Puzzle Jug

CultureEnglish
Titles
  • Puzzle Jug
Datec. 1740–1780
Made inEngland
MediumSalt-glazed stoneware with cobalt
Dimensions7 5/8 × 6 1/4 × 4 5/8 in. (19.4 × 15.9 × 11.7 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Martha and James Alexander
Object numberB.2001.1
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Kilroy Center
Exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionGerman and Dutch potters introduced the technique of making salt-glazed stoneware to England in the 1600s. Durable and hygienic, salt-glazed stoneware gained great popularity in the 1700s, eventually surpassing that of delftware. While English potters made salt-glazed stoneware with various body colors and decorated it with colored slips and enamels, much was white with molded decoration and sometimes with elaborate piercings. A puzzle jug was a trick drinking vessel that challenged the drinker to drain the contents without spilling. The solution required the covering of certain holes and spouts with the fingertips while sucking the liquid through one of the spouts.
Provenance[M. & P. Warren Antiques, Southport, Connecticut]; purchased by MFAH, 2001.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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