D264, D265, D266. MUGS 
Probably Bristol 
If Bristol, Limekiln Lane or 
possibly Temple Back 
(D264) Dated 1731 
(D265, D266) 1720-1735 
 
(D264) H.: 6 5/8" (16.8 cm); 
Diam. (body): 3 5/8" (9.2 cm); 
Diam. (with handle): 5 1/8" (13 cm) 
(D265) H.: 4 7/8" (12.4 cm); 
Diam. (body): 3 5/8" (9.2 cm); 
Diam. (with handle): 4 3/4" (12.1 cm) 
(D266) H.: 4 1/8" (10.5 cm); 
Diam. (body): 3 1/8" (7.9 cm); 
Diam. (with handle): 4 3/8" (11.1 cm) 
 
BODY CLAY: Medium-grained buff 
with small inclusions. 
TIN GLAZE: White, (D265, D266) with 
brown and blue speckling. (All) Overall, 
excluding (D264) nearly entire bottom 
and (D265, D266) edges of bottoms. 
SHAPE: Thrown. (D264) Handle slighly 
concave on interior and exterior. 
(D265) Handle nearly flat on interior, 
slightly concave on exterior. (D266) 
Handle nearly flat on interior, convex 
on exterior. (All) Handles with slightly 
curled lower terminals. Concave bot- 
toms with narrow, fiat edges. 
DECORATION: Painted and sponged. 
Fox, (D264, D265) leaping fence and (all) 
flanked by trees and bushes. (D264) 
Inscribed "Be ware of the sly/Dog fox 
1731." (D265) Inscribed "beware/of the 
fox." (All) Borders composed of horizon- 
tal lines. (D264) Handle bears horizontal 
slashes. (D266) Handle sponged. 
 
Published: (D264) Lipski and Archer, Dated 
Delftware, no, 819. 
Ex colls.: (D264) L. L. Lipski. (D266) E. Pitts 
Curtis. 
 
 
                                          DELFTWARE IBeverage Wares 
 
                                          Cups (Single Handled), Mugs, and
a Goblet 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Although delft mugs showing a bounding fox and "Beware the Fox"

inscriptions are not uncommon, dated examples are rare.' The undated ones

shown here (D265, D266) may predate the 1731 version (D264), based on a mug

of much the same shape dated 1720 and a 1711 dated bowl bearing a fox and

the inscription., (The bowl may be the earliest dated delft piece with the
inscrip- 
tion.) Excavated material indicates fox mugs were made at one or more 
potteries in Bristol and, perhaps, at Brislington.:' A 1670 to 1700 possibly

London delft caudle cup fragment inscribed "[missing1E:OF'THE:FOX:"
was 
unearthed from Oxford's Bodleian tunnel, and a "Be Ware of the Fox"
mug was 
excavated in York County, Virginia, at the site of a property that belonged
to 
Quaker merchant John Bates in the eighteenth century. 
   The unusual inclusion of the words "sly dog" and the exaggerated
mas- 
culinity of the creature on the 1731 mug (D264) may have held particular

significance for the vessel's owner. It has been suggested that the more
typical 
"Beware the Fox" inscription meant "be careful that your drink
is not spoilt,"' 
but as early as 1611, the term fox meant "to intoxicate, befuddle,"
"to redden 
(one's nose) with drinking," and "to get drunk." This interpretation,
with "the 
Fox" synonymous with drunkenness," is supported by "BEWARE
THE DRINK/ 
THE FOX/1672" on a lead-glazed, earthenware, beaker-shaped cup, probably

from Wiltshire, and "Good Ale will catch him" inscribed on a circa
1730 delft 
jug with a fox.7 
    The "Good Ale" jug, said to have been bought by Glaisher from
a person 
 named Fox, lends credence to the theory that at least some pieces in the
group 
 relate to Henry Fox, first Baron Holland (1705-1774), who became active
in pol- 
 itics in the 1730s. The seated fox and "Beware of the Fox" inscription
on a circa 
 1780 enameled creamware teapot, by William Greatbatch, is thought to refer
to 
 the baron's son, Charles James Fox, a reforming member of Parliament.' 
 
 
D264, D265, D266 
 
 
290 The Longridge Collection