A tyg is a drinking vessel with three or more handles, designed to be passed between several drinkers so that each could use a different handle and drink from a separate part of the rim. The form is closely associated with English pottery of the seventeenth century, although it continued to be made in later periods.
Early tygs were usually made in lead-glazed earthenware, often with dark brown or black glazes, and many were decorated with trailed or applied slip in contrasting colours. Notable production centres included Staffordshire and Wrotham in Kent, where potters sometimes added initials, dates and applied pads to the body. These vessels were used for communal drinking at celebrations, gatherings and festive occasions, and they are related in spirit to the later two-handled loving cup. The form was revived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by art potteries and commemorative manufacturers. Genuine early tygs are rare and keenly collected, with inscribed or dated examples particularly valued. Buyers should examine the body, glaze and wear carefully, as later copies exist and handles are vulnerable to damage and restoration.
