Two rare creamware jugs, circa 1793-1800

Two rare creamware jugs, circa 1793-1800 The first finely printed in black with 'The Engagement between the NYMPH 32 Guns 250 Men and the la CLEOPATRA 40 Guns 320 Men, 18 June 1793', A sailor and his lass to the reverse, 18cm high, the second jug depicting HMS Tiger under the banner 'SUCCESS TO Sr SIDNEY SMITH', inscribed 'Sir Sidney Smith Embarking on Board the Tiger of 74 Guns after Defeating Bonaparte at D'Acre', the reverse also with a jolly sailor and his lass, 'Jack Spritsails Frolic, His rigging no one durst attack it', 18cm high (2) Footnotes: Provenance With Garry Atkins (first-mentioned jug) In one of the first naval encounters of the French Revolutionary Wars, Edward Pellow, later Admiral and 1st Viscount Exmouth, captained the Nymphe. He was instructed to gather a crew at short notice and this was largely made up of pressed men and Cornish miners. At dawn on 18 June 1793, the Nymphe sailed from Falmouth in pursuit of two French frigates sighted in the Channel. The Cléopâtre was captured in under an hour. Its mortally wounded captain Jean Mullon failed to destroy his code book for secret signals. This fell into Pellow's hands and was forwarded to a grateful Admiralty. When King George III heard of the victory he was at the opera and reportedly announced the news to the auditorium. The second jug celebrates the two-month long Defence of Acre in 1799, led by Commodore Sidney Smith. This resulted in Napoleon retreating from Egypt. Horatio Nelson evidently felt some animosity towards Smith, believing that Smith's appointment in the Eastern Mediterranean rather encroached upon his remit there. Nelson was still basking in the glory of his great victory of the Battle of the Nile when Smith's heroic efforts at Aboukir bay were reported. Napoleon Bonaparte, reminiscing later in his life, said of him: 'That man made me miss my destiny' For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing