Jug (pitcher)

Dateca. 1740

Artist/Maker Worcester Porcelain Manufactory

MediumPorcelain, soft-paste with blue

DimensionsOH: 9 1/16"; W: 6 1/4"; W(w/handle): 7 3/4"

Credit LineGift of Harry H. and Alma Louise Coon

Object number1997-222

DescriptionJug with a globular body and cylindrical, straight neck. The body is molded in low relief with cabbage leaves. The neck is molded in low relief with vertical lines about 1" apart, terminating in a foliate band below the opening. Opposite the scroll handle is a V-shaped spout molded with the face of a bearded man. The jug is decorated with blue and white transfer-printed floral designs. The three distinct floral designs on the body alternate with a butterfly image. The neck is decorated on either side of the mask spout with sprigs of blue foliate designs.
Label TextCabbage leaf jugs, also known as Dutch jugs, were manufactured by English porcelain factories from the 1750s to the late 1780s. During the 1750s, most such jugs were made without spouts, although the molded masked spout was also in production at the same time. Each factory that produced mask-spouted jugs had their own distinctive face which remained constant for long periods of time. The Worcester factory's bearded man is molded with slit eyes that appear closed, although colored examples were painted with the eyes open. Worcester manufactured large numbers of these cabbage leaf jugs until circa 1785 in many styles, both in blue and white and in colors. In 1758, Benjamin Franklin bought a blue and white mask-spouted jug in England and sent it to his wife, Deborah.
MarkingsPrinted crescent mark in dark blue on base
ProvenanceAcquired by donor from Marshall Field & Co.