Large Mocha Yellow Ware Jug With Blue, White and Brown Slip Bands and Shell Grip

Details

Description

Large Mocha Yellow Ware Jug with Blue, White and Brown Slip Bands and Shell Grip
Circa 1830–1840
Staffordshire, England

This … Read more Large Mocha Yellow Ware Jug with Blue, White and Brown Slip Bands and Shell Grip
Circa 1830–1840
Staffordshire, England

This large, boldly striped English yellow ware jug is a strong example of the dipped pottery of the first half of the nineteenth century. Thrown from a cane-colored earthenware that fires a warm yellow under its clear glaze, it is banded on the lathe with broad grounds of white slip alternating with the yellow body, each defined by fine dark brown lines, and anchored by three wide bands of cobalt blue at the shoulder, the widest point of the body and above the foot.

The ovoid body stands on a wide flaring pedestal foot, with a prominent applied spout and a high loop handle finished with a small thumb rest at the rim. Beneath the spout is an applied shell-form grip, molded separately and attached to the body, which gave a second hand a firm hold when tipping the heavy jug and lends the piece its distinctive character. The interior is glazed with the throwing rings still visible, and the recessed base is glazed.

At nearly eleven inches high, the jug reads well from across a room. It suits a kitchen dresser, a dining sideboard or a farmhouse table, holds its own among other English and American mocha and banded wares, and the blue, white and yellow palette sits comfortably in both traditional and contemporary interiors.

Dimensions
Height: 10 3/4 inches (27.3 cm)
Width: 12 inches (30.5 cm)
Depth: 8 1/2 inches (21.6 cm)

Marks
Unmarked, as is usual for dipped wares of this type.

Provenance
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge.

Condition
Good antique condition, with overall crazing to the glaze, light staining and scattered dark specks in the glaze consistent with age and use, together with minor wear to the foot rim. The shell-form grip on the front of the jug has an old repair where it was reattached to the body.

Historical Context
Dipped wares were among the least expensive decorated pottery of their day, turned on a lathe and banded with colored slips while the vessel revolved. The name “mocha” properly belongs to the dendritic decoration resembling moss agate, the “mocha stone” traded through the Yemeni port of al-Mukha, but in trade usage it has long covered the whole family of slip-banded wares, of which the simple multi-banded pattern seen here was the most common and the most affordable.
Most English dipped ware was made on white creamware and pearlware bodies. The yellow-bodied version, much favored in the American market, was produced in England chiefly from the second quarter of the nineteenth century and was taken up by American potteries at East Liverpool, Ohio, and in New Jersey and Maryland from the 1840s. Jugs of this kind were made in quantity for the domestic and export markets and served beer, cider and milk in homes, inns and taverns on both sides of the Atlantic. See less