Good Pair of Early 19th Century Blue & White Pottery Tobacco Jars

A handsome and unusually decorative pair of blue and white pottery tobacco jars, circa 1800, inscribed “VARINAS” and “HAVANA”, each retaining a domed brass cover with turned finial.

Of generous baluster form, the jars are finely decorated in underglaze blue with exuberant floral sprays, scrolling foliage and elaborate ornamental work arranged around large central cartouches. One is inscribed VARINAS, the other HAVANA, identifying two celebrated names associated with tobacco in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Varinas refers to the Venezuelan tobacco-growing region whose leaf was highly regarded in the European trade, while Havana had long been synonymous with the tobacco of Cuba.

The pairing of the two names is particularly evocative of the period when specialist tobacco varieties were stored and sold separately by tobacconists and apothecaries, and substantial labelled jars such as these provided both practical storage and an impressive shop display.

The decoration is particularly pleasing, with densely worked areas of cobalt blue contrasting against the white ground and the restrained central reserves. The surface has acquired the gentle wear, minor imperfections and patination expected of utilitarian pottery of this age, while the warm, aged brass covers provide an attractive counterpoint to the blue and white decoration.

Both jars bear a painted “B:P:” mark to the underside.

Price

£1,600

Reference number

22171

Origin

Early 19th Century Circa 1800

Measurements

32.5cm approximately (high) x 26.5cm high (without lids) x 14cm diameter (bases)

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