Jug

Among the Pomeranian vessels glazed with lead and tin, jugs stood out in terms of their specific form. They were characterised by large, domed bodies, short necks with collars, connected to the bodies with wide banded lugs and short and straight spouts modelled in the upper part of the bodies. They were decorated in various ways - with floral and geometrical motifs, common in West Pomerania, but also, as in this case, with human figures, rare in the region's ceramics. Two figures were painted on opposite sides in the upper part of the vessel: a man with a scythe and a woman with a rake. The spaces between them are decorated with various plant motifs. The body below the ear line, the ear, the neck and the spout are decorated with geometrical motifs: stripes and a wave. These elements were not always carefully executed. On the bodies, the following inscriptions were also painted under the beak: 'Friedrich Plötz Anno 1807' and underneath 'Vieratt mein Schatz' [Stock my treasure]. The figures depicted are probably Mr Friedrich and his wife. The couple was so well off that in the year of the good harvest, and they were able to afford an individual order from a potter at a time when lead-tin glazed vessels were not available to all because of their high price. The jug was made at a time when, besides the dominant blue and green, other colours were used in pottery decoration, and the painting and forms were more sophisticated and often individual.

Iwona Karwowska