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11 March 2020

Spode and more Royal Jade... and mask jugs

A while ago I wrote a blogpost about Royal Jade. You can find it by clicking Spode and Royal Jade. There is also more information on my Spode ABC which you can find on the P-R page.

However I have been given the opportunity to share some photos of a jug and bowl currently (March 2020) on sale on eBay - thank you to the seller.

And in this blogpost, as usual, I also go off at some tangents...

The two items of Royal Jade on eBay are a jug and bowl and are shown as a 'wash set'. This is not a combination I have found in this range but of course Spode made a great deal of toiletware over the years. Royal Jade usually seems to be used for decorative items, or small useful items such as ashtrays and candlesticks, so I suspect that this is a pair of normally unconnected pieces which go really well together. I think they are lovely.

I have seen the bowl before and it features on the cover of a Royal Jade leaflet of 1934. It has Royal Jade shape number J53 and the shape name Osborne Bowl. It was available in 3 sizes: 7", 8" and 9".
Royal Jade 7" Osborne Bowl
Backstamp on bowl
Cover of leaflet 1934
The jug, though, I have not seen. I have not spotted it in the Royal Jade leaflet either. It is interesting to see that this new range of wares in the 1930s used antique as well as new shapes. The jug is often described as a mask jug. It is a style made by Spode and other manufacturers in the early 1800s.
Royal Jade mask jug
Backstamp on jug
Spode mask jug, Botanical pattern, c1828
Mask jug, Copeland & Garrett c1838-1847
I have included the 2 antique mask jugs for comparison.

The Copeland & Garrett one is badged with arms and with a motto: 'Manners Maketh Man'. Its backstamp includes G. Savage Winton as well as the Copeland & Garrett mark. I think, but haven't researched it fully, that the badge is probably for New College Oxford; and that the name G. Savage refers to the caterer who supplied not only the meals for colleges but also the tableware. Spode supplied other caterers with tableware for their services to other colleges of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. (Peter Stovin has researched and written about this subject extensively, for an example click here>.)
Detail of badge, 'Manners Maketh Man'
Backstamp