Beardman Jug

This stoneware jug, with its stern bearded face, is known as a Beardman or Bellarmine jug. Popular across Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, these jugs were mainly made in Frechen, a pottery town near Cologne, Germany.

Ironically, Frechen’s fame began with a ban, Cologne potters were forced out in the early 1500s because their smoky kilns were considered a fire hazard. They resettled nearby and continued crafting these distinctive vessels.

Used for storing and serving liquids like wine or beer, Beardman jugs travelled widely, sometimes even aboard VOC ships like the Batavia. Their faces, once symbols of authority or mockery, now smile (or scowl) at us from the past.