VERY RARE silver mounted WESTERWALD GR TAVERN JUG 1715 Start Price USD 9.99 Current Price USD 694.00 Time Left - Bid Count 18 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, November 18, 2008 End Time Friday, November 28, 2008 Location Smyrna, Delaware See more about ' VERY RARE silver mounted WESTERWALD GR TAVERN JUG 1715' Description rhusrluk rhusrluk Antique pottery in good taste – harmic.little A magnificent and very rare German stoneware 'GR' tavern jug or pitcher elaborately decorated in blue with sgraffito flowers and scrolling leaves and fitted with later elaborate silver mounts by George Fox of London, dated 1874; the front with a detailed medallion with the royal 'GR' cipher with a crown above (possibly signifying King George I coronation) and an angel head below; Westerwald, circa 1715 – 1720. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the specialist Westerwald stoneware collector or dealer to purchase a museum-quality GR jug. To get one from the reign of Geroge I is a real bonus, as the quality on these early GR jugs is usually outstanding (see the various detailed photographs below). The front and sides of this beautiful and unique jug are covered with intricate leaf and flower patterns done in 'sgraffito' (literally 'scratch') technique. These are carefully painted in brilliant cobalt blue. The reeded neck is washed in a gorgeous mulberry color. On the center of the front of the jug is a beautiful applied heraldic medallion bearing the 'GR' cipher ('Georgius Rex'). It also incorporates a finely detailed crown above the GR monogram with an angel's head below. The crown has what appear to be small bird 'supporters'. These wonderful jugs were made in large numbers during the reigns of the three Georges and were exported from the Westerwald region of Germany to England and some of them on to the American colonies. They served as personal tavern drinking vessels for beer and wine. The neck of the jug is decorated with multiple grooves which may or may not have a practical purpose. The neck has had a V-shaped piece cut out when the silver mounts were fitted, to enable the 'sparrow-beak' pouring spout to function (see photographs below). The elaborately fashioned and chased silver mounts are fully hallmarked and were made by George Fox of London and are dated 1874. Originally the jug would have probably had a pewter lid to keep out flies and dust from the beer inside. There are no capacity mark on this jug. These beautiful and functional jugs represented a considerable advance in hygiene over the old porous earthenware vessels they superseded. They could be cleaned easily and they did not chip or crack with quite the same degree of frequency as their predecessors. The condition is excellent for the period and there are no chips, cracks or restoration. The fine silver band encircling the handle has split with age but this could be easily repaired (see the detailed photographs below). The height of the jug is approximately 7 3/8 inches excluding the lid. This is a unique opportunity to add an outstanding and museum-worthy Westerwald GR jug to your private or museum collection or inventory. We are rarely able to offer pieces of this stature, so we are very pleased to be able to offer this superb example to our specialist collectors. Good luck with this magnificent Westerwald 'GR' jug and thanks for bidding with harmic.little! Absolutely guaranteed authentic. Insurance is included in USA Priority mail shipping. Why not visit the 'harmic.little' eBay shop to view the finest early English and European ceramics regularly available on eBay? PLEASE CLICK HERE to see all of our current items displayed simultaneously on our GALLERY page. Our eBay early pottery shop is always open!Please stay tuned for other interesting ceramics in the days and weeks ahead! Thank you for looking, watching, and bidding! ANTIQUES – HELPING TO PROTECT YOUR FUTURE BY INVESTING IN THE PAST! INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS will be sent an exact cost quote for shipping costs within 48 hours of the end of auction. We use United States Postal Service (USPS) for International shipments. There are no handling charges. Please note that we cannot give the total postage cost of any item before the sale ends, as every item differs in respect of weight, size, and insurance charges. Place a Bid!