Frechen Bellarmine Jug ca. 1560
Frechen Stoneware Bellarmine Jug with relief applications and inscription ca. 1560 , H. 34 cm
Early Stoneware Production in Cologne and Frechen
Pottery has been produced in Cologne since Roman times, but it was not until around 1500 that it developed from simple household pottery into a top-ranking product. The commercial markets and good clay deposits in the surrounding area made Cologne an attractive area for production and commerce. As a result, numerous potters settled in the Cologne city area after 1500. The potters, on the other hand, needed high temperatures to fire their impervious drinking and storage vessels. The stoneware objects with fired salt glaze, which produced speckled shades of brown, beige, gray, yellow or orange, was either plain or richly decorated in relief, which could also be painted blue.
Despite a good starting position, the potters were faced with adverse conditions: They were not welcome. The risk of fire, heat, smoke, rising wood prices and later a shortage of wood led to tensions between potters and their fellow citizens of Cologne. The council reacted and attempted to restrict the pottery trade from 1531, and in 1534 it decreed a general ban on firing. When the potters fought against the restrictions and for the preservation of their livelihood, the ban was relaxed. It was not until the middle of the century that the council came to a differentiated assessment. In 1554, an agreement was reached with all the potters. The number of potters in Cologne was limited to four and new settlements were prohibited. The master potters migrated to Frechen in particular or back to Cologne, which could now easily make a reputation for itself as a stoneware center.
Autor: Dr. Matthias Hamann (translated with deepl)
This Bartmann jug below is a magnificent example of its kind and a showpiece of Rhenish pottery.
Reference Objects Kölnisches Stadtmuseum
Bartmannkrug, Frechen, 1604
Steinzeug, salzglasiert, grau, braun engobiert, mit Sprenkeln und Tränen, mit Kobaltblau bemalt. Kleiner Ausbruch an Lippe und Henkel; H: 28 cm, Dm Mündung: 4,7 cm, Dm Boden: 14,5 cm, Inv.-Nr. RM 1937/1045.
Source and copyright: https://www.koelnisches-stadtmuseum.de/sammlung/alltagsobjekte/feuer-ratsherren-und-caesaren/
Round medallion filled by a double-headed imperial eagle. In front of its chest are the imperial globe and cross, cartouche with the date 1604. 14 coats of arms of the secular nobility and electors fill the wings, following the type of the quatrefoil eagle. The eagle is flanked by two lateral medallions, each showing the shoulder portrait of a Roman emperor: Claudius on the left and Nero on the right.
Museum Reference Philadelphia Museum of Art
Jug with the Face of a Bearded Man
Date: 1550-1575
Medium: Salt-glazed stoneware with wash
Dimensions: 9 7/8 × 6 5/8 inches (25.1 × 16.8 cm)
Accession Number: 2014-56-1
Geography: made in Frechen, Germany or in Cologne, Germany
Source and copyright:
https://www.philamuseum.org/collection/object/147727
Reference Objects MUSEUM Stiftung KERAMION
Bartmannkrug
Frechen, 1560-1570
Birnbauchkrug mit rund abschließender Bartmaske unterhalb
der profilierten Lippe. Am Bauch ein Fries mit Spruchband,
umgeben von Rundauflagen mit Profilköpfen und
Akanthusblättern. Inschrift: WAN GOT VEILT ZO IZT MEIN
Z()EIJT.
H: 20,5 cm
© Stiftung KERAMION – Zentrum für moderne+historische Keramik
Bartmannkrug
Frechen, 1560-1570
Krug mit Bartmaske mit rundem Bartabschluss, Rundauflagen,
Akanthusblättern und Bauchfries mit Inschrift: WAN GOT
VEILT ZO IZT MEIN Z()EILT.
© Stiftung KERAMION – Zentrum für moderne+historische Keramik
Literature
On the basis of hundreds of previously unpublished bearded men from collectors, archaeological institutions and museums, the origin and history of the bearded man, its distribution and use and the iconographic meanings of the representations are extensively discussed. 656 pages trilingual standard work. Illuminated with more than 1, 400 images and illustrations, the origin, history, individual production centers, trade and distribution at the time, use and iconographic meanings of the representations on jars with face masks are discussed in detail. Text contributions by J. Koldeweij and R. Mennicken complete the whole. In addition to being an extremely valuable reference work for specialists, this exceptional book is also a beautifully designed coffee table book for enthusiasts. Never before has such a thorough survey of pottery and stoneware production from the early Roman to the new and modern era appeared
Baardmankruiken. Stoneware Steinzeug 1200-1950 (Bartmann Bellarmine juges, decorated stoneware bearded man. Keramiek)
von Ostkamp, Snip
Verlag: , VIND, 2023
ISBN 9789081706391.
Hinton, J. (2012). The Art of German Stoneware, 1300-1900: From the Charles W. Nichols Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia museum of art.
