A Bellarmine Stoneware Jug c1680

Description

Heading : Bellarmine jug
Date : Second half seventeenth century
Origin : Germany
Colour : Mottled brown
Body : Moulded bearded man “Bartmann” above a medallion. applied handle. The string rim is to secure a cork
Size : 23.8cm tall and approximately 13.5cm in diameter at widest
Condition : Some cracks as expected and one chip as shown 1cm in length
Restoration : A section of the medallion has been re-secured  at our request
Weight : 934 grams

References : The Decanter. An Illustrated History of Glass By Andy McConell – Page 27 Plate 23.

Antique Sealed Bottles 1640-1900 By David Burton – Page 9.

A Bartmann “bearded man” jug. A Bellarmine to the British. These were made in Germany and imported to Britain by Dutch merchants. Intended for beer or wine the medallions were often armorial or the initials of a tavern owner or a crest. This is akin to a sealed wine bottle in that regard. These were sturdy domestic and business like vessels. used for serving wine and beer in British taverns for for serving in the domestic context.

Cardinal Bellarmine was the head of the catholic reaction to the reformation in the Netherlands. the inquisition. One can only suppose that these jugs were used as a jibe perhaps by protestants in northern Europe.The jugs were made for a century or more before Bellarmine died in 1621.

Such was the demand for such vessels that John Dwight began producing almost identical designs at the Fulham pottery in c1670.