This jug has such a lovely shape, I’m giving it a free pass on it’s condition. It’s based on the work of the Italian great, Sergio Asti, whose work often included this exact generous but refined handle and plain spout. But it’s definitely a copy, not an original. I present it here for your enjoyment, at a heavily discounted price compared to any Sergio Asti jug you may have the good fortune to find.

The proportions are lovely. It exudes elegance, tall and slender, as attractive as a functional object can be.

It’s simple shape belies a whole other aspect, which is how well it functions as a table jug. It has a lovely minimal footprint, won’t crowd the table, and pours like a dream, even reaching over the table to fill a guest’s glass, it provides perfect aim and doesn’t drip.

There are no makers marks. It’s been roughly produced. The base metal is brass. The outer is silver plated, the inner appears to be tinned or just had the lightest of silver plate over brass which is now very exposed. See images for condition, which is ‘fair’ - losses are obvious and there are marks and stains that even a good polish hasn’t removed. The jug as presented in these images had just been polished and cleaned with boiling hot water.

The image of the interior does not show rust, even though it appears to. This is just the contrast between the remaining silver plate and the underlying brass.

MEASURES:

31cm H x 19cm across spout and handle x 8cm Diameter body

CONDITION:

The honest bit. The silver plate is worn down to the brass in places, both outside and inside, it’s stained even after polishing, and marked and battered both out and in. But do I care? This jug brings service and beauty to the table and for that I’ll forgive it.

My recommendation is not to introduce acid liquids such as adding lemon to the water. This can cause the copper element in the brass to leach into the water. It is not inherently dangerous to consume copper and it can in fact have antibacterial qualities in water, but it’s best to avoid because it’s difficult to know the copper consumption from all sources over your lifetime. This is the most cautious of warnings - the risk of copper consumption from this jug is very low.

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