Staffordshire Toby Jug

This is apparently a 20th century Staffordshire Toby Jug not much more information on this unfortunately and cannot find any markings on the rear does anybody have any clues on when this would’ve been made and who would’ve made it at all?

 

@DanaB collects toby jugs and knows a lot about them. I hope she sees this.

 

Oh good, I do have more on the way I know are of a small fortune too!

 

Can you show the handle from the side so we can see the shape of it, while we're waiting? This is a character jug, since a toby has the full body, but people do use the wrong terms.

 

As requested

 

Hello Andy,

I've studied your pictures and I don't believe you have a 20th century character jug. Tobys are the full body jug and Character jugs are just the head. So what you have is a character jug. Next the jug is made from clay. Clays have not been used since the 18-19th centuries. Tobys come into existence in the 1750s using clays. And Character jugs were introduced in the 1800s. So I believe your jug was made in the 1800s when they were using clay as a medium for toby and character jugs. Your jug most likely was made in England. I base this on his hat and shirt / coat and the age of the jug.

The jug itself doesn't appear to show being in a mold. I don't see mold lines. I've noticed the ears look hand made. So it's very possible this jug is hand molded but it's hard to tell.

Let me say something about myself. I've collected toby jugs for 40 yrs. And in order to do that, I've seen a lot of character jugs. And it takes a lot to show me a jug I've never seen before. But you've got one!

To me, some of the older jugs have one color inside and other colors on the outside. This is not as common. I keep thinking he is part of a set. But I'm not sure what I'm basing that on. But that's the feel I get. And I don't know who he represents. All toby and character jugs represent a real, fictional or occupation of a person. That's where someone from England may come in and recognize him.

Now as for condition, he appears to be in a wonderful condition. I don't know what you paid for him but I would think you got your money worth. But before I value this jug. I need to know how tall this jug is. I have a guess but I want to be accurate as possible.

And based upon what I've said, any additional information would be helpful.

Thanks,
Dana

 

Wow! Thank you for the reply!

I’ll be checking the measurement of this this evening when I get home from work.

I didn’t pay anything for it to be honest, it along with other items were passed down to me to sell on as the previous owner passed away.

 

Hello,

As requested, photos along with measurements of this piece.

I look forward to your feedback.

thanks
Andy

 

Andy,

Found the additional pictures interesting. They seem to confirm what I thought which is this jug was hand made. Being more close-up pics, it confirmed what I thought I had seen in the collar, handle, eyebrows and lips. These were all applied after the jug was molded and shaped. At least that's what I'm seeing. Now I also see something else I could not see before and that's the crazing in the glaze. Which can happen as a result of age or environment. And unfortunately can effect the price. So overall he's in good condition without any chips or scrapes. And the only 2 things I can see against this jug is that it has no mark and it has the crazing. So I thank you for your measurements and I had to convert them into inches as I'm in the US. Which I came up with approx. 5" tall x 4 1/4" wide. Funny..noticed your ruler had inches on the other side! Ok, with all this info gathered, I still think this jug could bring a good price being hand made. And being that it was made in the 1800s, not all potters early on marked their jugs. I've got a jug book of early potters. I'm going to find it and see if I can find anything in it that might help. Let me get back to you.

Dana

 

One question, does the jug seem heavy for its size? If not, this is good. It doesn't look like the sides from looking inside from the top are thick. So I'm not expecting it to be too heavy for it's size.

 

Bit bemused by the "clay" references. All pottery is made from clay. Do you mean earthenware, or what? There's plenty of late 19th and into the 20th C character and Toby jugs made of that.

 

Thank you, it’s 366 grams if that helps !

