Bartmann jug

Frechen or Cologne stoneware salt-glazed Bartmann jug with turned flat base and sharp neck-cordon; heavily restored with replacement strap handle. Dark brown stoneware with overall speckled brown glaze. Applied on the neck with a relief of the angel holding the veil of St Veronica bearing the image of the bearded Christ wearing a crown of thorns; applied around the waist with a broad band moulded with the repeated text '..DES HERREN WART BLEIFT IN EWICKE' (the Word of God lives for ever) with pendant acanthus leaves on either side; the upper body with roundel medallions containing bearded male portrait busts, the lower half with male portrait busts in contemporary dress. The Hanse traders of the Hanseatic League had a controlling interest in the shipment of stonewares along the Rhine, and by the late 1500s London had become the main emporium of German stonewares into England.