Bought a weird ceramic jar at a spring estate sale. It has a lid with a finger sized hole in the center and hand painted flowers. No smells, completely empty inside. Anyone know what this thing is?

which was then repurposed for various uses, such as stuffing for pincushions or creating hair art.

Typically made from porcelain or ceramic, hair receivers were often part of a woman’s vanity set, along with items like powder jars and perfume bottles. The hole in the lid allowed for easy deposit of hair, while the decorative design ensured that it would blend seamlessly with other grooming accessories.

In the Victorian era, personal grooming was an elaborate ritual, and hair receivers played a practical role in this routine. After brushing their hair, women would remove the loose strands from their brush and place them into the receiver through the lid’s hole. This not only kept vanities tidy but also allowed the collected hair to be reused.

Hair was considered a valuable resource at the time. It could be used to create hairpieces, which