Sherd of pottery with face

This green pottery sherd is from a chafing dish (from the French 'chauffer' - to warm) - a dish used for keeping food warm above a heat source. Dated 1300-1500, it is Humberware, a common type of pottery made in and around East Yorkshire. The face is very similar to pottery faces found in the Rhineland of Germany and the Netherlands, famously so-called Bellarmine pottery, named after Cardinal Bellarmino. This clearly shows how closely linked the Humber area was to the Rhineland during this time.