French Country · Encyclopedia · Pottery and Earthenware
Oil jugs
Terracotta jugs that held the household's year's supply of oil in the nineteenth century, closed with a straw stopper wrapped in cloth. Their shape varies little; only the handles and glaze color change from region to region.
French: cruches à huile · Mâconnais and Auvergne · terracotta
At a glance
- Regions shown: around Mâcon, Auvergne
- Material: glazed terracotta
- Closure: straw stopper wrapped in cloth
- Regional differences: handle placement and curve, glaze color
What they are
A large-bellied jug with handles and a narrow mouth, glazed inside to hold oil. The book notes that the shape is practically the same from one region to another; only the position and curve of the handles and the color of the glaze differ.
The year's oil
In the nineteenth century the household's annual provision of oil, walnut oil in many regions, was kept in these jugs. They were sealed with a straw stopper tightly wrapped in cloth. One of the jugs in the book comes from around Mâcon; the other, with a worn glaze, is from the Auvergne.
Collecting and displaying them
Look for sound handles and an interior glaze without deep cracks. Old oil residues can be cleaned gently, but the jug should not be used for food again.
A large oil jug stands well on the floor of a kitchen or entrance, with branches or dried grasses.
Source: Les Trésors de France: vieux métiers et objets d'autrefois (Éditions Rustica, Détours en France collection, 1995), pp. 130–135, with general background on the object. The book was published in 1995, so workshops, people and figures are described as they were then. Regional names and dates are given as the book records them; a style or a region of origin does not by itself date an individual piece.