24 - BEAR JUG OR JAR: Staffordshire, c. 1740–70

Summary

White salt-glazed stoneware until shredded clay fur and details in brown slip. Height 24.4 cm. C.501–1928.

Bear jugs call to mind performing bears and the vicious sport of bear-baiting which were popular entertainments in the eighteenth century. White saltglazed stoneware bears were made in Staffordshire and brown ones at Nottingham. Both types usually have a chain through their noses and some bears grasp a dog, or more rarely a musical instrument, between their front paws. Their endearingly tubby bodies have fur made of shredded clay or grog (ground up fired clay) and details such as eyes and collars are picked out in brown slip. Their heads were made separately so that they could serve as lids and cups. This allows them to be turned sideways, which gives some of the bears a very comical expression.

There are no dated brown or white bears but a rough guide to dating is the fine ‘breadcrumb’ fur on some examples. This also occurs in bands on white stoneware tea wares dated to the 1740s and on brown ones of about 1750–70. It is usually assumed that the bears were jugs or tobacco jars, but whatever their original function was, their high survival rate suggests that they soon became treasured ornaments.