American Toby Jug Museum 

Russian Bear majolica toby jug produced by Orchies of Orchies, France, circa 1905. This politically inspired jug depicts Mother Russia in the form of a polar bear wrestling and defeating a Japanese soldier. The Russian Empire had close diplomatic relations with Korea. They actively protected Korea from Japanese invasion until they were defeated in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. A tree branch forms the handle of the jug. Examples of this jug can be found with Coree, French for Korea, incised on the shield held in the soldier's left hand. Both red and blue interiors are known. Orchies model numbers are a combination of letters and numbers. The letters are an abbreviation for the name of the jug and the number is the size of the jug. Photo of the jug with Coree on the shield is from the collection of Jean-Pierre Ducasse.