JVV 0442
Delft, 1680-1690
Dimensions: height 26,5 cm (with cover)
The pear-shaped beer mug stands on a slightly-waisted foot and has an ear-shaped handle that ends in a rat tail. A garden-like oriental landscape with a seated and a standing Chinese figure is painted in purple and yellow around the body. There are dots and stripes on the handle. The pewter lid is attached to the handle with a two-jaw hinge. The thumb rest is embossed in the shape of a stylized leaf. The lid is inscribed with the initials PH and is dated 1726.
Similar examples
A purple and yellow beer mug with a silver gilt lid and foot ring is in the Ashmolean Museum in England (WA2013.1.206). Another in purple, green, and yellow with a portrait of Prince William III, on a chinoiserie landscape, is in the Princessehof Ceramics Museum in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands (Jongstra, p. 19). A beer mug in blue and pale purple, or two shades of blue, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (C.499-1921).
Explanatory note
Faience beer mugs were made in the Netherlands from the middle of the seventeenth century. The shape was taken from pewter specimens. They are frequently painted with landscapes and floral decorations borrowed from Chinese porcelain. Two- or multi-coloured landscapes occur sporadically.
Literature
J. Jongstra, Oranjegoed! Vier eeuwen Oranje-Nassau op keramiek, Leeuwarden 2010
