Bellarmine jug
1600-1800
Bellarmine jug found in Reading
Bellarmine jugs were used for drinking ale. They are stoneware jugs decorated with the image of a bearded face, probably representing the 'wild man' of medieval European mythology. They were first made in the sixteenth century in a number of centres in Germany. The name Bellarmine became attached to them later, probably with the intention of ridiculing Cardinal Robert Bellarmine. He was very unpopular in Protestant countries across Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries because of his strong Catholic views. The jugs are sometimes called beardmen or greybeard jugs. This particular jug was found on the corner of Cross Street and Friar Street, Reading in 1904, probably during building work, and came to the Museum in 1945 with the collection of G.W.Smith.
Museum object number
See related topic: School Loans Collection