This large stoneware pitcher with applied moulded bearded facemask, Crucifixion scenes and arcade of apostles is of documentary significance in that it bears the mark of the potter Jan Emens Mennicken (1540-93) as well as that of the stoneware merchant, Cornelis de Wall of Antwerp. In the 1570s, Raeren pots were marketed in large numbers both locally and to countries in north-west Europe. Cornelius de Wall, also an engraver and pewterer, was Jan Emens' business associate, responsible for exporting Emens' stoneware through Antwerp, an important port and trading centre, both to customers in the Netherlands and overseas.
Pitchers were serving vessels for wine or perhaps water. Contemporary paintings show that they were often kept on the floor by the side of the dining table, in readiness to replenish smaller table jugs and glasses when required.

In 1570s, when this object was made, the village of Raeren was in Germany. 12 km. south-east of Aachen between the rivers Rur and Meuse, it is nowadays in Belgium, 1 km from the German border. The area was ideal for making pots, being rich in stoneware clays and abundant sources of water and wood. Output was prolific in the 15th to 17th centuries and the potteries catered for local demand as well as exporting to north-west Europe.

Historical significance: Potters from Langerwehe are thought to have moved to Raeren in about 1400 and potting was well-established there by 1480s. In the 1525-50 period, Raeren wares were of all German stonewares the most frequently traded through Netherlandish ports. There was demand for these vessels across north-west Europe. From about 1540, when the potters of Raeren and its vicinity began to form themselves into an association which later became a guild, the pots began to be decorated with ornate and detailed applied moulded relief decoration. This made the pots more desirable still and enabled the potters to export fewer general wares and charge a higher price for decorated wares which were aimed at the local middle to upper class market. Raeren retained prominence in wares such as this until the early 17th century. This key phase was led by the Mennicken (or Menneken) family of whom the most prolific was Jan Emens Mennicken (1540-93) who signed his wares variously IE, JE, YE, IEM, JEM or YEM from 1566. His workshop continued to use these and other marks until 1613 (long after his death). About 180 of his vessels are extant. He developed the baluster-shaped jug with cylindrical neck and body panels for friezes, and the grey rather than brown body painted with zones or highlights in cobalt-blue (known as Blauwerk) from 1580s. He is famed for his technical mastery and innovation.
Jan Emens Mennicken began to produce large decorated bellied pitchers with bearded facemasks from about 1570. The motif is more usually associated with bottles from Cologne and Frechen, for whom it became a speciality. This pitcher is of particular documentary importance in that it demonstrates a link between the potter, Jan Emens Mennicken whose mark is shown on the shield above the arcade, and his business associate Cornelius de Wall of Antwerp. Cornelius de Wall was an engraver, pewterer and free Master of the Guild of St. Luke. He and his brother Matthias managed the business of his father Adrianus who was described as a merchant and manufacturer in stoneware pots and vessels. Jan Emens Mennicken was the potter, while de Wall is not likely to have made pots personally but was responsible for marketing and exporting the ware through Antwerp, an important port and trading centre, both to customers in the Netherlands and overseas. A stoneware fragment in the Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf, bears an inscription which also links Emens with de Wall, naming de Wall as a pot seller and Jan Emens as his compatriot (Raeren was not in Germany then). The Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen has a funnel-necked beaker bearing the same two marks of Jan Emens and Cornelius de Wall.