FIG. VII.—Cradle of Slipware, dated 1691. Length, 7½ ins.
FIG. VIII.—Fuddling Cup. Length. 7¼ ins.
For the right understanding of our subject, it will be necessary to go into a few technical details gathered from the earliest notice (in Dr. Plot’s ‘Natural History of Staffordshire,’ 1689) of the industry, and from the silent evidence of the pots themselves. At Burslem, which even in Plot’s time was the ‘greatest pottery’ of the district, only four kinds of clay were in use for the body of the wares: bottle clay, hard fireclay which was mixed with red blending clay to make black wares, and a white clay, so called because it produced a yellow ware, which was the nearest approach to white then obtainable. Besides these there were three finer clays reserved for decorative purposes, known as orange slip, white slip, and a red slip which burnt black. Slip, it must be explained, was a creamy fluid made of clay softened by water. The glaze was produced by powdered lead ore dusted on to the ware. For special pieces the ore was first calcined. Used in its simple form, this powder, when fired, covered the ware with a transparent glass of a warm yellow tone, which gave a rich reddish brown surface to a red body, a yellow colour to white slip ornament, and a similar augmentation to clays of other tints. Only two colouring oxides appear to have been used—manganese, from which a colour was obtained varying according to its intensity from purplish brown to black, and commonly used to streak or mottle the glaze, and oxide of copper, which produced a bright green effect. The unsophisticated potter called the lead ore smithum and the manganese magnus. A little Latin went a long way in the district. ¶ Such were the simple materials that the seventeenth-century potter had at his disposal, differing scarcely at all from those used by his mediaeval forerunners. Let us see what use he made of them, when working at his best. [Fig. I] shows an ornamental dish for a cottage dresser. [Fig. II] is a type of drinking cup used on special occasions. Other not inelegant drinking vessels of the period are beaker-shaped, or in the form of an elongated dice-box with two handles close together; these are always in black ware. Another shape is seen in [Fig. III]. The principal feature of most of these quaint tygs, or loving-cups, is their astonishing number of handles, which range from two to as many as twelve. It is supposed that the purpose of this equipment was that the cup might pass from hand to hand, and each guest have a fresh portion of the rim to himself, no doubt an excellent arrangement for the first time round! Not content with half a dozen or so of full-grown handles, the potter frequently inserted between each of them a sort of rudimentary handle consisting of a looped strip of clay. Another variety of the tyg was called a posset pot, and was usually distinguished by a spout. The posset pot would seem to have been a family possession preserved with great respect, and used only on special occasions, such as Christmas time. It also suffered from a plethora of handles. Of any exact recipe for a posset I must plead ignorance, but I fancy it as a compound of mulled ale with an indefinite something floating on the surface, succulent, and exceedingly popular. There were other and still more fanciful drinking vessels besides these. A fuddling cup is shown in [Fig. VIII]. When it is realized that the six cups communicate with each other internally, so that to empty one you must empty all, the force of the name will be apparent. Any doubt as to the use of these formidable vessels is dispelled by the inscription on a similar piece, Fill me ful of sidar, drink of me. The puzzle jug is another playful variety. [Fig. IX] is an elaborate example from which it will be seen that the liquor must be extracted in some unusual way if the drinker wants to get his full measure, and has any respect for his clothes. The rim and handle are tubes, communicating with the body of the jug, through which the contents must be sucked from a spout in front of the rim, in this case the bird’s beak. To complicate matters there are usually one or more concealed holes in the tubes which must be stopped by the fingers, in addition to a false spout or two, such as is seen on the side of the rim. The puzzle jug is a joke of long standing. Specimens have been found which go back to the fourteenth century, and the trick is not quite unknown at the present day. No doubt their existence was prolonged by the far-seeing publican who appreciated the possibilities implied in the following doggerel that appears on one of them:—
Gentlemen, now try your skill.
I’ll hold you sixpence, if you will,
That you don’t drink unless you spill.
FIG. IX.—Puzzle Jug. Height, 9½ ins.