THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE
The Commedia dell'Arte was celebrated in Dutch Delft throughout the 18th century, with its famous stock characters painted on 'South Sea Bubble' plates in the 1720s and formed as statuettes in the mid-18th century. Only one other puzzle-jug painted with its characters known, and it lacks its cover, unlike the present jug. Formerly in the famed collection of textile manufacturer M.G. van Heel, the other jug was donated to the Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede in the 1960s (inv. no. BR0001 [R144]). The present jug is the only known example in private hands. Compare D. F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Collection M.G. van Heel oud Delfts aardewerk, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, 1969, cover illustration.

Developed in Rome in the mid-16th century, Commedia dell'Arte was a form of amusing street theater which was performed by travelling actors. It was initially impromptu and unscripted, and the plot could incorporate topical scandal or politics to engage local audiences. As the tradition of Commedia dell'Arte became more established, the fashion for it spread from Italy throughout Europe particularly to France and what is now Germany, as well as the Netherlands.

THE FORM
Though "trick" vessels date back to the 14th century, it wasn't until the late 17th century that puzzle-jugs became more widely fashionable and production increased in Europe and in China. Essentially portable drinking games, they challenged the uninitiated to figure out how to consume the alcohol inside without spilling the vessel's contents and amused observers. Often a straw concealed within the handle led to at least one open spout at the rim. The (hopeful) imbiber needed to either use the correct spout, or cover several open apertures to create the suction needed to consume the alcohol within.

PROVENANCE
Frederik Jacques ‘Frits’ Philips (1905-2005) was a larger than life persona in Eindhoven, Netherlands for a century. The only son of Anton Philips, founder of the Dutch electronics company Philips, he rose through the company’s ranks to serve as chairman and president. A man of the people known as ‘Mr. Frits’, he was beloved for not differentiating between the rank and file worker and the directors at Philips, and for sitting amongst the crowd at PSV football matches until the age of 100.

During World War II he helped save 382 Jews during Nazi Occupation, arguing they were essential to Philips production. For these actions he was given the honorific ‘Righteous Among Nations’ in 1996. A Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion, Philips was also named ‘Dutch Entrepreneur of the Century’ in 1999.