200-year-old Union Bridge jug for sale

A JUG commemorating the opening of Union Bridge in Aberdeen in 1805 goes on sale at Bonhams Annual Scottish Sale today.

The 200-year-old Liverpool transfer printed creamware jug, which is estimated to fetch between 200 and 250, shows the bridge from the south side with people below the structure gardening and laying out sheets to dry on the grass on the banks of the Denburn.

This view was later obscured by building works.

Ian Glennie, head of Bonhams Ceramics and Asian Art department in Edinburgh and a native of Aberdeen, said: "The jug is a timely reminder of how things change. The original bridge was part of a huge exercise in town planning which cost so much it bankrupted the municipality.

"The view from the south disappeared in the late 1800s and now, in the 21st century, the bridge finds itself again at the centre of controversy as the view from the north is under threat from the proposed raising of Union Terrace Gardens."

The plan to turn the Victorian gardens into a new civic square has bitterly divided the city. In June it was reported that it will be 2016 at the earliest before the controversial transformation of Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens is completed.