Object Description
A Very Rare Set of 10 Large Painted Tobacco Jars
This set offers an intriguing glimpse into the world of tobacco at the start of the 19th century.
Each toleware jar standing over a foot tall and painted with a unique ‘smoker’s’ depiction to the front, including a sailor from the famous Bellerophon ship, an Ottoman smoking, and a kilt-wearing Scotsman among others, within painted gilt and dark blue frames, the domed tops with fitted lids painted with faux Chinese fretwork.
English, circa 1815
The sailor’s sash bearing the name of the ship ‘Bellerophon’ gives initial insight into the dating of this set, the ship becoming famous in the British empire as the vessel upon which Napoleon surrendered in 1815, a useful terminus post quem. The ship was launched in 1786. A Regency date is consistent with the dress and costume seen on the other jars.