Puzzle jugs attributed to Sewell & Donkin at St Anthony's Pottery
Occasionally, a marked item comes along that causes an exciting shift in attributions. The 1833 jug below has a lovely impressed 'SEWELL.' mark within a raised beaded frame.
There is now no doubt in my mind that the Pringle jug and the two puzzle jugs below were all made at St Anthony's Pottery in Newcastle.
Previously, I'd attributed the puzzle jugs to Sheriff Hill on the basis of the items below. The Wesley plate has a 'J.&P' (Jackson and Patterson) impressed mark. Jackson & Patterson ran the Sheriff Hill Pottery from 1833. Read more about Sheriff Hill inscriptions here. The mug, although unmarked, has the same Wesley transfer and painted script. The lower case L is particularly distinctive. It also has very similar flower decoration and text to the Pringle mug above.
So the pot painter / enameller work at St Anthony's Pottery (Sewell & Donkin) until at least 1833. He then moved to Gateshead and started work for the Sheriff Hill Pottery at some time before 1839.
Pink lustre puzzle jugs
The Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums catalogue attributes the jug below to Dawson's Low Ford Pottery. Although Dawson did make puzzle jugs (see here), they are smaller and less bulbous in form. The Museum catalogue states '19th century creamware puzzle jug given as wedding gift to John Burnop and Mary Douglas, 1828'. The elaborate initials are similar to those on the other pink-lustre items below. The mariners' compass transfer is also common to items on this page.
Sewell produced multiple versions of this transfer on tea wares, often found in canary yellow.
Photo Anderson and Garland
