Hand Painted Artone 'Old Charley' Character Jugs

Hand Painted ‘Janus’ Artone ‘Old Charley’ Miniature Character Jugs. We have two in stock, one 3.7cm in height and the other 5cm. These tiny jugs are identically, and beautifully, decorated with the face of a 18th Century man, with a dark green hat, on both sides. They date to approximately the 1950s.

I have called them Janus, (after the Roman god of beginnings, gates, transition, endings), as they have two faces: looking to the future and the past. I think their actual name is ‘Old Charley, possibly named after the Georgian night watchmen, the ‘Charlies’ or ‘Charleys’, who are also associated with the notorious 18th Century character ‘Charles Hitchen,’ a hireling or ‘thief-taker,’ (private policeman) who coined the expression ‘Set a thief to catch a thief,’ which may also explain the two faces on the character jugs.

The jugs are identically, and beautifully, decorated with the face of a 18th Century man, with a dark green hat, on both sides. They date to approximately the 1950s.

The jugs were manufactured by Artone, based in Burslem, Staffordshire, UK, in the 1940s. Artone was founded by brothers George and Jack Lawton, along with their wives Irene and Frances. They trained at Doulton before the Second World War, and founded the company in 1946 on the Ellgreave Pottery site.

These lovely character jugs are in very good vintage condition with no cracks, chips or restoration.

Approximate Maximum Dimensions:-

Tiny Jug

Height- 3.7cm (1.5″)
Width- ~4.5cm (1.8″) Handle to spout.
Base width- 2.9cm (1.1″)

Small Jug

Height- 5cm (2″)
Width- ~7cm (2.8″) Handle to Spout
Base width- 3.8cm (1.5″)

Manufacturer’s Mark on the base of both jugs

ARTONE

ENGLAND

Please click on the following link for more Toby/Character jugs