Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Martin Ware

Tobacco Jar
1887 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

If Martin-ware [… has] not the transparency of porcelain nor the elaborately and costly ornamentation of Sèvres [it is] pure and honest art work.

This is how the art critic Cosmo Monkhouse described the output of the Martin Brothers' studio in The Magazine of Art in 1882. Eccentric founder Robert Wallace Martin and his siblings Charles, Walter and Edwin epitomized the energy and experimentation of the nineteenth-century art pottery movement. They regarded pottery as a means of artistic expression, rather than a product of industrial manufacture, and were particularly inspired by the naturalistic and rustic flora and fauna forms of the sixteenth-century potter Bernard Palissy (see p.000).
This jar is typical of the Martin Brothers' grotesque and eccentric stonewares and demonstrates a unique blend of fantasy and imagination. The function of these anthropomorphic lidded wares, which were produced in many different shapes and sizes, is unclear. They have been called 'tobacco jars', since Monkhouse used this term, but they are not airtight and the interiors are not finished to a standard fit for storage, suggesting an essentially ornamental and aesthetic purpose.
The Martin Brothers drew upon an eclectic range of sources for their work and it is possible that these jars were inspired by traditional English owl-shaped pottery jugs. Martin-ware birds are not of any known species, and in many examples the lidded heads are made to swivel on the body, further enhancing their irregular form, which evades both meaning and classification.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Vessel
  • Cover
TitleMartin Ware (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Salt-glazed stoneware, ebonised wood
Brief description
Large bird 'Martin Ware' tobacco jar, salt-glazed stoneware, modelled by R. Wallace Martin and made by Martin Bros., Southall, 1887
Physical description
Tobacco jar and cover. Stoneware. Modelled, carved and incised in the form of a grotesque bird. Ivory, green, brown & black glaze. Round ebonised wooden base.
Dimensions
  • With mount height: 30cm
  • With mount width: 17.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'R.W. Martin & Brothers / London & Southall / 1-1887' (Maker's mark incised on neck of lid)
  • 'R.W. Martin Bro / Southall 87' (Maker's mark incised on foot)
Gallery label
Sculpture 'Martin Ware' Modelled by R. Wallace Martin, made by the Martin Bros., Southall, Middlesex, England, 1887 Marks: 'R W Martin & Brothers, London & Southall 1-1887, R Wallace Martin Sc. Southall 87', incised Salt-glazed stoneware C.1151&A-1917 Given by Alfred. R. Holland Esq.(23/05/2008)
Credit line
Given by Alfred R. Holland, Esq.
Summary
If Martin-ware [… has] not the transparency of porcelain nor the elaborately and costly ornamentation of Sèvres [it is] pure and honest art work.

This is how the art critic Cosmo Monkhouse described the output of the Martin Brothers' studio in The Magazine of Art in 1882. Eccentric founder Robert Wallace Martin and his siblings Charles, Walter and Edwin epitomized the energy and experimentation of the nineteenth-century art pottery movement. They regarded pottery as a means of artistic expression, rather than a product of industrial manufacture, and were particularly inspired by the naturalistic and rustic flora and fauna forms of the sixteenth-century potter Bernard Palissy (see p.000).
This jar is typical of the Martin Brothers' grotesque and eccentric stonewares and demonstrates a unique blend of fantasy and imagination. The function of these anthropomorphic lidded wares, which were produced in many different shapes and sizes, is unclear. They have been called 'tobacco jars', since Monkhouse used this term, but they are not airtight and the interiors are not finished to a standard fit for storage, suggesting an essentially ornamental and aesthetic purpose.
The Martin Brothers drew upon an eclectic range of sources for their work and it is possible that these jars were inspired by traditional English owl-shaped pottery jugs. Martin-ware birds are not of any known species, and in many examples the lidded heads are made to swivel on the body, further enhancing their irregular form, which evades both meaning and classification.
Bibliographic reference
Liefkes, Reino and Hilary Young, eds. Masterpieces of World Ceramics.. London: V & A Publishing, 2008. p. 122, ill. ISBN 9781 851 775279.
Collection
Accession number
C.1151&A-1917

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Record createdMarch 31, 2008
Record URL
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