Wet Drug Jar

Date1720-1750

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft / defltware)

DimensionsOH: 7"; OL: 8 1/2"; OW: 6 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1948-18

DescriptionWet drug jar: high flared pedastl foot rises to a globular body with an everted rim; strap loop handle is opposite the short angled tapering spout. The exterior, interior, and base are covered in a bluish-white tin glaze that is painted in blue with the following: the area below the spout decorated with a scallopped and zigzag-lined cartouche enclosing the inscription "S SIMPLEX". A songbird among branches perches on each corner of the cartouche on either side of the spout, and the head of a putto (angel) flanked by wings interrupts the lower border of the cartouche at its center. Stylized floral tassels hang beneath the cartouche on either side of the putto's head.
Label Text"Simplex" is Latin for "simple" as opposed to a composite, which suggests that this wet drug jar was used to hold simple syrup.
Inscribed"S: SIMPLEX" for "Simple Syrup"
MarkingsNone
ProvenancePurchased from Cogar, Lewis & Geiger, Inc. Williamsburg, VA (1948) who acquired the jar from Oscar Cole, Darlington, England.