Mug

Date1645

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft / delftware) and silver

DimensionsOverall: 4 1/2in. (11.4cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1961-32

DescriptionBulbous-bodied mug with short cylindrical neck covered by silver mount, loop handle, and squat foot. White tin glaze decorated in manganese, yellow, and blue with the arms of the Company of Bakers and, in blue, the inscription, "JOHN LARTH MAN & ROSE 1645," all inside a cartouche with striped pipe-smoker terminals. Engraved on the silver mount, the initials "L / I R" for Larth / John and Rose
Label TextThis mug is decorated with the arms of the London company of bakers. Until 1645, the year the mug was made, the London bakers of brown bread and white bread had separate companies. Their coats of arms were similar, but unlike those on this vessel they included anchors as symbols of their patron, Saint Clement. The anchorless may relate to the 1633 edition of Stow's Survey of London, which some consider to be in error. The grotesques on the ends of the cartouche that circles the body are referred to on this ware as "pipesmokers" or "man smoking pipe" masks because their tongues resemble smoking pipes. This motif also appears on the Mary Butler goblet in the CWF collection (accession 1965-139) and on several drug jars (accessions 1956-246, 1966-115, and 1936-114).

The cartouche is inscribed "JOHN LARTH MAN & ROSE 1645." The division of LARTH MAN has caused some confusion, but the line should be read "John Larthman and Rose." The majority of inscribed delft vessels of this period display couples' names in that order; that is, his first name, their last name, then her first name. The "JLR" monogram on the silver rim confirms this.

The London attribution for the mug is based on the shape, the glaze, and the arms of a London company.
InscribedArms of the Company of Bakers and, in blue, the inscription "JOHN LARTH MAN & ROSE 1645," all inside a cartouche with striped pipe-smoker terminals. Engraved on the silver mount with the initials "L / I R."
MarkingsNo
ProvenanceTilley & Co., London