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Lot Essay
The inscriptions on the present jug relate to the campaign for the election of Edmund Wigley, M.P. for Worcester in 1789 and 1790. Unopposed in the 1789 by-election, Wigley was sponsored by a group of independent Freemen of Worcester. In the general election the following year, Wigley stood alongside Edmund Lechmere as the official Tory party candidate, opposed by Samuel Smith. As the jug does not mention these men, it seems more likely that it was made for the un-opposed election of the previous year.
This earthenware jug was probably made at the Kidderminster Pottery (1778-93) and then taken to Worcester for a porcelain standard of decoration. The Chamberlain's order book of 1789 shows that Edmund Wigley purchased porcelain from the factory; however, the order for the decoration of this jug has not been found. Jugs such as this would probably have been made to be displayed at public houses loyal to Wigley's cause where political meetings were held, of which the Rein Deer Inn is likely an example.
The jug was made as a pair, the other decorated with a portrait of Queen Charlotte, whose popularity in Worcester was considerable as a result of the Royal visit to the city and the Flights firm in August 1788. Unfortunately this jug was irreparably damaged and is now lost.
A similar example was sold, sale Sotheby's, London, 15th September 1992, lot 218, and is now in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation collection (No. 1992-160).
This earthenware jug was probably made at the Kidderminster Pottery (1778-93) and then taken to Worcester for a porcelain standard of decoration. The Chamberlain's order book of 1789 shows that Edmund Wigley purchased porcelain from the factory; however, the order for the decoration of this jug has not been found. Jugs such as this would probably have been made to be displayed at public houses loyal to Wigley's cause where political meetings were held, of which the Rein Deer Inn is likely an example.
The jug was made as a pair, the other decorated with a portrait of Queen Charlotte, whose popularity in Worcester was considerable as a result of the Royal visit to the city and the Flights firm in August 1788. Unfortunately this jug was irreparably damaged and is now lost.
A similar example was sold, sale Sotheby's, London, 15th September 1992, lot 218, and is now in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation collection (No. 1992-160).