A rare pearlware Napoleonic jug c.1813

A rare pearlware Napoleonic jug c.1813, printed and hand-coloured to one side with a Russian soldier holding a rifle over his shoulder from which are suspended the corpses of five Frenchmen, titled 'A Russian Boor returning from his Field sports', the reverse with Napoleon surrendering to a further Russian who holds an axe aloft, a short rim crack, 14.5cm.

The French defeat in Russia at the end of 1812 demonstrated that Napoleon was not invincible nor the military genius that many supposed him to be. Both prints are taken from cartoons etched by George Cruikshank after Russian originals by Terebenev, and were published in January 1813. The second print is sometimes titled 'Specimen of Russian chopping blocks'. Cf. David Drakard, Printed English Pottery, pp.230-233 for a discussion of wares using these prints.