Topic: water jug cum match striker??

[Paul S.]

the woman at the boot sale told me that the purpose of the machine threading on this jug was to provide a 'match striker', although the threading is much finer than on some other pieces I have with this type of decoration.  Am I correct in saying 'mould blown (no seams anywhere), and the 'star' is cut rather than moulded.   Despite the many water jugs I have seen this doesn't fit into the general run of shapes (most of which are larger) so I wonder if it was for some particular use.   About 180mm tall, and there is a lot of wear on the base.    Age wise, I am thinking something in the latter part of the C19.    Does anyone else think the match striker idea is realistic, or is the threading perhaps more for decoration.   Have to say I don't know whether to think this is British or not.   Any opinions gratefully received, and thanks for looking.

[Lustrousstone]

Threading was a fashionable late 19th century decorative technique but it is fragile so unlikely to be much use for match striking it seems to me. That looks like machine threading. Aren't the "threaded" match strikers actually machine cut? It could be an individual water jug.

This preserve dish has very fine machine threading

[Paul S.]

Wud agree, as the 'strikers' I have seen so far (although I don't actually possess an example) are very robust looking pieces.   It was just intriguing that the vendor felt so convinced the jug had once been used for this purpose.   Doutbless an apocryphal tale, and anyway I think that marks wud remain on the threading had this been the case, or some damage at the very least.     I like your 'preserve' dish with what might be uranium decoration.   Will keep the jug as I like pieces with threading and am impressed with the dexterity needed for some of this delicate work, and will describe as decoration only.

[Lustrousstone]

Oh yes it's uranium  The mould was also shaped so as to create a moire effect with the threading. I suspect machine threading requires less dexterity than doing it manually though.