Frechen Ware is a pottery distributed through Europe between the 13th and 19th centuries. The name frechen came from the town Frechen, which is not far from Cologne in Rhineland (western Germany). Cologne was the original maker of pottery for Europe but in the mid 16th Century, Frechen took the industry over. In the mid 17th century, English brown stoneware began to lessen the need for Rhienish stoneware.
This mottled brown stoneware was fired at high temperatures in special kilns. The glaze came from adding common salt at the highest temperature. This salt glazing came in the decoration of the motifs. Although all colors were possible with this type of production, primarily cobalt blue and manganese purple were used in their homelands.
The most common of Frechen Ware was the `Bellarmine' or Bartman jug. It is a gray-bodied jug with a bearded face on the neck and a medallion on the body. These jugs were shipped in mass quantities to England between 1550 and 1700. These were mainly used in the Inns and Taverns of England for storing and serving wine. They were even found in many of the colonies of America.
REFERENCES:
http://www.hadas.org.uk/pdf/tedsammes/interim_sept_02/index.html
http://www.beerstein.net/articles/s7712.htm
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/class/313/ceramics/period-2b.htm - pictures here.
Written by Craig Fisher 2003