Description:
German grey-bodied stoneware jug decorated in cobalt blue enamel. This jug has a history of ownership in the family of Miles Standish, an original member of the Plymouth colony, and was thought by family tradition to have been brought over on the Mayflower in 1620. Although this jug could not have been owned by Standish, it may have been part of the possessions of his granddaughter, Lydia Standish Sampson (c.1660-1734), who married Isaac Sampson in Plympton, Mass. in 1686. There are old tape labels on the base: "LYDIA / SAMPSON / Pitcher," "MILES STANDISH / MAYFLOWER-1620," and "FORMERLY In / PILGRIM HALL-Plymouth." This example is typical of stonewares made in the Westerwald region located in and around the city of Cologne, where they specialized in a gray colored stoneware decorated with cobalt blue and manganese purple slips. This example was produced for the British market (in this case the British colonies in North America), with "AR" to commemorate Queen Anne (1702-1714) of England. German stoneware drinking vessels were extremely popular in the American colonies. The Doctor Thomas Williams (1718-1775) house site, circa 1760, contained at least three mugs and a chamberpot all made of this gray stoneware. The thrown bulbous container has a tapered circular base, bulging sides, and tapering straight neck, and applied strap handle; the handle has small hole at top for affixing a pewter lid. The body is decorated with incised ribbing and floral decoration; the floral outlines are filled in with cobalt blue slip; the applied sprigging on the surface consists of flower with leaves, with a center applied "AR" with crown within a beaded circle.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1999.53 |
