Jar

From around 1490 onwards, German pottery centres started applying facial masks to the necks of stoneware jars. The potter would model the eyes, nose and beard (and sometimes a pair of arms with hands) with the aid of patches and strips of clay on the neck and shoulder of the jar. These jars were known as Bartmann jars (from Ger. Bartmann, ‘bearded man’). They were very common in the Netherlands, especially in the 16th century. The Bartmann jar depicted here was found in Utrecht.