This piece sits at the crossing point of two separate drinking traditions. Two-handled loving cups were designed to be passed around and shared, generally at a celebratory or ceremonial moment, holding the drink together rather than each person having their own: the double handles are the giveaway, letting one person drink and pass without needing to turn the cup around. Frog mugs, meanwhile, were built for a bit of tavern mischief: a ceramic frog fixed inside the vessel, moulded to look like it's actively climbing up and out, invisible until the drinker had worked their way down far enough in their pint to come face to face with it.
The exterior carries a relief design known as "The Jolly Topers": a man and woman drinking wine on one side, a barrel and grapevines behind them, and a figure called "The Miser" surrounded by more grapevines on the other. Frog mugs first appeared in Sunderland around 1775, and the design was popular enough that Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Newcastle potteries all made their own versions, which is why the type is generally called a "Sunderland mug" regardless of actual origin. This one, despite the name, was made in Staffordshire. It's finished in Prattware underglaze colour with a yellow ground glaze over white stoneware.
Condition notes
Very good antique condition. Wear to paint appropriate to age and use.
