A Toby Jug, also sometimes known as a Fillpot, is a pottery jug in the form of a seated person, or the head of a recognizable person. Typically the seated figure is a heavy-set, jovial man holding a mug of beer in one hand and a pipe of tobacco in the other and wearing 18th-century attire: a long coat and a tricorn hat. The tricorn hat forms a pouring spout, often with a removable lid, and a handle is attached at the rear. Jugs depicting just the head and shoulders of a figure are also referred to as Toby jugs, although these should strictly be called "character jugs" or face jugs, the wider historical term.
Toby Jug, made by Ralph Wood (the Younger), Burslem, c. 1782-1795; lead-glazed earthenware.
Toby jug found in a chief’s tomb in the Belgian Congo, dating from early 1800s, now in the Royal Museum for Central Africa.
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