Lidded Jar

This large, lidded jar painted with the coat of arms of Jean d'Arlatan, Baron de Lauris, probably once held tobacco. Amazingly, the original loose-fitting lid, painted with a matching miniature coat of arms, still survives unbroken. A fanciful arrangement of arabesques topped by female busts frames the arms on the front, while the figure of Neptune with a dolphin is centered on the back. These delicate motifs are based on the engravings of Jean Bérain, chief designer to Louis XIV. This jar was produced in Moustiers, at one of the most important and influential of the French faience factories, which was run by the Clérissy family. In 1689 and 1709, Louis XIV ordered the French nobility to turn in all their silver, which was then melted down to pay for debts accumulated by the king during his numerous wars. As a direct result of these laws, faience, tin-glazed earthenware, became popular as a replacement for silver in upper-class households.