Davy Jones toby jug large size produced by Sterling Pottery of Fenton, England, circa 1950 after being purchased by Ridgway in 1950. Davy Jones is a pirate, a figure of nautical folklore best known from the idiom "Davy Jones' Locker". The origins of the name of Davy Jones, the sailors' devil, are unclear, with a 19th-century dictionary tracing Davy Jones to a "ghost of Jonah". Other explanations of this nautical superstition have been put forth, including an incompetent sailor or a pub owner who kidnapped sailors. Davy Jones' locker is a metaphor for the oceanic abyss, the final resting place of drowned sailors and travelers. It is a euphemism for drowning or shipwrecks in which the sailors' and ships' remains are consigned to the depths of the ocean. The locker that Jones is sitting on has a nameplate with Davy Jones written on it. A flintlock pistol forms the handle of the jug. This is the largest of three known sizes with the medium standing 7 3/4" tall and the small 5 1/2" tall.
Maker:
Sterling Pottery
England
circa 1950
Model #:
toby jug
Size:
large
Height:
9"