Images(6)

Mug

Date1740 -1750

OriginEngland, Staffordshire

MediumStoneware, salt-glazed, white

DimensionsD: 3 7/8"; with handle: 4 15/16"; H: 5 3/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1972-379

DescriptionMug: Baluster-shape with applied relief decoration of ships, cannon, 2 soldiers, buildings in background, and inscribed in relief: THE BRITISH GLORY REVIV:D/ by ADMIRAL VERNON/ HE TOOK PORTOBELLO/ WITH SIX:: . SHIPS: ONLY: (N) OV: YE:22 1739. Molded bands around top and base; high, molded based, reeded strap handle with pinched terminal. ***
Label TextMugs, like this fine example, and tankards celebrating the British naval triumph at Portobello were among the sprig-decorated white stonewares owned in America.

Despite great odds, a fleet of six English vessels under the command of Admiral Edward Vernon successfully captured the city located on the Isthmus of Panama on November 21 and 22, 1739. This stunning victory against the Spanish was widely celebrated in Britain and her colonies, and Vernon rapidly became an icon of English pride.

Ceramics embellished with images of the admiral and his ships became popular souvenirs of this triumph. Fragments of a baluster-shaped mug and a straight-sided tankard commemorating Vernon and Portobello have been recovered from the Angelica (Knoll) site (18CV60) in Calvert County, Maryland. Additionally, a small shard from a tankard was excavated from the Dr. Hall Jackson site (27-RK-0155, NH-40-044) in Portsmouth,New Hampshire.
InscribedTHE BRITISH GLORY REVIV:D/ by ADMIRAL VERNON/ HE TOOK PORTOBELLO/ WITH SIX:: . SHIPS: ONLY: (N) OV: YE:22 1739.
ProvenanceJellinek & Sampson Antiques, London

Exhibition(s)