Owl Jug
CultureEnglish
Date1690-1710
MediumEarthenware with slip and lead glaze
DimensionsOverall: 9 1/4 × 6 × 6 inches (23.5 × 15.24 × 15.24 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: the Charlotte and Perry Faeth Fund
Object number2004.4 A,B
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThe piece is made up of two parts both of slip-decorated and lead-glazed earthenware: a jug with handle in the form of the body of an owl perched on a socle and a cup in the form of the owl's head. The jug was probably wheel-thrown and then pressed into a mold so that the owl's wings were then in relief. The cup was thrown separately with a ridge of clay added to form the owl's brow, and part of the cup pinched to form the owl's beak. Thin rolls of clay were added for the three-toed feet attached to the baluster base, a nub of clay added to the back for the tail, and a rolled handle applied above the tail. The exteriors of the body of the jug and the head were covered with an ochre-colored slip and, except for the neck of the jug, the socle, the owl's feet and its beak, and the underside of the handle, decorated with stripes of dark brown, ochre, and tan slip which were then combed to imitate feathers. The owl's eyes are painted with tan slip, with dark brown pupils, and encircled with a dark brown line dotted with light-colored slip. Both parts of the jug and cup were covered in a lead glaze. The pieces were fired separately, and the cup was placed with the face upside down on three stilts, which have left marks on the top of the cup and made dark brown streaks giving the owl a very animated expression.Gallery LabelRich brown, golden yellow and light tan slip, or naturally colored liquefied clays, are swirled together to create the feathery surface of this delightful example of slipware. Not simply a whimsical, decorative figure, the owl's body serves as a jug and its head as a cup. Initially thrown on a potter's wheel, the piece was pressed into a mold to create the raised wings, and then individual pieces and rolls of clay were added to create the tail, handle, eyebrows and the three-toed feet that allow the bird to perch precariously on its base. The owl's wide eyes are emphasized with raised, tan dots, and the head was fired upside down, resulting in the streaks above the pupils that give the owl its animated expression.
Thomas George Burn (1907-1985), Worcestershire, England, by 1985;
Unknown Private Collection, 1985-1999;
Purchased at British and Continental Ceramics and Glass, Christie’s, London, April 27, 1998, Lot 10, by Jonathan Horne Antiques Ltd., London, England, 1999;
Unknown Private Collection, 1999-2004;
With Jonathan Horn Antiques Ltd., by 2004;
Purchased from Jonathan Horn by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2004.
Jonathan Horne, A Collection of Early English Pottery, part XIX, (London, England: Jonathan Horne, March 1999), 4, (repro.).
Antiques and Fine Art Magazine, Vol. IV, Issue 6 (Watertown, MA: Catalogue of Antiques and Fine Art, 2004), (repro.).
Member Magazine (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) (Spring 2005): 6 (repro.).
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
