Height: 18cm (7in)
Glazed pottery. Toby jug inscribed with signature 'L Jarvis' to right side and dedication to 'Joe R. & Ella Cookson, Kendal Green' to the left, further inscribed on the base 'THE RT. HON./ WINSTON S. / CHURCHILL / O.M., C.H., F.R.S., M.P.', and numbered ‘No. 63’ beneath the handle. Fewer than 350 are believed to have been made.
The present jug was designed by pottery restorer Leonard Jarvis in 1947 following a commission from the early English pottery collector Harold, 1st Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax (1891-1964). It is considered among the rarest of Churchill toby jugs. It bears the fine translucent glazes of the Ralph Woods style, and depicts Churchill in tricorn hat and wearing 18th century dress, right hand raised and making his iconic ‘V’ for Victory sign and surrounded by the attributes of his interests in writing, painting and bricklaying.
Lord Mackintosh (1891-1964), businessman, public servant and benefactor, was the confectionary manufacturer behind the Quality Street brand and ardent collector of early English pottery jugs and Staffordshire figures. As an unusual addition to his collection he requested Jarvis to make modern toby jug in traditional style modelled with his own likeness. Lord Mackintosh was so pleased with the result that he next commissioned a toby jug in the form of the statesman he most admired.