At first it does not make any sense that the Highlanders should be looking so defiant and warlike when the date on the mug is 1753, nor should they be wearing their full plaid and carrying swords and shields, as the English government had outlawed both acts (punishable by death) since routing the Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden in 1746.
However, Jeremy Lamond, auctioneer at Halls of Shrewsbury, had researched this Staffordshire stoneware ‘Jacobite’ mug in some detail before selling it on June 29. In reference to the date, he discovered that in 1753 the Prince had secretly visited England, while in October his mistress, Clementina Walkinshaw, gave birth to their daughter, Charlotte. Both events might have been commemorated by this mug.
Apart from the Jacobite significance, the mug is exceptionally rare as a piece of early dated stoneware, and as such attracted the attention of top London dealers. A stoneware Jacobite teapot dated 1759 is illustrated in Geoffrey Godden’s British Pottery (plate 107) and a tankard, now in MoMa, is illustrated in Mountford’s Staffordshire Saltglazed Stoneware (plate 175).
The animated decoration of this mug, its scratch blue naivety, was especially charming: “You do not have to be a pottery collector to appreciate it,” said Jonathan Horne, who led the bidding with £23,000 (plus 15 per cent buyer’s premium and VAT).
IF only…
The two letters IF are the initials of this mug’s owner, but IF could equally be read as an expression of desire, of conditional optimism, when you realise why the mug was made.
