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Jug: C.63-1991

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Pottery: Unidentified Orvieto pottery (Probably)

Entities

Categories

Description

Late Medieval maiolica jug, painted in manganese and green with a bird on the front.

Pale buff earthenware. The interior and foot are lead-glazed yellowish-brown; the rest is tin-glazed pale greyish-white. Painted in manganese and copper-green.
Shape 17. Elongated piriform body with pedestal foot, short neck, trilobate mouth and loop handle.
The front is decorated with a long-legged bird with a pointed beak, with leaves above to right and left, and below to right. The handle is flanked by inverted Vs between two sets of three vertical lines. Below are two manganese bands; on the neck, two manganese bands, a green chain and another manganese band; and on the handle, eleven horizontal stripes of alternate colours.

Notes

History note: Signor Avvocato Marcioni or Cavaliere Capitano Lucatelli; Sotheby's, 16-17 February 1914, Catalogue of the collections of early Italian pottery formed by Signor Avvocato Marcioni and Cavaliere Capitano Lucatelli of Orvieto, lot 53 & pl. II. Purchased from Kerin, London, on 9 December 1933 by H.S. Reitlinger (d.1950); the Reitlinger Trust, Maidenhead, from which transferred in 1991.

Legal notes

H.S. Reitlinger Bequest, 1950; transferred from the Reitlinger Trust

Measurements and weight

Height: 27.0 cm
Height: 27.5 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Orvieto ⪼ Umbria ⪼ Italy

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1991-04-29) by Reitlinger, Henry Scipio

Dating

14th Century
Medieval
Circa 1300 CE - Circa 1400 CE

Note

The inverted V motifs down the sides are not typical of Orvieto jugs of this form and this jug may have come from elsewhere. The extremely smooth surface of the glaze, showing few defects under ultra-violet light, suggested doubts about its authenticity, but thermoluminescence analysis by the Oxford Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art (report dated 8 March 1994, sample 581m29) estimated that the sample was last fired between 350 and 650 years ago (1344-1644). Hence the good quality of the glaze may indicate that it was made later than some of the other jugs in the collection.

School or Style

Medieval

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of high-temperature colours ( manganese and copper-green)
Interior, Foot composed of lead-glaze
Exterior composed of tin-glaze
Foot Diameter 10.3 cm
Body Diameter 12.5 cm
Front To Handle Width 13.9 cm

Materials used in production

Earthenware

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: circular with serrated edge

  • Text: 273
  • Method of creation: Inscribed in indelible pencil
  • Type: Label
  • Text: 53
  • Location: On base
  • Method of creation: In pencil
  • Type: Inscription

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.63-1991
Primary reference Number: 47586
Packing number: EURCER 418
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 18 December 2023 Last processed: Monday 18 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Jug" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/47586 Accessed: 2024-11-24 22:26:24

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/47586 |title=Jug |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-24 22:26:24|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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