Small Vintage Toleware Planter in Aubergine with Hand Painted White Hydrangeas

A smaller sister to our larger hydrangea planter, and every bit as pretty. Two great heads of white hydrangea wrap around this little round tin pot, painted with plump, creamy brushstrokes and tiny touches of yellow, set against fans of sage green leaves picked out in pale duck egg blue. The ground is a deep aubergine, so dark it reads as near black until the light catches it, and the rim rises in soft scallops pressed on the inside with embossed flower heads.

Toleware is painted tinware, a folk craft with roots in eighteenth century Pontypool and the painted tôle of France, which went on to brighten kitchens and windowsills across Europe for generations. This is a later vintage piece made in that spirit, painted freehand with a lovely loose, confident touch.

It measures 19cm in diameter and 13cm high, and weighs 0.44kg. That makes it just right for a single hydrangea, an orchid, a pot of basil or a few hyacinth bulbs for the windowsill, sitting in an inner pot rather than straight into the tin. It also makes a smart holder for wooden spoons by the hob, brushes and pencils on a desk, or a ball of string and secateurs in the potting shed.

Condition is in keeping with age and use. The painted sides are in good order with only light rubbing, while the base shows wear and an old label mark, and the tin has the odd gentle wobble in its shape.

Side by side with its larger twin it makes a charming pair for a mantelpiece or kitchen shelf. You can find both, along with more painted pieces, in our Toleware & Painted Folk Art collection.