Jug thumbnail 1
Jug thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 1

Jug

ca. 1750-75 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Stonewares from Silesia, Thuringia, Saxony and Bavaria are quite distinct in character and embellishment from each other. They were also made mainly with local taste in mind rather than for large-scale export, unlike Rhineland stoneware.

Bunzlau is the former German name for Bolesławiec, south-west Poland. The abundant clays of this area are very suitable for making pottery and an industry has existed in Bunzlau since at least the late fourteenth century. The German term 'Lehmglasur' is used to describe the iron- and titanium-rich slip-glaze characteristic of pots from this region. From about 1650, creamy-white relief-moulded pipeclay motifs were often applied to this lustrous brown coating, creating an attractive contrast. These motifs became increasingly crisp and delicate after the annexation of Lower Silesia by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 when the new regime began actively to develop the local industry, encouraging in potters from other German regions.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Stoneware with applied clay relief-moulded decoration and pewter mount. The dark brown glaze is a slip coating of clay rich in iron and titanium.
Brief description
Stoneware jug with lustrous brown glaze and applied relief-moulded decoration, the pewter lid dated 1775; made in Bunzlau, Lower Silesia, Germany (now Bolesławiec, Poland), about 1750-75.
Physical description
Oviform buff stoneware jug with short cylindrical neck horizontally reeded at the top and loop handle, covered in a lustrous brown glaze and with applied cream-coloured relief-moulded decoration of a bird on a branch below a crown, flowers and foliage. The pewter mount with globular thumbpiece is dated 1775.
Dimensions
  • Height: 328mm
  • Including handle width: 168mm
Marks and inscriptions
'D' over 'I.K. 1775', incised (on pewter lid)
Gallery label
Jug Made in Bunzlau, Germany, about 1750-75 Stoneware with relief decoration, pewter mount dated 1775 C.311-1915 Given Major K. Dingwall, D.S.O(16/07/2008)
Credit line
Presented by Lt. Col. K. Dingwall, DSO with Art Fund support
Object history
Given to the Museum in 1915 by Major Kenneth Dingwall, DSO, later Lt.-Col.

Stonewares from Silesia, Thuringia Saxony and Bavaria have distinct regional characteristics and embellishments. Unlike Rhineland wares, they were made less for export and more for local markets and to local taste.

Bunzlau lies on the Bóbr tributary of the river Oder in Lower Silesia. This is now part of south-west Poland. It has a long-standing ceramic industry, documented from the 1380s at least, as clays from the area are both abundant and well-suited to pottery-making. The lustrous brown glaze characteristic of pots from this region is known in German as 'Lehmglasur' (slip glaze). It is iron- and titanium-rich and once applied, the wares are fired at 1180-1280°C. Applied relief-moulded pipeclay motifs were often used as decoration of Bunzlau wares post-1650 but after Lower Silesia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742, these motifs became more delicate and more crisply-moulded. This resulted from Prussian keeness to improve and develop the pottery industry in the area, breaking the guild system and encouraging in potters from other German regions.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Stonewares from Silesia, Thuringia, Saxony and Bavaria are quite distinct in character and embellishment from each other. They were also made mainly with local taste in mind rather than for large-scale export, unlike Rhineland stoneware.

Bunzlau is the former German name for Bolesławiec, south-west Poland. The abundant clays of this area are very suitable for making pottery and an industry has existed in Bunzlau since at least the late fourteenth century. The German term 'Lehmglasur' is used to describe the iron- and titanium-rich slip-glaze characteristic of pots from this region. From about 1650, creamy-white relief-moulded pipeclay motifs were often applied to this lustrous brown coating, creating an attractive contrast. These motifs became increasingly crisp and delicate after the annexation of Lower Silesia by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 when the new regime began actively to develop the local industry, encouraging in potters from other German regions.
Bibliographic references
  • David Gaimster, 'German Stoneware 1200-1900, London, British Museum, 1997
  • H.E. Müller & I. Lippert (eds.), 'Bunzlauer Geschirr: Gebrauchsware zwischen Handwerk und Industrie', Schriften des Museums für Deutsche Volkskunde 14, Berlin, 1986
  • M. Starzewska & T. Wolanin, 'Artystyczna Kamionka Bolesławiecka', Museum Nardodowego we Wrocławin i Museum ceramiki w Bolesławcu, Wrocław, 1995
  • Gisela Reineking-von Bock, 'Steinzeug', Kunstgewerbemuseum der Stadt Köln, 1971
  • Ekkart Klinge, 'Deutsches Steinzeug Der Renaissance- und Barockzeit', Hetjens-Museum, Düsseldorf, 1979
  • Josef Horschik, 'Steinzeug 15.-19. Jahrhundert von Bürgel bis Muskau', Dresden, 1978
Collection
Accession number
C.311-1915

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Record createdJuly 16, 2008
Record URL
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