bellarmine

A type of Rhenish stoneware jug with a moulded mask of a bearded man just below the neck. They were made from the 15th century - it was later that they were named after Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino (1542-1621), a high-ranking Jesuit unpopular in Protestant countries.

Production of such jugs continued until the 19th century in Germany. They were also copied in England, where they were generally known as Greybeards or d'Alva bottles.