Jug

Sebald Beham

ca. 1590–1600 · Salt-glazed stoneware; pewter lid · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This stoneware was produced on speculation for a middle-market clientele. Though handmade, its decoration was quick work, pressed on with reusable molds based on designs lifted from prints. Siegburg potters developed a reputation for interesting forms and the latest styles rendered in a distinctive gray-white glaze; higher end pieces (like a related Siegburg stoneware ewer, 17.190.2058) boasted silver rather than pewter mounts. They were able to reach a huge market by distributing their work via trading posts controlled by the Hanseatic League, a powerful federation of merchant guilds and their market towns that included Lübeck, Cologne, London, Bruges, and later Antwerp and, to the north, Riga and Tallinn. [Elizabeth Cleland, 2017]

Artist

Sebald Beham

Date

ca. 1590–1600

Medium

Salt-glazed stoneware; pewter lid

Culture

German, Siegburg

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1911