The white relief figures on this medium-size glazed drabware jug present a bacchanalian subject, but of the most refined and indeed innocent sort. Chubby putti and satyrs, in truth babies, amuse themselves in playful teasing ways. The presence of the "thyrsus," a pine cone topped staff, indicates that one of the boys may be the infant Bacchus. Scattered trees and a set of pan pipes suggest an arcadian grove.  An overflowing basket of grapes and nearby amphora remind us of the harvest and wine making to come. However the final clue may come in the ring of grapevine around the neck of this graceful club jug.  Beneath the spout, Wedgwood has placed a goat horned mask of the merrymaker himself, Baachus -- let the merriment begin!

Lady Diana Beauclerk--a noblewoman and artist who, before her two marriages, was in fact the Lady Diana Spencer of the eighteenth century--produced sketches for these groups during the lifetime of Josiah I. A friend of Horace Walpole and Samuel Johnson, she illustrated a number of books as well. Wedgwood made use of these designs well into the nineteenth century. Examples exist in a variety of stoneware bodies, including jasper, and with either applied or molded relief. There are no clearer examples of the refined, playful, rococo approach to a classical subject. Plus the boys simply overflow with charm.