Bellarmine Jug
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Bellarmine Jugs or Greybeards, known in Germany as the Bartmann or Bartmannzeug, were a very common and widely dispersed form of German stoneware.(Examples have been found throughout Britain and Western Europe, in the West and East Indies, and in North America[1]) Until the 19th century the jars were also called maskarons.
The usually salt glazed bottles share a distinctive feature in the bearded face or mask, which was placed generally on the neck of the bottle, opposite the handle and below the bottom rim of the lip[2]. In addition to the distinctive bearded mask the potbellied stoneware may also have medallions. They vary in height between 4 and about 22 inches and were used mostly in taverns as decanters between the cask and table, however they were also used as domestic containers and were very popularly used as Witch bottles as well.
The earliest known Bellarmine carrying a date is from 1550 with the latest being 1764, both are in British collections. Sometimes the jugs are referred to by place of origin: eg as 'Rheinisches Steingut' (Rhineland stoneware), 'Rhenish ware', or 'Cologne goods'.
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History of the Bellermine Jug
Bellarmine is a famous name for these jugs - presumably after the frequently-unpopular Cardinal Bellarmine (1542-1621)[3], a Roman Catholic theologian and one of the leaders of the Counter Reformation during this time of religious upheaval and schism. He was canonized in 1930, but had arguably been immortalized meanwhile in bearded, pot-bellied jugs.
However, bottles with a beard face had been made for centuries before the life of Cardinal Bellarmine. Drinking jugs with faces were not uncommon in the Cologne potteries of Roman times, when the face is believed to have represented a Horned God. The Rhineland people used a beard face, with different features, as a trademark. True beardman jugs were produced from the 12th century onwards. True stoneware was first produced in Europe towards the end of the C14th, and salt glazing seems to have started at about the same time.
The main production centres were along the river Rhine, in the area around Cologne. Many of the Bellarmine jars were exported. The Rhineland has excellent trade connections via its large rivers. Cologne was a significant trade centre, and pottery was shipped down the Rhine to Dordrecht, and thence to England and other parts of Holland.
Shipwreck evidence shows that many European ships of the C17th, and especially Dutch ships, carried a number of beardman jugs for liquid storage. Curiously, apart from jugs for a special purpose such as the transport of commercial quantities of mercury, they are rarely referred to in the historical records, which include very detailed lists of not only cargo but also of galley equipment, and inventories of personal possessions of those deceased.
Production of beardman/Bellarmine jugs
Beardman jugs are stoneware: water-resistant and durable, made from dense opaque non-porous clay fired at temperatures of 1200°-1280° C (2191°-2336° F). The clay turns white, buff, gray, or red and is glazed for aesthetic reasons.
Jug bodies were made on a potter's wheel. After that the handle was fitted. Relief decorations including the beard face were prepared separately in moulds. The moulds were usually short-lived, especially those for the beard face; sometimes they were used for only a few jugs each, which results in the many different figures shown.
The salt glaze characteristic of a a beardman jug was formed by throwing common salt into the kiln during firing. The salt (sodium chloride) disassociates into its constituents, and the sodium interacts with the silicon and aluminium in the clay to form a thin glaze which often has a slightly pitted surface which potters call 'orange peel'.
Colour is added to stoneware by dipping in a slip (liquid clay) before firing. A mottled brown is characteristic of Cologne ware, and earned it the name 'tigerware' in England: this was produced by ferrous oxides in the slip. Blue and purple wares were first developed at Raeren from c.1587: the blue colour came from cobalt, and purple from manganese. Siegburg wares are usually off-white. The lower part of jugs is usually colourless (apart from drips), because the artisan had to hold the jug while dipping it in the slip.
Different Types
Plain ware
Jugs without any decoration were fairly common during the 17th and 18th century, without a bearded face it is arguable that these should be considered the same as the beardmen or Bellarmines, but other attributes of their manufacturing may put them in this category. These jugs are usually small (height around 120 mm), medium (around 160 mm), or large (around 250 mm).
Jugs with only a mask
Ranging from small to medium (height 120-160 mm), this type is very unusual, there are no records of large jugs without medallions.
Jugs with one mask and one medallion
The most common type found in many sizes with a capacity up to about 3 litres.
One mask and three medallions
Height range 184-251 mm with corresponding volume of 1.4 - 2.9 litres. In most cases the three medallions appear to come from the same mould.
Jugs with inscribed bands
This type is very uncommon.
Identifying the masks
There are hundreds of variations in features, it can be said the only commonality is the face and beard. The masks were made by different factories, potters and artists that all put there own marks on the feature and individual moulds were used only for a few jugs each.
Identifying the medallions
Medallions varied in form and were always on the belly of the jug. Some were trademarks of owners or manufactures, others were heraldic symbols of authority such as : Amsterdam; of provinces, such as Holland; and of rulers, such as the Prince of Orange Nassau, the Habsburgs, and the English House of Tudor.
Sources
1-3,3.7 Credit to the Avonstar Project[4]
- Earliest and latest dated examples are from 1550 and 1764, according to Anthony Thwaite, The Chronology of the Bellarmine Jug, [5]
- Jeremy Green, The loss of the VOC retourschip Batavia, Western Australia 1629, an excavation report and catalogue of artifacts. BAR International Series 489, 198
- (1-3.7)Maritime Lanka:maritime archaeology & history of Sri Lanka[6]
