Long known to Native Americans, tobacco use quickly spread to Europe in the wake of colonization. Tobacco became the most important crop in early Virginia, the foundation of the colony’s economy. Notoriously labor intensive, tobacco cultivation initially brought many indentured servants to Virginia, but enslaved laborers were soon the main workforce. Tobacco often accompanied romanticized images of Native Americans, as on this Dutch jar probably made for retail display. The label beneath the image indicates the type or grade of tobacco.

This jar, one of a set of three, is marked by De Drie Klokken (The Three Bells). Barbara Cornelisdochter Rotteveel founded this pottery in 1671, which was one of a few potteries with the longest existence in the town of Delft. A succession of several owners operated the pottery over the ensuing decades, and it was eventually auctioned off in 1784 after which it was run by a partnership. The partners expanded the company, constructing several new buildings. In 1841, the operations were transferred to De Porceleyne Clauw pottery, and the site and belongings of the former pottery De Drie Klokken were sold to the Dutch government.