Sugar bowl, 'The Absent-minded Beggar', 1900 (c)

White-glazed creamware with brown-transfer printed design and gold edging, from the 'The Absent-minded Beggar' one-person tea or breakfast set by Macintyre and Company of Burslem, England, 1900 (c).

At the end of the 19th century ceramic products, which were relatively cheap to manufacture in bulk, were the most popular medium for makers of memorabilia. The range of Boer War (1899-1902) ceramics was very great, extending from plates produced for stores as 'give-aways' to expensive Worcester porcelain figures. Every major battle or event was commemorated and generally honoured. Very often a whole tea or dinner service was decorated with the same design, in this case an extract from Rudyard Kipling's poem 'The Absent-Minded Beggar' and RIchard Caton Woodville's illustration 'A Gentleman in Kharki'.