Everybody can appreciate good quality stoneware mugs. These vessels serve both functional and decorative purposes, whether in the office or at home. In many cases, mugs are even collectibles because of the many ornate styles and designs that can be applied to them.
The well-designed stoneware containers are proven to be great gifts and souvenirs. They are also versatile liquid containers. Stoneware is commonly used for coffee or beer. Nevertheless, there is nothing that restricts the use of mugs to only these beverages. You can just as easily use them for water, sodas, tea, hot chocolate, soup, oatmeal, orange juice, and so on.
That Old Familiar Shape
It is not difficult to spot a mug. Its construction is very familiar. These are essentially a tall cup, a round vessel with a hand-sized, ear-shaped handle. They can be made out of wood, bone, glass, metal, plastic or ceramic. For this article, we will focus on ceramic vessels, particularly those done in stoneware.
It is just as well that our focus is on stoneware, since the earliest reference to these vessels date all the way to the Neolithic Stone Age. During this era man is able to work on clay pottery to produce various implements including drinking vessels similar in function and configuration to our present-day drinking vessels.
Pre-historic drinking vessels were thick-walled. However, by the time metalworking came into our history, production of this was improved and refined with the use of metal tools. Eventually other materials were used to produce mugs. Glass, for example, replaced stoneware because they were, at the time, perceived to be more hygienic due to their transparency.
Sometimes glass mugs are referred to as “beer stein”. What most people don’t know is that the word stein is actually a short-cut for “steingut”, the German term for stoneware, in which beer during the annual Oktoberfest was originally served. Today, beer steins are collected for their artistic quality workmanship.
The value of stoneware
The allure of ceramic workmanship remains to this day. Ceramic drinking vessels are collectibles; most people wouldn’t mind having several of these displayed up on their trophy case. These all exhibit a sense of warmth and artistry because most stoneware vessels are hand-made.
There is certainly value in stoneware items. Antique hand-made stoneware drinking vessels can be priceless. There is an air of tradition with stoneware since the process for making them is unchanged since the birth of the potter’s wheel thousands of years ago. Collecting these items can therefore be a worthwhile endeavor, especially for those who love to follow tradition.
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