The low bulbous body of this water bottle is embellished on each side with fairly unruly, if not dramatic, natural vignettes. Colorfully enameled birds dart after butterflies, clearly with dinner in mind, amid wildflowers that are more suggestive of a hedgerow than a cultivated garden. This un-composed approach to nature reflects the Japanese models associated with Aesthetic Movement design emulated by European potteries of the last decades of the nineteenth century. 

The visual and tactile contrast between the richly colored glassy enamels and the flat matte terracotta surface is especially striking in this example.  (We have a similarly effective contrast--in a different ceramic context--with the enameled basalts and red stonewares of Wedgwood.) The thickly applied enamels approach the quality of low relief, recalling the French relief enamels (emaux en relief) developed by Theodore Deck.

One aspect of the enameling, however, is based on practicality rather than aesthetics. The wide enamel band at the collar protects the porous clay body from the oils inevitably transferred in handling and pouring.

The second half of the nineteenth century saw a surge in the popularity of terracotta vessels, and water bottles like this seem to have been a popular item--often accompanied by a simple undertray as well. While such items were produced by Watcombe and F.& R. Pratt, the consensus attribution on this piece is Dudson -- due to the style of the foot.  Examples generally lack a maker's identifying mark.