The cylindrical body, prominent, curved, spout and curving handle of this ewer are characteristic of sixteenth and seventeenth-century Spanish jugs, particularly those produced in Seville. However, the winged women, bearded heads enclosed in roundels, and monstrous figures that decorate the body and handle of this example are more characteristic of goldsmiths' work from Cuenca (central Spain). The combination of styles means the ewer has been attributed to Juan Ruiz el Vandalino, asixteenth-century goldsmith who worked in both Cuenca and Seville.
Contemporaries referred to this type of ewer as a 'jarro de pico' (literally 'pointed/spouted jug'). They were commonly used in a domestic setting, either as water jugs at table or, when paired with a basin, as ewers for handwashing.