This stunning hand painted maiolica Deruta ceramic jug comes in the traditional Rooster jug shape but has been beautifully hand painted on a background of rich yellow with poppy flowers or 'papaveri' in Italian..

Click on the image above to see a larger picture and scroll through the images to see the beautiful detail on this lovely jug.  On the base of the jug the artist has hand painted the 'MOD' which stands for 'Majolica of Deruta' the company that made the jug and then, 'Deruta Italy' to confirm that this has been made in this Umbrian town and 'Dipinto a Mano' to confirm that it has been hand painted.

This Rooster jug has a volumetric capacity of 1 litre and measures 240mm high and approximately 180mm wide..

The "Rooster Pitcher" or "Rooster Jug" dates back to the early Renaissance period.  At this time, the Medici family, one of the most powerful landowning families of the time, held a feast in a village for their peasants.  After the feast, when everyone was asleep, a rival family sent assassins to the village to kill the Medici.  However, the roosters in the yards around the village started cackling when disturbed by the assassins, waking both the Medici family and their guards.  The assassins were caught and duly executed.  The Medici family, were so grateful to the roosters for saving their lives that they commissioned local artists to create ceramic replicas of them to be used as wine pitchers.  These were then distributed to the peasants and their friends to commemorate this event and to provide for them similar good luck in times of peril and danger.

Today, these jugs are given by Italian families to their friends and loved ones for wedding and engagement gifts with the hope that they bring similar good fortune with them.

These jugs are also still used as wine pitchers and pour beautifully, but they can also be used of course as a jug for any purpose, or as an ornament.

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