Tankard

Date1729 (dated)

MediumStoneware, salt-glazed, brown with black

DimensionsOH: 8 1/8"; W(w/handle): 7 3/4"

Credit LineGift of Harry H. and Alma Louise Coon

Object number1997-224

DescriptionLarge brown and grey salt-glazed stoneware tankard with applied sprig-molded decorations of Hogarth's "Midnight Modern Conversation," farmhouses, trees, rosettes, and a hunt scene turning in a counter-clockwise direction. It is inscribed "Tho Head" around the tavern scene, with "1729" below. The mug is straight-sided with two incised bands encircling the base beneath the hunt scene. Two incised vertical lines cross the upper band beneath the handle. The handle is ribbed.
Label TextAdrian Oswald writes in ENGLISH BROWN STONEWARE, 1650-1900, that large brown stoneware hunting mugs, frequently inscribed and dated, were often intended as wedding or betrothal gifts. Some mugs were also made for taverns and are inscribed with the name of a tavern for which they were made as well as a date. According to Oswald, hunting mugs similar to this one, with an applied relief of Hogarth's "Midnight Modern Conversation" are likely to have been manufactured at a London factory. Although some mugs, including this one, are dated prior to Hogarth's 1731 painting of the same subject, it is likely that the relief derives from another illustration of a punch party. In addition to the Hogarth image, other characteristics of this factory include a counter-clockwise hunt with cottages and trees on either side of the central image.
InscribedInscribed opposite the handle "Tho Head" around the tavern scene, with "1729" below.
ProvenanceAcquired by donor from Art Trading Ltd.