Antique Motto Ware Puzzle Jug – Hart & Moist Pottery

This stunning antique piece of motto ware is a puzzle jug. Puzzle jugs are designed to make it difficult to drink from. This one being by forcing you to cover the holes of the jug in order to pour from it without making a mess. It features the motto in the form of a challenge being “Try how to drink and not to spill. And prove the utmost of your skill”. Making it a great conversation starter at any dinner. It measures at 10 cm tall, 12 cm including handle wide, and 9 cm without the handle.

It was made by the Hart & Moist company of Haven Rd in Exeter, England. The company opened shop in 1896 and on the 30th of December in 1932 they filed for bankruptcy. This piece was made sometime between 1896 and 1920 as up until 1920 the base of the pots were impressed H M Exeter, or sometimes a circular Royal Devon Art Potteries England was applied from a rubber stamp. This piece features the second mark.

The last example of this piece sold for $108 CAD without any markings on the bottom. Making this an amazing piece of history with a great price.

To avoid potential confusion it is important to mention that Royal Devon Art Pottery was also the name of another company that was founded in 1876 and is featured in the achieves of the British museum however that is a different company and is not related to this piece.

Rather than restating the history of the piece, if you would like more information then please refer to these 3 amazing references on the history of the company.
History of Exeter Art Pottery (Company that was run by William Hart prior to creating Hart & Moist) https://torquaypottery.info/about/potteries-in-torquay-area/exeter-art-pottery
History of Hart & Moist https://torquaypottery.info/about/potteries-in-torquay-area/hart-moist-pottery
History of both Exeter Art Pottery and Hart & Moist https://exetermemories.co.uk/em/hartmoist.php