What is the difference between a jug and a pitcher?

Nothing much, in practice. Titles use jug, pitcher and ewer for the same handled pouring vessel, and jug is far and away the commonest word on Sellingantiques. Pitcher and ewer lean towards the larger or more decorative end, particularly washstand ewers made to stand with a basin.

How old are most of them?

The dealers' own dating runs from 1750 to 1940, and 89 listings carry a clean year. The single commonest entry is the vaguer "19th Century", at 61 listings, so a jug described that way could sit anywhere across a hundred years. Where decades are given they cluster late: the 1880s, 1900s and 1890s lead. Georgian appears in twenty titles, Edwardian in ten, and c1830 in eight.

Which types turn up most often?

English pottery and porcelain jugs of the 19th century, sold singly. "Pottery jug" on its own accounts for seventeen titles. Within that, lustreware is the largest recurring family, followed by Gaudy Welsh named patterns, Doulton Lambeth stoneware, Toby jugs, and ironstone hydra shapes.

Are foreign jugs found alongside the English ones?

Occasionally. German Westerwald and Siegburg stoneware, Dutch and Brussels faience, Italian majolica and Cantagalli lustre, Austrian and Czech glass, Chinese Qianlong porcelain and Hungarian Zsolnay all appear once or twice. They sit against an overwhelmingly English body of stock, which is why the continental pieces stand out in the archive.

What is a Gaudy Welsh jug?

Boldly enamelled and lustred earthenware, listed under named patterns. Bethesda, Conwy, Grape, Gower, Drape, Pagoda, Harlech and Aberaeron all appear in titles. Thirteen titles use the term, making it about one listing in twenty.

Do jugs come in matched sets?

Yes, though singles dominate. Ten titles are offered as a pair, and graduated sets of three and four turn up in blue and white Staffordshire and in named ironstone shapes. The other kind of set is the washstand group: a large ewer with its basin, sometimes with further pieces, and fifteen titles carry the word bowl.