American Toby Jug Museum 

Merlin character jug colorway with a green cap produced by Royal Doulton of Burslem, England, in 1960. The enchanter of Arthurian romance, Merlin was possibly based on a Welsh bard of the 6th century named Myrddin to whom a number of poems have been attributed. Geoffrey of Monmouth transformed Myrddin into Merlin the magician, trusted counselor of King Arthur. In the History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey tells how Merlin, the son of a demon and a princess, prophesied that the British, led by King Arthur, would defeat the Saxons. The wizard is later described bringing Stonehenge from Ireland and erecting it on Salisbury Plain and also arranging the conception of Arthur. Although the Arthurian Romances cast Merlin as Arthur's mentor throughout his reign, in the original legends he disappears soon after Arthur's coronation. Merlin's familiar, an owl, forms the handle of this jug.