Sadler hand painted ginger jar

Here we have a beautiful example of a James Sadler & Sons (Ltd) ceramic Ginger Jar.

James Sadler was founded in 1882 and was one of the leading manufacturers of teapots in the UK. James Sadler built his factory in Burslem Stoke on Trent Staffordshire (The Potteries). His company became renowned for mainly teapots of 'quality and good taste' but also produced a number of other items such as this Ginger jar.

The ginger jar was originally designed for storing and transporting spices in ancient China. They were used for storing salt, oil and rarer spices such as ginger, hence the name which was adopted when they started entter the western world. They are mainly used for decorative purposes these days but also still make ideal jars for storing precious dry goods such as tea leaves or even tea bags these days.

The colour of a ginger jar as a gift would hold significance. Yellow would signify a gift to the Emporer, Red for health and longevity, and white as a wedding gift.

The marking on this jar is one that was used by Sadlers from 1947 onwards. Although the jar has no cracks or chips the glaze has hazed and so we estimate that the jar dates very close to the 1947 era. We believe the hazing adds to the character of the jar and in no way detracts from its glory.

The beautiful oriental inspired floral design has a texture and is raised slightly from the glaze and may be hand painted although we have seen a few of these before that look suspiciously identical to the T so we suspect it is a good transfer ware.