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OUNDLE MUSEUM
Bellarmine Jug
One of the more unusual items we have on display in the Museum is this pottery jug known as a ‘Bellarmine’ Jug. It sadly has its handle missing as it was broken off, but you can clearly see a face on the front.
In the 16th Century wines and beers were drawn from large wooden barrels into bottles made of stoneware, or sometimes leather.
This type of stoneware bottle was made in the Netherlands and Germany and had a stamped image of a bearded man on the front. They
were salt glazed which means they had a glaze of glossy, translucent, and slightly orange peel like texture, formed by throwing salt into the kiln during the higher temperature part of the firing process. Sodium from the salt reacts with silica in the clay body to form a glassy coating. The glaze may be colourless or various shades of brown, blue or purple.
These jugs were manufactured in various towns along the Rhine River from the 16th
to the 18th Centuries and were known as Bartmann (bearded man) or Greybeard jugs
but became mainly known as ‘Bellarmine’
jugs because the face on the front reminded people of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino (1542- 1621). Bellarmino was an Italian Jesuit born
in Montepulciano, Southern Tuscany; he had
a flowing beard and was a very unpopular Catholic Cardinal at the time. He was a strong opponent of Protestantism and wanted to ban alcohol! Protestant Germans drank ale and wine from these stoneware jugs and nicknamed them ‘Bellarmine’ jugs. They were quite often drunk from and smashed!
There are many types of bearded faces on these jugs and they were created with great skill and detail, some were also decorated on the front with medallions which often contained figures, geometric patterns, symbols, heraldic devices, crests and coats of arms of various patrons, royal houses and ecclesiastical organisations. They were also made in various sizes and used for a multitude of other purposes including the storage
of ale, cider and wine, and used for transporting goods such as oils, vinegar and mercury. They were a key export from Germany in the 16th and 17th Centuries and shipped around Europe, Britain and colonies in North America, South America, Africa, India and Australia.
The bottles were sometimes used as ‘witch bottles’ which entailed filling the jug with certain types of articles, sealing it and burying it to deflect a witches curse – but more about these in a future article!
The Museum is open for visitors every weekend from 1-4pm and we look forward to welcoming everyone. Please keep an eye on our website and facebook page for more up to date information: www.oundlemuseum.org.uk
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