French Country · Encyclopedia · Pottery and Earthenware
Cider jug, the Néhou pig
A cider or brandy jug from the Cotentin called puchyi, known as the Néhou pig for its spout shaped like a pig's head. Néhou, Sauxemesnil and Vindefontaine were famous for their glazed stoneware.
French: pichet, « puchyi » · Cotentin, Normandy · glazed stoneware
At a glance
- Region: Cotentin, Normandy
- Material: glazed stoneware
- Nickname: cochon de Néhou
- Neighboring centers: Sauxemesnil (water fountains), Vindefontaine (marquis jugs)
What it is
A pot-bellied jug for cider or apple brandy, whose opening is shaped like a pig's head. Locally it is called puchyi.
Three villages of potters
The book explains that Néhou, Sauxemesnil and Vindefontaine were villages famous for glazed stoneware. Vindefontaine made jugs in the shape of a marquis wearing a tricorn, Sauxemesnil many fine water fountains, and Néhou this pig-headed pot.
Collecting and displaying it
Look for the modeled head without major repairs and a glaze consistent with age. Figurative pieces are popular and have been copied.
A Néhou pig makes a humorous centerpiece on a dresser or a dining table.
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.