Jug with a coat of arms, scenes and a portrait c. 1570 - 1590

Curator: It's remarkable, isn't it? The sheer mundaneness elevated to art. It just appears old and kind of homely. Editor: This earthenware jug, crafted between 1570 and 1590, offers a glimpse into the aesthetics of the late Renaissance. What appears plain belies a wealth of social symbolism. It’s titled “Jug with a coat of arms, scenes and a portrait.” Curator: Immediately, those embedded circular medallions catch my eye. Each little tableau tells a story. I see what looks like a portrait on one, a coat of arms of nobility, a window into their life and sense of self. This gives it an important quality almost akin to religious artworks Editor: Precisely. The incorporation of a coat of arms indicates this jug wasn’t just utilitarian; it served as a statement of identity, prestige. Vessels such as these held significant weight beyond their functional use. What sort of cultural values could it hold today, a similar vessel? Curator: Today it would need a modern context for values. As a form it's simply familiar. We use pitchers and vases, things which carry. Perhaps our most precious contemporary items that can easily sit as cultural symbols are trophies for sporting events, even down to neighborhood baseball games, right? Things that are used and carried as symbols. What's very poignant here is that it tells a human story. The fingerprints of a culture exist here. A culture lost in time. It seems almost too unassuming for something as important. Editor: Well, in its time it was likely quite meaningful for those who used it regularly. These sorts of objects shaped and reflected contemporary sensibilities. We are looking at history made tangible. We get to understand a very individual culture that once existed. It serves as both a reflection of their status and the culture from where the culture derived its meanings. I will look differently at pottery from now on!