Lot Essay
Another Dutch example, dated 1744 and in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is illustrated by Elisabeth Neurdenburg, Old Dutch Pottery and Tiles, 1923, pl. XXXI and by D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Delft, Niederländische Fayence, Munich, 1984, p.218, no. 103. The form is not known in English delft, however it is known in silver - see lot 186 in the present sale.
Also known is an English delft puzzle jug painted in a similar manner, if not by the same hand, inscribed John:Keeling and dated 1742. Acquired from the Rous Lench Collection (Christie's, London 29 May 1990, lot 23), it is now in the Longridge Collection (Leslie Grigsby, The Longridge Collection of English Slipware and Delftware, vol. II, London, 2000, pp. 328-329, D.300).
Given the similarities between this puzzle jug and the two Dutch kettles made within three years of each other, questions arise. Was the unknown painter of Dutch origin working in England? An Englishman who emigrated to the Netherlands? Given that the kettle form is known in English silver, is scholarship wrong and both kettles are English? Or is the 1742 puzzle jug Dutch?
Also known is an English delft puzzle jug painted in a similar manner, if not by the same hand, inscribed John:Keeling and dated 1742. Acquired from the Rous Lench Collection (Christie's, London 29 May 1990, lot 23), it is now in the Longridge Collection (Leslie Grigsby, The Longridge Collection of English Slipware and Delftware, vol. II, London, 2000, pp. 328-329, D.300).
Given the similarities between this puzzle jug and the two Dutch kettles made within three years of each other, questions arise. Was the unknown painter of Dutch origin working in England? An Englishman who emigrated to the Netherlands? Given that the kettle form is known in English silver, is scholarship wrong and both kettles are English? Or is the 1742 puzzle jug Dutch?