M. FORD CREECH ANTIQUES & FINE ARTS

 

 

RARE & UNUSUAL CARVED BURR WALNUT GUGLET (BOTTLE VASE)
Probably 17th Century & English

 

 

Carved from a walnut root, the 'guglet' (or bottle vase) having a long neck and bulbous body,

whimsically executed in the manner of Rhineland Stoneware 'Bellarmine' (Bartmann) Jugs*,
depicting a female face (rather than typical 'Bearded Man')
and wearing a 12-13th century female cloth headdress :
her head covered with a 'wimple' **,
accompanied by a 'gorget' (binding up the neck and chin) and secured by a wide 'fillet',
placed low on the head (forming the lip of the jug)

 

Condition : Excellent, and it does hold water

 

*"In the sixteenth century, wines and beers were drawn from barrels into bottles of stoneware or leather.
This type of stoneware bottle (salt-glazed) was made in the Netherlands (also Germany)
and incorporated a stamped image (said to be) of Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) (bearded).
This man was a bitter opponent of the Dutch Reformed Church
and thus it was common for Protestants who disliked him to smash the jugs.
These vessels were also frequently used as 'witch bottles.'
This entailed filling the jug with certain articles, sealing it and burying it.
This was done in order to deflect a witch's curse.
Many of these witch bottles have been discovered buried under ground."
Merrifield, R.: 1987: The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic

 
**In many medieval cultures, it was unseemly for a married woman to show her hair.

 

6" High

 

Price : Please Inquire

 

#7433 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Robert Bellarmine, Jesuit and Doctor of the Church; Born 4 Oct. 1542,

Montepulciano, Italy / Died 17 Sept. 1621, Rome, Italy; anonymous, Italian School

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Also See :

 

 

Good Set of Four 17th Century Carved Oak Panels
English or Dutch
Depicting Four Roman Gods :Jupiter, Diana, Mars and Sol 

 

 


 

 

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or

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M. Ford Creech Antiques & Fine Arts / 581 South Perkins Road /  Memphis, TN 38117 / USA /  Wed.-Sat. 11-6, or by appointment

 


 

 

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Rare & Unusual Walnut Root Carved as a Bellarmine-type Guglet, probably 17c 

 

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