Duits steengoed / German stoneware

From late medieval times up and into the 17th century, Rhenish stoneware from Germany was one of the principal and most characteristic products of North-West Europe. Large quantities were produced in the area between Cologne and Aachen in small towns like Raeren and Siegburg and the wooded Westerwald region. A considerable amount was exported, the Netherlands being an important market. Production consisted chiefly of wine jugs and beer mugs in various shapes and sizes. The decoration was usually simple: brown or grey glaze with blue accents. In the heyday of stoneware, between 1550 and 1625, many pieces were eleborately decorated with stamped or moulded motifs such as coats of arms, masks or biblical scenes. Perhaps the best known object is the 'Bartmannkrug', a bellied jug with a bearded man's head just belown the neck. German stoneware was rediscovered as a collector's item in the last century, when the nucleus of the collection in the Rijksmuseum was formed.