Majolica in the Media: Poirot: "The Hollow"

The BBC television series Poirot is generally considered to be one of the most successful, and well cast, adaptations of the series featuring Agatha Christie's indomitable detective. Taking place in Great Britain it seemed inevitable that English majolica would eventually surface on the series. Well, in the ninth season of the series it did. And what a piece it is!

The episode, The Hollow, is based on the 1946 mystery novel of the same name. Like every other Agatha Christie story it concerns the usual abundance of suspicious characters trying to cover up a murder. Of course there are twists, turns and red herrings in the plot making the final resolution satisfying in classic Agatha Christie fashion. David Suchet plays Hercule Poirot in the series. The cast in this episode also includes well known film actors Sarah Miles and Edward Fox.

Of course the piece that I'm showcasing here is the fabulous George Jones majolica pitcher on the top shelf of the library.

George Jones majolica Chestnut Jug

One of the most sought after jugs in the whole George Jones catalog, the example in Poirot is most certainly one of the impressive larger sizes of the four known sizes the design came in, likely the 24 oz or 36 oz. 

To read a summery of the plot here is the link to Wikipedia’s page on the episode and here is the episode’s IMDb page.

The series is broadcast in the United States on PBS and is available on DVD and for streaming on BritBox. To view a short clip from the episode go here.

Thanks to the eagle eyed reader who pointed this out so I could share it.