Commemorative silver jug from the voyage of HMS BEAGLE

Commemorative jug. Presented to Stokes in honour of his assistance in navigating the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait in 1841.

Irish silver beer jug, 210mm tall, double drop form at the base, made c1760, inscribed crest and initials contemporary with the jug’s manufacture. The second detailed inscription dates from 1841 or slightly later, attributed to the silversmith John Locker.

John Lort Stokes (1812-1885) was a naval officer on board HMS BEAGLE – the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831-1836. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown landmass.

The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843, when he began work on a two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. The work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 1 covers the exploration of north-west Australia, and Volume 2 describes a journey up the Victoria River, and a voyage north to the Indonesian archipelago.