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Mug: C.37-1934

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Object information

Current Location: Gallery 27 (Glaisher)

Maker(s)

Production: Unidentified Staffordshire Pottery

Entities

Categories

Description

White salt-glazed stoneware with scratch-blue decoration of a lion, foliage, and inscription, 'J B' and '1759'

White stoneware, thrown,with applied handle, and scratch-blue decoration, under salt-glaze. The mug is cylindrical but not quite circular at the top. Its sides slope outwards a little towards the projecting base. The strap handle has an upward kick at the lower end. The front is decorated in scratch-blue technique in greyish-blue with a stylized lion flanked by sprays of foliage. Above are the initials J B (script J) and below, the date '1759'. Above these there are two horizontal bands level with the top of the handle, above which are two triangular mounds of stones (?) with a plant on either side.

Notes

History note: Cecil Baring, 3rd Lord Revelstoke (1864-1934); sold Puttick & Simpson, London 20-23 November 1934, Catalogue of an Important Collection of Old English Pottery. the Property of the Rt. Hon. Lord Revelstoke, lot 311

Legal notes

Purchased with the Glaisher Fund

Measurements and weight

Height: 16.8 cm
Width: 15.2 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought (1934-11-20) by Puttick & Simpson

Dating

18th Century, third quarter#
George II
Production date: dated AD 1759

Note

The lion, 'though uncrowned, may refer to the King of Prussia, Britain's ally in the Seven Years' War (1756-62). A mug in the British Museum, (1938,0314.26) is decorated in scratch blue with a crowned lion over the date '1759', and 'Good Success to the king/of Prussia' below a crowned lion. If the initials JB stood for a potter, rather than another person who owned the mug, they might stand for John Baddeley (1725/6-1771) who is known to have made salt-glazed stoneware in the 1750s and 1760s. A salt-glazed stoneware tureen, cover and stand incised ' JB' on the underside of the cover, and 'JB 1763' on the base is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (2169-B-1901). It is more usual to find the potter's initials or name on the base of objects. If the initials referred to the potter, there were several others in the area who had the same initials, such as, James Bold, Joseph Bucknall, and John Brindley, who are known to have been working in the 1760s. .

School or Style

Rococo

Components of the work

Decoration composed of cobalt ( greyish-blue)
Surface composed of salt-glaze
Base Diameter 11.1 cm
Body

Materials used in production

white Stoneware

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: in script letters

  • Text: J B
  • Location: On front
  • Method of creation: Incised and filled in blue
  • Type: Initials

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.37-1934
Primary reference Number: 74707
Glaisher additions number: Gl.Add.54-1934
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 25 August 2022 Last processed: Friday 8 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) "Mug" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/74707 Accessed: 2024-11-06 00:05:58

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/74707 |title=Mug |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-06 00:05:58|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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