Bellarmine jugs, bottles, and drinking mugs were produced by the potteries of the Rhineland area, from the sixteenth century onwards.
They were exported in large numbers to this country, where they became very popular.
These handsome stoneware vessels take their name from the fierce, bearded face embossed upon them, which was supposed to be that of Cardinal Bellarmine.
They are also sometimes called greybeard jugs, on account of this typical decoration.
As well as being in general use as a household article, Bellarmine bottles were remarkably popular for the purpose of casting spells and counterspells, especially in London and the eastern counties of England.
They have often been unearthed from the ruins of old English houses dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in circumstances that point to their connection with witchcraft.
The typical Bellarmine bottle has a large body and a narrow neck, which can be tightly stopped.
