Antique Georgian Mustard pot circa 1790-1810 - Ref.B-35

The name, 'Mustard' comes from the Romans who experimented by mixing ground mustard seeds with unfermented grape juice (known as 'must) and thus creating a hot condiment which they named 'mustum ardens' - today's 'must ard'.  By 1292, mustard makers appeared in Paris and Dijon soon evolved as the centre of the mustard empire.
By 1390, mustard had made its appearance in England, usually made by the monasteries and by the Georgian period, it was one of the most common condiments, freely available.

 This small ceramic mustard pot measures 5.5cm in length with a width of 4cm and stands just over 4cm high, including the cover. An early transfer printed design of 'ruins' (an unrecorded design) is found on the front, which is carried around the sides. The back is plain. The cover shows a floral design. Very typical of ceramics produced in England during the late 1700's the glaze is quite rough, showing numerous bubbles. The body of the pot is of a granular white appearance, with some brown spotting on the interior  and smaller spotting on the exterior, typical marks found in the early coal-fired ceramic ware. The small knob at the top of the lid shows a small overglazed 'chip' which would have been a 'factory-fault'.  A very small chip to the lid has been repaired at some stage. The pot shows an unglazed base but no makers mark, again attesting to its early age - marking of ceramics only appeared much later. All in all, a very interesting - and, very rare piece of Georgian history.