An Unexpected ‘Catch’ for the Brixham Trawler Catear

Among the items recently donated to Brixham Heritage Museum is an unglazed earthenware bottle with moulded decoration. According to the donor, Mr B.T. Stockton (Catear Fishing Co Ltd, Brixham), this item had been recovered ten years ago in the trawl net of Brixham trawler Catear whilst fishing ‘fifteen miles off Start Point, slightly to the east’. At the initial examination of the item both of the authors recognised its antiquity and considered the decorative style was non-European, probably Near Eastern (Islamic). Photographs and measurements of the bottle were then sent to ceramic specialists in London and Oxford, which results in confirmation of its provenance and revealed further details about its dating and function.