Skip to main content

Owl jug: C.497 & A-1928

An image of Owl jug

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: Gallery 27 (Glaisher)

Maker(s)

Factory: Unidentified Staffordshire factory

Entities

Categories

Description

White salt-glazed stoneware, the body and head thrown separately, and decorated with applied notched clay feathers, and details in brown slip. A strap handle is attached to the back of the body. The detachable head serves as a cup.

Notes

History note: George Stoner Collection, Cotleigh, West Wickham, Kent; purchased from George Stoner of Stoner & Evans, in London, on 24 November 1915 (with a slipware owl C.252 & A-1928 for £280)

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 21.7 cm

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
Circa 1735 CE - Circa 1755 CE

Note

Brown salt-glazed stoneware owl jugs were made in Cologne in the mid sixteenth century, but despite the vast quantities of stoneware bottles to be imported from the Rhineland, only one owl jug is known to have been imported and to have survived in an English collection. It has silver mounts round its neck and foot, and was given to the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Braziers in 1537 by the widow of William Vinyard, alias Seger, and still belongs to the Company. Another owl jug, excavated in Cologne on the site of the Maximinenstrasse worshop is in the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Cologne. Although there is no proven link ,it is not impossible that one of these early owl jugs might have inspired the Staffordshire versions. Owl jugs were also made in tin-glazed earthenware with painted decoration in Austria and the Tryol, where they are said to have been made as prizes for archery competitions.

School or Style

Rococo

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of slip ( dark brown)
Surface composed of salt-glaze
Both Parts
Details
Feathers

Materials used in production

white Stoneware

Techniques used in production

Salt-glazing

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.497 & A-1928
Primary reference Number: 75299
Old object number: 3737
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) "Owl jug" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/75299 Accessed: 2024-12-07 00:35:50

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/75299 |title=Owl jug |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-07 00:35:50|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-75299

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa20/C_497_20_26_20A_1928.jpg"
        alt="Owl jug"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Owl jug</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...