Polychrome Bohemian terracotta, late 19th century - Lot 214

Polychrome Bohemian terracotta, late 19th century These six small tobacco jars, which open in the middle, depict five animal figures in a seated position, inspired by the work of Grandville. They include a bulldog wearing a monocle, with a bowler hat perched on its right ear, both hands resting on a cane, smoking a cigar; a cat wearing a bonnet and a red apron edged in green, fanning herself with a cigarette in her mouth (which is missing here); a fox wearing a nose clip, a dressing gown, and a house cap, holding a long calumet in his right hand and *The Times* in his left; a pig, with its hands resting on the knob of a large red umbrella; and finally, his companion, holding a cup of coffee, her head wrapped in a bonnet tied under her chin. These five mugs are part of a series that includes, at least, one other design: a spaniel wearing a top hat and a monocle, holding a cane in its left hand. But looking at the numbers on each of these designs, it stands to reason that the series included about fifteen: either new figures such as a monkey or a turkey, or male or female versions of existing subjects (a cat, a female bulldog or spaniel, a vixen), or simple modifications to the characters’ clothing, such as striped pants instead of the bulldog’s solid-colored pants. Marked “JM” for Johann Maresch, followed by a symbol shaped like the number 8 and the numbers: 3316 for the bulldog (number 610 in the Horowitz catalog); 3309 for the female cat (Horowitz no. 631); 3322 for the fox (not listed in the Horowitz catalog but part of the series offered at the Seydoux auction); 3308 for the pig (Horowitz no. 656); and finally 3317 for the sow (Horowitz no. 655). Slight wear. Height: 16.5 cm to 19 cm