Admiral Nelson Character Jug

Viscount Horatio Nelson, 1758–1805

Admiral Nelson defeated the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile (1798), ending Napoleon's attempt to conquer Egypt. He crushed French and Spanish naval forces at Trafalgar (1805), where he was mortally wounded, gaining control of the sea that eventually enabled the defeat of Napoleon's army.

Few figures in history have been commemorated in pictures, medals, books, china, pottery, paintings, prints, and other artifacts as often as Vice Admiral Nelson. One need only do an eBay search on his name to sample the quantity and variety of items available. The celebration in 2005 of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar spurred the production and sale of hundreds more commemorative items--coffee mugs, post cards, postage stamps, coins, etc. As an admirer of Admiral Nelson, I am among those who have purchased a few Nelson commemorative items over the years, including three fairly common character jugs produced by Royal Doulton in the latter part of the 20th century.

Recently I was lucky enough to acquire one that is a little less common, a Staffordshire character jug, about 10 1/2 inches tall.

There is no pottery mark on it, but it was made some time in the 19th century. The medal resting on the orange sash has the inscription, "Nile 1798." The jug could have been made early in the 19th century to commemorate the Battle of the Nile. Or it may have been made in 1898, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the battle.

I know a lot more about Admiral Nelson than I do about Staffordshire pottery. Maybe somebody who sees this posting will be able to offer some more specific information about when and where it was made.

After a fairly long search on the web, I was able to find a picture of one just like it in a September, 2004 catalog from a British auction house (Morphet).

In any case, I am pleased to add it to my collection.