An Elizabeth I silver-gilt mounted Rheinish 'Tigerware' jug, circa 1580, maker's mark only IY above a pellet within a serrated circle, possibly for John Edes of Exeter

The maker's mark 'IY' surrounded by a serrated line/zigzag on the present lot is not recorded in the relevant reference books. One possibility is John Edes of Exeter whose recorded marks of 'I' 'YEDS' match the initials on the current lot. Edes is known to have made tigerware jugs, and examples with his known marks are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (2121-1855) and the Metropolitan Museum (17.190.309).

Exeter imported a great number of these stoneware jugs, and they were mounted locally for use by the merchant class. In one study of Exeter inventories it is estimated that over half of the city's freemen between 1560 and 1643 owned at least one mounted stoneware cup.¹ The French doctor Étienne Perlin was staying in England and Scotland between 1553 and 1558 and recorded in his Description des royaulmes d'Angleterre et d'Escosse: 'They drink great quantities of single and double beer, and they do not drink it from glasses but rather from earthen pots, the handles and covers of which are silver; and this even in the houses of those who are just a little rich.'

Notes

¹. P. Glanville; Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England; 1990; p.331