 

Ok, its heavier than I would have thought. That puts it at over 3/4 lbs. The reason I ask is that weight of early jugs matters. When made by a well known jug maker, they were made lighter and the slip of the clay was thinner. Often there were many disputes among the potteries. There weren't that many potteries but if a designer got unhappy he would leave and go to another. And sometimes he couldn't get a job. And would start making jugs out of whatever clay he could find using whatever tools he could scrounge up. Be them crude or not. And some resorted to methods that were less than quality to try and sell their works. These jugs came to be known as fakes. Real potters might use all kinds of things to make their jugs stand out. Not just the design. Some would mix things into the clay to give it a spotted look. The men who would create the fakes, would use coffee grounds mixed into the clay. I don't know what the original potters used. There were many things done to cause oxidation in the clay. And some of the fakes were produced with these attributes. But one thing about the fakes that has been passed down is to be weary of the weight of a jug because if it seems too heavy for its size it's most likely a fake. I myself have managed to purchase a large toby jug even though I prefer miniatures. And I was very excited about this jug because it was dated into the 1750s. And I believe that its probably 1760s. So very close. But the weight is way off. But to be honest, I don't care! Just to own a jug of that time and I think mine does have coffee grounds in the clay! And the clay looks like tigers eye, its spotted! And beautiful! Having coffee grounds certainly shows the period in time that tobys went thru. And I'm thrilled to own it. I paid a pretty penny for it but if it hadn't been a fake, it would have been 3-4 times what I paid and I would have never got to own it! So you have to look at things for what they are. You were given this and other items, so anything you get will be gravy!

Ok, given everything I now know. I believe I can give you an estimate on a price you can sell this jug for.

So let's recap:
Made in England
19th Century
Handmade
Early Character Jug because of crazing
Probably a fake due to weight

I would value this jug at around $350.00. You can convert to British pounds. Being handmade and the fact that this is an early character jug is what I'm basing the value on. Even though its probably a fake I still think it's a early piece and has a nice value. I just wish I knew who he was. But I do not know that as I haven't seen him before.

Good luck!
Dana

 

No not really. Tobys and Character jugs were made out of clay in the 1800s and 1900s but by the end of the 1900s times had changed. Jugs began to be made out of other mediums. Some potters still used clay but most jugs were changed and we began to see ceramics or glass come on the market. England started the jugs but eventually a number of countries began to make them. But they were never made in every country. There's only a limited group of countries that made them. France used white clays. But most jugs are no longer made from clay. So when I see colored clay I can usually tell what country it's from. Hope this helps.

 

How is it a fake if it isn't marked?

 

I really appreciate your responses to my post, you really have gone out of your way to help me with this.

I’ll be sticking it on eBay tomorrow with the information you’ve given me which will hopefully have more interest.

thanks again!

 

Great reading these comments especially Dana's. My thought was that was a very earthy looking clay so pretty old. I have designed and worked on sculpts at factories making character "figural ceramic mugs" for Looney Tunes, Star Trek, etc. We would use dolomite which is much whiter and lighter. Very labor intensive and high breakage factor for this type of item - nice to see such a senior mug!

 

I admit I'm still confused by your wording as was OBB.

Ceramics=things made of clay
Lower fired types of clay=earthenware/pottery/ironstone etc
Higher fired types of clay=stoneware and porcelain

 

Fakes weren't marked because the person making them wouldn't be with a pottery. Oh some might try to do a knock-off mark but most left no mark. So then it goes to the weight of the jug and anything embedded into the clay. I don't see anything in the clay so I'm basing this off of a jug that is not too tall or wide yet is 3/4 lbs. That tells me that even though it's not thick at its opening its thicker elsewhere in the jug. And based upon this and being handmade, this jug is most likely a fake. But as I said, it's still a very nice jug. It's still from the 1800s. Most likely around 1860-1880s and very nicely done! But I'm well versed in the history of toby and character jugs and that's why I know about such jugs. Most people don't know they exist.

 

Raw clay from the ground. Was use for making toby and character jugs. Later different mediums were used. And yes, things are fired at different temperatures. But as the slip changed it is entirely different than using raw clay.