A rare, first-half of the 17th century container known as a pitcher,used for taking wine from large vessels and barrels. The elegantsemi-circular handle links the ovoid shaped body, raised on a conicalfoot, to the elevated cylindrical neck.Decorated in antimony-yellow and cobalt-blue pigments ona pewter-white background, the central body section, of elegantlobulated cartouche, depicts a well-known mythological scene of apelican feeding her young her own blood. The remaining surfacesare filled by foliage and flower motifs and exuberant, apparentlyaquatic plants, emerging from a rock outcrop by a balustrade. Onthe neck and foot a vertical band and filleted border lock the composition.The pitcher is mounted with a contemporary Germanpewter lid of engraved ownership mark.The pelican is symbolic of the Passion of Christ and of theHoly Communion. As Christ has given His blood to feed His people,so does the pelican, by wounding its own breast to feed itsown blood and flesh.On the basis of its format and decorative composition, thepresent pitcher is a valuable example of symbiosis between Chineseand European culture. Of the former, the cobalt-blue decorationon the white enamelled ground, allied to the mimicry of foliageelements and their distribution, clearly derived from Ming porcelainmodels. Of the latter the recognizable western shape, as well as thedecorative Italian majolica inspiration, particularly in the depictionof the main central scene and use of antimony-yellow pigment.Pitchers, such as this example were manufactured on a largescale for Northern Germany cities, where they were typically fittedwith a pewter lid (cf.: Intro. Pitchers).The artist’s creativity is, in this instance, valued as a tasteadjusted to Renaissance Europe. Effectively, other countries, namelythose of the European coasts such as Holland, that cherishedChinese porcelain, preferred pieces that adopted distant exoticismand cobalt-blue monochromes in the Ming taste.