Tyg: C.128-1928

Maker(s)

Production: Richardson, George, potter

Entities

• Tyg
• drinking vessel

Categories

• Lead-glazed earthenware
• Slipware

Notes

History note: Probably George Weare Braikenridge (1775-1856); his son, the Revd. George Weare Braikenridge ( ); William Jerdone Braikenridge (1816-1907); sold Christie's, 28 February, 1908, Braikenridge Collection of Medieval Works of Art, the property of W. Jerdone Braikenridge Esq. deceased late of Claremont, Clevedon, Somerset, lot 165; bought by Stoner for 37 guineas on behalf of Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge.

Legal notes

Dr J. W. L. Glaisher Bequest

Place(s) associated

• Wrotham ⪼ Kent ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

17th Century, Mid#
Commonwealth
Production date: dated AD 1654

Note

Drinking cups with more than one handle were the great speciality of Wrotham potters in the seventeenth century, and have been described as 'tygs' by collectors since the nineteenth century. They were made of red or brown clay decorated in white with slip-trailing moulded prunts, and heraldic motifs on applied pads of clay, which appear yellow under the lead glaze. Many of them bear dates and the potter's initials sometimes accompanied by or two other sets of initials presumably those of their owners. Twisted two-colour edges and white bun-shaped finials were features of the double-loop handles, usually, three or four (as here), but sometimes only two.

The initials GR on this example stand for George Richardson who signed pots between 1642 and 1677, and was the first recorded potter to put the place name WROTHAM on his work - on an undated jug probably made in the 1640s, and one dated 1656, both in the Fitzwilliam Museum ( C.116-1928, and C.130-1928). He lived in Plott (St Mary's Platt), a hamlet, which was the centre of the potting industry in the manor of Wrotham. His house, 'work house', and accompanying land belonged to Nicholas Myller, who mentioned Richardson's occupation of them in his will in 1653. Richardson made his will in June 1687, and the inventory taken after his death shows that he lived in comfortable circumstances and had combined his potting trade with farming in a small way (for details, see Documentation, Semple, 2008). His wife Mary, who had predeceased him a year earlier, was a member of the Hubble family of potters, and Richardson's son-in-law, Nicholas Hubble junior, was an executor of his will. A tyg by Nicholas Hubble senior dated 1654 is in the Fitzwilliam, (C.117-1928).