Antique French Ceramic Tobacco Set

Found at market on our most recent trip to Paris, this colorful Antique Ceramic Tobacco Tray is rich with whimsical style. Crafted with charming details and hand-applied glazes, this delightful set was designed for playfully storing cigarettes, loose tobacco and keeping a box of matches always at the ready. 

Arranged on a ruffle edged emerald green tray designed to mimic fabric, are a cigarette holder, a covered box for leaf tobacco and a handy holder for a box of matches. The cigarette holder is glazed a lovely shade of dusty pink and is detailed to resemble a pack of cigarettes. Embossed to look like a label on the side of the holder is the name of the brand (Hongroises), the variety of tobacco (Caporal Superieur), and the number of cigarettes in the pack (20).

Next to the cigarette holder sits a yellow covered box crafted to look like a small bale of tobacco. On the lid of the box in black hand-painted lettering, the bale is labeled: Tabac À Fumer (Smoking Tobacco) and Scaferlati Etranger (the name of a type of foreign smoking tobacco treated by a single process) along with the word Kilogramme. On the side of the bale is the name Maryland. (Maryland is not only a type of tobacco, but at one time the state of Maryland grew a considerable amount of tobacco.)

At the front of the tray, sits a small rectangle cleverly designed to resemble a box of matches, with an opening on one end and one side to accommodate an actual box of matches while leaving the strike strip on the box accessible. The top surface of this faux match box is embossed with the French words Allumettes Suedoises, which literally translates to Swedish Matches, but is an old-fashioned French description for "safety matches".   

Full of artisanal style, this exceptional tobacco set will be the centerpiece of your home bar or den bringing its irrepressible antique French charms to any setting. 

Strictly one-of-a-kind and subject to prior sale. Overall Measurements: 3.5" H x 6.5"L x 7"W. In very good antique condition with only discreet signs of age and use.