Mug
Category
Ceramics
Date
1784 - 1789
Materials
creamware with applied ceramic chips or grog
Measurements
195 mm (Dia); 135 mm (H)
Place of origin
Denbighshire
Order this imageCollection
Erddig, Wrexham
NT 1146170
Summary
Mug, cream coloured earthenware, slight tapered form, simple loop handle, probably made at the Wynnstay Pottery, Denbighshire, ca 1784-9; an applied shield with crossed foxes to the front of the body, two wide bands of applied ceramic chips or grog around the body and simple turned bands above the foot and below the rim.
Full description
This unusual, rather coarsely made mug is probably a very rare product of the short-lived Wynnstay Pottery, which was founded by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (1749-89) on the grounds of his Denbighshire estate, near to Erddig. Williams Wynn was one of the wealthiest men of his day, having inherited an enormous estate in North Wales and Shropshire. He received substantial income from coal and mineral extraction on his land, as well as agricultural tenancies. Sir Watkin and Philip Yorke of Erddig were near neighbours, socialised together and also shared antiquarian interests. Wynn furnished Wynnstay, his Welsh home and Wynn House, his Robert Adam-designed London property, in a luxurious manner – buying silver dessert services, French porcelain, fashionable Wedgwood creamware and commissioning portraits from Pompeo Batoni and Joshua Reynolds. Unusually, he also used the clay on his Welsh land to experiment with making his own ceramics. Little is known of the Wynnstay Pottery, but it was set up for Williams Wynn by the ceramic modeller Jean Voyez in the mid-1780s. The archive of the Staffordshire potter Enoch Wood gives an insight into the origin of the Wynnstay Pottery and the relationship between Williams Wynn and Voyez: “… [Voyez] soon became acquainted with Sir Watkin William[s] [Wynn] who had advertised for a Person to Superintend a new Earthenware Manufactory on his Estate in Wales, who soon entrusted him with Cash to purchase Lathes, Wheels, &c &c. One day Voyez applied to me for my advice upon a subject respecting how much profit he should charge to Sir Watkin upon a Quantity of Cobalt he had bought at half price. He thought ought to charge the common selling price in the market. I asked if he had engaged with Sir Watkin for weekly wages, or annual salary; if either he should put down the price he paid, only, this he thought not making the best of his own abilities for himself. I soon perceived that agreement would be of short duration.” The only recorded piece made at the pottery is made from caneware, a type of fine stoneware and is a ‘Fair Hebe’ jug, a design by Voyez made at several different potteries. It is marked ‘I VOYEZ’ and ‘Sir / W.W.W. / Bart’ (‘Bart’ standing for Baronet). Letters written by Sir Watkin from the Netherlands in July 1788 suggest that the Wynnstay potters were also experimenting with producing creamware, a fashionable, pale-coloured earthenware – the same type used to make the Erddig mug. He wrote ‘I am very anxious to hear how the Potters go on as they must make their ware much thinner and not so yellow.’ By May 1789, shortly before his death, Sir Watkin had apparently put a ‘total stop to all Expense at the Pottery for the present’ and was surprised to hear that a number of the potters actually had abandoned his works. The crossed foxes were part of the coat of arms of the Williams Wynn family and are applied prominently on the Erddig mug. A 1790 inventory of the Confectioner’s Room at Wynnstay lists very similar objects stored there, including ‘2 Quart Mugs, 2 Frosted Bands, Cross Foxes in Front’ another pair of the same ‘without Cross Foxes’. A further couple of quart mugs were ‘hooped and Glazed with Cross Foxes.’ There are also mugs with applied eagles listed, another emblem in the family coat of arms. Other ceramics are described as being decorated with ‘Archers Arms’, a reference to the Royal British Bowmen, a sporting society founded locally in 1787. The society met at the estates around Wrexham, including Erddig and Wynnstay. Drinking and eating was an important aspect and the society had its own marquee with tables, benches, cutlery and ceramics (perhaps including some from the Wynnstay Pottery) that travelled from venue to venue during the season. The descriptions suggest that some of the pieces in the Confectioner’s Room were only partly made – including jugs and mugs listed as ‘biscuit’ (pots that have had a first firing) and unglazed pieces (which might include caneware) – indicating they could be recent relics of the Wynnstay Pottery.
Provenance
Given by Philip Yorke III (1905-1978) along with the estate, house and contents to the National Trust in 1973.
Marks and inscriptions
unmarked
References
Fairclough, 2022: Oliver Fairclough, ‘Sir Watkin’s Table’, The French Porcelain Society Journal, Volume IX (2022), pp. 181-203 Goodby, 2010: Miranda Goodby, ‘The Enoch Wood Archive Part I: Some new information on Ralph Wood, Jean Voyez and Fidelle Duvivier and their roles in eighteenth century Burslem’, Northern Ceramic Society Journal 26 (2010), pp. 158-72