ANTIQUE STAFFORDSHIRE POTTERY LEECH JAR WITH LID CIRCA MID  1800S

Updated by Natan Schleider, M.D. September 19th, 2020

This Antique Staffordshire Leech Jar Stands 42 cm tall. Dating to the mid 1800s, this ceramic pottery Leech jar features A finial top above a pierced lid. The base with a blue and gilt scroll decorated front titled reads ‘LEECHES’.

This Antique Staffordshore Leech Jar was made in Staffordshire Potteries. and was used by pharmacists to store leeches for sale to doctors who used bleeding patients as a central means of treatment of all ailments.

This industrial area encompassing the six towns, Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton now make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ceramic leech jar production in the early 17th century, due to the local availability of clay, salt, lead and coal. Hundreds of companies produced decorative or industrial ceramics and pottery including but not limited to leech jars.

This antique leech jar was made in Staffordshire and is in near excellent condition except for a small chip present on the rim of the lid. It came in various sizes as indicated by the number 3 embossed on the bottom of the jar (not imaged). With the lid the jar is approximately 12 inches high. Close inspection of the lid reveals someone tried painting a part of it as well as a small chip which I plan on getting restored.

For more information on leech jars go the the Bleeding section of the collection clicking here by clicking on the word Bleeding.