Do you suppose the milkmaid took it to the tinsmith with a tearful plea 200 years ago,we are lucky rich but we have lost somthing are we choking on stuff?. Who would think of repairing a jug?
If our governments were as dedicated to repairing international relations as these tin smiths were at repairing jugs we would have world peace! A standard to aspire to!