Collection: Toleware & Painted Folk Art

Toleware is hand painted metalware, usually tin or thin sheet iron, and the name comes from the French word tôle, meaning sheet iron. From the eighteenth century onwards it was made into trays, jugs, candle sconces and boxes, japanned in black, cream or deep red and painted with flowers, fruit and gilded borders. In Britain the same cheerful spirit shows up in canal art, the roses and castles painted on the boats, cans and dippers of the working narrowboat families.

We gather it here alongside other painted folk art in the same tradition, including wooden pieces decorated in that bright, hand painted country style. Every piece is listed with its material, so you will always know whether you are looking at tin, iron or wood. Use a toleware tray for drinks or prop it against a kitchen wall, hang a sconce in a hallway, or group a few pieces together on a dresser for a splash of colour.