Expert: Martin G Roberts - 8/31/2005

Question
Sir,

I have a pewter jug that was passed down to me years ago, and today, for some reason, I became interested in its origins. I will attempt to describe it, probably very poorly, and your thoughts would be gratefuly received.

It is round, and stands just over 6.5" high. It has a base that is a litle over 3.5" across at the bottom, 2,5" at the top and 1,25" high and between bottom amd top has both concave and conves curves, if that makes sense.

The bottom is soldered to the main body, which would be about the same size as a baseball, if it did not taper into the neck, which starts at about 2.5" from the base of the body.

The neck is concave and goes from about 3" across where it joins the body to 1.75" across where it joins the top.  It's 2" high.

The top again is about 2" high and is molded out to about 3" acoss at the top. There is no spout per se  - the top has been  straightened on two sides to form a right angle and thus the 'spout'.

A flat angular handle from the mid-point of the main body goes outwards, and then turns sharply to run in horizontaly to the top.  At the point where it joins the top it folds up on both sides to form a 'U' that the lid slots into. The lid is a flat curved triangle (rounded right angle at the 'spout', two straight edges which run into the curved base of the triangle) which runs into a vertical spar that fits between the 'U' on the handle and is rivetted in place. Over this is a thumb piece which is made up of two acorns, splayed in a 'V'

On the base, there is a mark, but it is worn and difficult to make out. It is definitely a shield with a crown on top and appears to have laurel leaves on both sides.

The shield is split in two, with one panel on the right hand side, and two, one above the other, on the left.

In the right hand panel is a lion rampant - the two left hand panels are more difficult to decifer.  The bottom one could be someone holding a flag, or a pole with two flags. The top panel is worn, but has indentations that could be faces (animals?).

Hope this all makes sense two you - I've never tried to describe a jug in detail before!

Many thanks for your time, and any light that you maybe able to shed.

Best regards

Glyn Wrench  

Answer
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Thanks for your enquiry. That is quite a detailed description. Based on that, you probably have a French, or possibly Low Countries, piece. These are difficult to date without sight of the piece, as they were made in similar forms for around 400 years. Most, of course, are late, that is 19th or early 20th century.