This anthropomorphic jug is unusual in that it is made and decorated with features characteristic of both sexes. The body of the pot has been pinched on either side and the clay pulled outwards with the fingers to resemble female breasts with protruding nipples. The face on the upper part of the jug has a beard made from a strip of applied clay in the same fabric as the body and then scored with a sharp tool to represent individual curled hairs. The intention was likely to cause amusement at the dining table when this jug was displayed and used.
Jugs with applied slip and moulded decoration were characteristic of the pottery making centres in Normandy in the 13th century. Many of their products have been found in excavations in England, especially in and around port cities such as Southampton. Undoubtedly, this technique of ceramic decoration influenced the pottery-making centres in England.
In the centre of the jug is a round brooch made of 10 applied pads of clay, each depressed by thumb towards the body. This type of ring brooch was popular in medieval dress in the latter part of the 13th and into the first part of the 14th century. There are other examples of anthropomorphic jugs with ring brooches from this period in the British Museum and in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry.
There has been much speculation over the 'thumbing' found around the footrim of medieval jugs and as seen in this example. Many of the jugs that display this feature have convex, or 'sagging' bottoms. It has been considered that the thumbing was done to counteract this sagging thus enabling the jug to rest more securely on a flat surface without rolling. However, recent experimentation by a potter who has made extensive study of medieval ceramic manufacturing techniques has thrown much new light on this issue.
It had previously been believed that the convex ('sagging') bases on medieval jugs was due to the still wet pot being lifted from the turning wheel. However, if this were the case, the wet clay would have torn rather than sagged. It seems that the sag was created deliberately by the potter when the pot was still on the wheel. The base of the jug could be pressed outwards from the inside of the jug. This would also reduce the amount of contact between the jug and the surface of the wheel and actually aid in its safe removal.
Tests were undertaken using replica medieval jugs with convex bottoms. When filled with liquids, these jugs were stable when placed on a table and did not roll about as had been previously assumed. Additionally, the fact that these jugs had rounded bottoms meant that they could be tilted whilst on the table and their contents poured into drinking containers without having to lift the heavy jugs.
These experiments would indicate then that the thumbed footrim feature on medieval jugs was purely decorative rather than functional. However, other experiments on medieval kiln firing techniques and practices show that the thumbed footrim had a practical function. In order to maximise the space in the kiln, the pots were stacked upside down on top of each other. This means that the top of one pot would come into contact with the bottom of another. By reducing the amount of contact between these pots the separation of any that may have fused together from dripping glaze would be made easier with much less risk of damage.
Physical description
Jug of red earthenware with applied and incised decoration and traces of a brown glaze. The jug is gourd-shaped with a loop handle that is striped and pricked. The base is 'thumbed' all round the footrim. The front of the mouth of the jug is moulded with a rough representation of a human face; below, a formal brooch between human breasts in relief; the lower part of the body has applied straight and wavy vertical stripes.
Place of Origin
England, Great Britain (made)
Date
ca. 1280-1320 (made)
Artist/maker
unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Red earthenware with applied and incised decoration and traces of lead glaze
Dimensions
Height: 34.2 cm, Width: 18.6 cm including handle, Depth: 18.6 cm, Weight: 1.76 kg
Object history note
Formerly owned by Alice Neve, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex. It had been in her family 'many years'.
Historical context note
This anthropomorphic jug is unusual in that it is made and decorated with features characteristic of both sexes. The body of the pot has been pinched on either side and the clay pulled outwards with the fingers to resemble female breasts with protruding nipples. The face on the upper part of the jug has a beard made from a strip of applied clay in the same fabric as the body and then scored with a sharp tool to represent individual curled hairs. The intention was likely to cause amusement at the dining table when this jug was displayed and used.
Jugs with applied slip and moulded decoration were characteristic of the pottery making centres in Normandy in the 13th century. Many of their products have been found in excavations in England, especially in and around port cities such as Southampton. Undoubtedly, this technique of ceramic decoration influenced the pottery-making centres in England.
In the centre of the jug is a round brooch made of 10 applied pads of clay, each depressed by thumb towards the body. This type of ring brooch was popular in medieval dress in the latter part of the 13th and into the first part of the 14th century. There are other examples of anthropomorphic jugs with ring brooches from this period in the British Museum and in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry.
There has been much speculation over the 'thumbing' found around the footrim of medieval jugs and as seen in this example. Many of the jugs that display this feature have convex, or 'sagging' bottoms. It has been considered that the thumbing was done to counteract this sagging thus enabling the jug to rest more securely on a flat surface without rolling. However, recent experimentation by a potter who has made extensive study of medieval ceramic manufacturing techniques has thrown much new light on this issue.
It had previously been believed that the convex ('sagging') bases on medieval jugs was due to the still wet pot being lifted from the turning wheel. However, if this were the case, the wet clay would have torn rather than sagged. It seems that the sag was created deliberately by the potter when the pot was still on the wheel. The base of the jug could be pressed outwards from the inside of the jug. This would also reduce the amount of contact between the jug and the surface of the wheel and actually aid in its safe removal.
Tests were undertaken using replica medieval jugs with convex bottoms. When filled with liquids, these jugs were stable when placed on a table and did not roll about as had been previously assumed. Additionally, the fact that these jugs had rounded bottoms meant that they could be tilted whilst on the table and their contents poured into drinking containers without having to lift the heavy jugs.
These experiments would indicate then that the thumbed footrim feature on medieval jugs was purely decorative rather than functional. However, other experiments on medieval kiln firing techniques and practices show that the thumbed footrim had a practical function. In order to maximise the space in the kiln, the pots were stacked upside down on top of each other. This means that the top of one pot would come into contact with the bottom of another. By reducing the amount of contact between these pots the separation of any that may have fused together from dripping glaze would be made easier with much less risk of damage.
Descriptive line
Red earthenware jug with applied and incised decoration and traces of glazing. English, late 13th or early 14th century.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Desmond Eyles, Good Sir Toby, London: Doulton, 1955
fig.20, p.30 illustrated
D.H. Brown, Pottery in Medieval Southampton. Archaeology Monographs 8 / CBA Research Report 133. Council for British Archaeology, Oxford, 2002
P. Buckland, M. Dolby, C. Hayfield and J. Magilton, The medieval pottery industry in Hallgate, Doncaster. Doncaster Museums and Arts Service: Doncaster, 1979
Bernard Rackham, Medieval English Pottery, London: Faber & Faber, 2nd edition, 1972
H. E. Jean Le Patourel, 'Documentary evidence and the medieval pottery industry', Medieval Archaeology, XII (1968), pp.101-26
R.W. Newell, 'Thumbed and sagging bases on English medieval jugs', Medieval Ceramics, vol.18 (1994), pp.51-58
R.W. Newell, 'Some notes on 'splashed glazes',' Medieval Ceramics, vol.19 (1995), pp.77-88
Age of Chivalry: Art in Plantagenet England 1200-1400, exhibition catalogue, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1987
cats. 549, 550 and 651
Robert J. Charleston & D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Masterpieces of Western Ceramic Art, Vol. VII: English and Dutch Ceramics, Kodansha, 1978
fig.4
Labels and date
Jug
Made in Midlands, England, 14th century
Red earthenware with lead glaze
C.50-1929 [23/05/2008]
Materials
Lead glaze; Red earthenware
Techniques
Glazing
Categories
Ceramics; Drinking; Earthenware
Collection code
CER
