Canakkale - Leaf Shaped Ashtrays 19th

A pair of leaf-shaped ashtrays from Canakkale (length 15 cm, late XIX c.). Red earthenware, painted over in green and brown tones, finished with a transparent colorless glaze. In the mid 19th century, the cigarette found its way to the Ottoman Empire from France. Compared with pipe smoking, the cigarette was an easy-to-use smoke. In fact, the cigarette was a revolutionary device because it included the instrument of smoking and the smoke itself. The cigarette was therefore the perfect commodity for obtaining relief and instant satisfaction while at work. That was the reason why, in the late 19th century, the potters of Çanakkale started to make these elegant ashtrays for smokers (private collection, Athens Greece).