19th-Century French Conscience Terracotta Jug in Apple- Green Glaze - 15"

This rare 19th-century conscience jug from southwest France is crafted in glazed earthenware, with a tall ovoid body rising to a short neck and flared collar. Four robust lug handles are set around the form, two low on the body and two high at the shoulders, giving both balance and strength. The vessel is covered in a luminous green glaze that shifts from apple to jade, pooling in soft runs and thinning in places. Its surface bears the marks of long use, with scattered glaze losses, small chips, and gentle abrasions, all contributing to a rich, timeworn patina.

Known as a conscience, the form of this jug derives from vessels once used by the church after the olive harvest to collect oil donations for the poor. Priests would carry them from farm to farmhouse, the multiple handles allowing ropes to be threaded through so the jug could be secured on a donkey’s back. In return for each offering, the priest would bless the donor’s conscience, giving these jugs their evocative name.

Beyond this charitable function, such robust vessels were also used more simply for the transport of water, the same rope system allowing them to be fastened to a donkey or carriage for everyday use. Today, this conscience jug stands as both a striking decorative object and a rare artifact of rural French life. Its unusual form and vivid glaze lend sculptural presence to a console, kitchen dresser, or farmhouse table, while its history speaks to the intertwined traditions of craftsmanship, generosity, and faith in 19th-century Provence and Gascony.