NAM.1996-08-298-1

Teapot and lid, 1900 (c). From ‘The Absent-minded Beggar’ one-person tea or breakfast set of five pieces. White-glazed creamware with brown-transfer printed design and gold edging, by Macintyre and Co, Burslem, England, 1900 (c). With an extract from the poem by Kipling and defiant British rifleman after Richard Caton Woodville, 1899. Also known as ‘the Gentleman in Khaki’, from Rudyard Kipling’s poem. Associated with the Boer War (1899-1902). At the end of the nineteenth 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 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 well known illustration 'A gentleman in Kharki'.

Boer War (1899-1902)