Tribute is paid to the virtues of country life in the purple transfer harvest scene which...
Tribute is paid to the virtues of country life in the purple transfer harvest scene which dominates this jug. The scene, repeated on each side, depicts several workers engaged in making hay. In the center, a young farmer pauses to talk with the lass who has just brought him water while his fellow worker waits in the hay wagon nearby. Off to the left, three women work at racking up hay.
The typical linear border is replaced by distinct clusters of flowers and farm implements repeated inside and outside the collar. One motif features the tools used in spring planting, the complementary device features the tools of harvest arrayed around a sheaf of wheat.
The most unique feature of this jug, however, is its unusual profile--as curvaceous as an overly prosperous farm wife. The bulging hip of the jug narrows sharply before flaring out again in a prominent collar. More surprising is the inward roll the collar takes at the opening. The upper edge formed by this curve is further accented by molded relief of fruit and foliage which spreads to floral reliefs at the spout and down the handle. The extraordinary size of this example gives dramatic presence and dimension to these molded details.
