Skip to main content

Bear jug: C.500 & A-1928

An image of Bear jug
View image details

Terms of use

The low-resolution images published on this Website are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND). For more details: Fitzwilliam Terms of Use

This licence does not include any images of works that are still in copyright. Artistic copyright extends from the life of the artist to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the artist died.

Download this image

For further information on use of images or to license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who can discuss terms and fees.

Alternative views

An image of Bear jug
An image of Bear jug
An image of Bear jug
Current Location: Gallery 27 (Glaisher)

Maker(s)

Pottery: Unidentified Staffordshire Pottery

Entities

Categories

Description

White salt-glazed stoneware bear with applied shredded clay fur and details in brown slip

Off-white stoneware, thrown in two parts, with applied ears, muzzle, chain, tail, genitals, and front legs and rear feet, covered in rough clay chippings to simulate fur, and decorated with dark brown slip details before salt-glazing. The bear has a slightly figure-of-eight shaped body with a tall cylindrical neck, long front legs, and just feet at the back. The head has a four link chain threaded through a hole on the top of the muzzle, which also has two irregularly-shaped oblong holes in its sides. The neck is decorated with nineteen large spots of brown slip, and there are smaller spots around the junction of the muzzle and head, and a line on the top of each ear. The eyes are formed by circles of clay filled in with brown slip.

Notes

History note: Fenton, Cranbourn Street, London from whom bought for ? £5.0.0. about 1898 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge; he was not sure if he might not have asked Fenton to buy it for him on commission from Sotheby's

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 24.6 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 1740 CE - 1770 CE

Note

The detachable head serves as a cup.

Components of the work

Decoration composed of slip ( brown)
Surface composed of salt-glaze
Body Depth 24 cm Width 15.5 cm
Body And Head
Limbs, Features

Materials used in production

off-white Stoneware

Techniques used in production

Salt-glazing

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: small rectangular stick-on label

  • Text: 741
  • Location: On inside of head
  • Method of creation: Printed in black
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.500 & A-1928
Primary reference Number: 75313
Old object number: 741

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 30 April 2024

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 (2025) "Bear jug" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/75313 Accessed: 2025-12-05 09:48:26

Citation for Wikipedia

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

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/75313 |title=Bear jug |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 09:48:26|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://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-75313

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/aa7/C_500_20_26_20A_1928_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Bear jug"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Bear 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...

University of Cambridge Museums logo
Cambridge City Council logo
Arts Council England Logo
Research England logo