Fun and Functional Stoneware, Raku Sculpture, Ceramic Jewelry

Unique, handmade stoneware puzzle mugs available in several styles based on historical designs.

We have our puzzle mugs available for purchase in our store on Etsy, which you can visit by clicking here.  Puzzle mugs are also available for wholesale orders or at one of the local shows we attend.  Please contact us for more information.  Info@MuddyMountainPottery.com

Stein Style Puzzle Mug

The puzzle mug, or jug, was a type of drinking puzzle known to Western Europeans in the 1500- 1800's.  These clay vessels were made with a hidden plumbing system that allowed the drinker to drink, if the secret could be guessed.  They supplied much entertainment in pubs and taverns. 

Many examples exist, from England, with poems either inscribed or painted on the sides.  This was in keeping with the custom of the time, in which many English pottery vessels of the period, from chamber pots to sugar containers, contained rhyming couplets inscribed on the side, in line with the fun nature of the game. In particular, puzzle jugs often boasted poems alluding to the challenges the vessel itself presented. 

Another type of puzzling pot was known as a fuddling mug and other trickster vessels can be found all the way back to ancient Greece.  The Greeks were familiar with vessels such as the Pythagorean Cup, which spilled it's contents if filled too much and the Kernos, which was a pottery ring or base to which were attached several small vessels for holding offerings.  These small vessels could be interconnected and liquid could pass from one to the other.