Pitcher (container)

In

Ewer is an older word for a pitcher or jug of any type, though tending to be used for a vase-shaped pitcher, often decorated, with a base and a flaring spout. The word is now unusual in informal English describing ordinary domestic vessels.^[1] A notable ewer is the America's Cup, which is awarded to the winning team of the America's Cup sailing regatta match.^[2]

In modern British English, the only use of "pitcher" is when beer is sold by the pitcher in bars and restaurants, following the American style.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

The word pitcher comes from the 13th-century Middle English word picher, which means earthen jug.^[3][4] The word picher is linked to the Old French word pichier, which is the altered version of the word bichier, meaning drinking cup.^[5]

The word's origin goes as far back to the Medieval Latin word bicarium from the Greek word βῖκος : bîkos, which meant earthen vessel. Compare with Dutch beker, German Becher, English beaker and Italian bicchiere. ^{[citation needed]}

Ancient examples

In the typology of Greek vase shapes jug or pitcher shapes include various types of oenochoe, and the olpe.

An early mention of a pitcher occurs in the

The pitcher of Marwan Ibn Mohammad, on display at the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, predates the 8th century.^[9][10]

During the

The proverb "little pitchers have big ears"[12] cautions adults that children are not always as naïve as they seem.^[13]

Gallery

• 
  Austrian ewer, 1775, silver, height: 48 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• 
  Minoan ewers, early 17th century BC, from Akrotiri (Santorini), Museum of Prehistoric Thera (Santorini, Greece).
• 
  Pitcher with Black on White Geometric Designs, Anasazi (Native American), 900-1300 AD. Brooklyn Museum.
• 
  Jebena. A Jebena is the coffee pitcher used in Ethiopia and Eritrea and is a piece of pottery.
• 
  Pitcher decorated with Admiral Nelson, 1795, Musée de la Révolution française.
• 
  Pitcher of beer.
• 
  Large Ewer, Iran or Egypt 9th–11th century AD, held by the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. This is the largest specimen known so far of a popular Islamic glass form – the pear-shaped ewer with almond-shaped mouth. The shape can be traced back to Sasanian glass ewers.
• 
  Ewer Base with Zodiac Medallions, first half of the 13th century, Iran. Metropolitan Museum of Art.^[14]

See also

• Amphora
• Aquamanile
• Ashtamangala (symbolism of pitcher like object in Indian religions)
• Bridge spouted vessel
• Creamer (vessel)
• Hydria
• Jar
• Jug (container)
• Obdasta
• Oenochoe
• Porron

References