A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold liquids. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and often a pouring lip. Jugs throughout history have been made of metal, ceramic, or glass, and plastic is now common.
French ceramic jug
Covered cream jug, 1735, silver, Cleveland Museum of Art (US)
Stoneware whiskey jug
Hamilton and Inches silver claret jug, Edinburgh 1902
In American English, a pitcher is a container with a spout used for storing and pouring liquids. In English-speaking countries outside North America, a jug is any container with a handle and a mouth and spout for liquid – American "pitchers" will be called jugs elsewhere. Generally a pitcher also has a handle, which makes pouring easier.
French ewer, 1795, hard-paste porcelain, height: 25.4 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Plastic pitcher of milk.
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).