The Pug is of Chinese origin and dates back to the pre-Christian era. Pugs originated in the Far East and were brought to Europe probably as early as the sixteenth century, being introduced into Portugal by traders.

The original Pug may have been larger with a more discernible muzzle, according to 18th and 19th century paintings and engravings.

There is a delightful portrait of a Portuguese princess with a very small Pug puppy beside her, wearing a ribbon round its neck. Her dress is of the Tudor period.

When the British overran the Chinese Imperial Palace in 1860, they discovered several Pugs and Pekinese, and brought the little dogs back to England with them.

Pugs have been known in England since the time of William and Mary, who brought their pets with them when they came to the throne. Some very interesting people have owned and loved Pugs, among them the Empress Josephine, whose Pug is supposed to have bitten Napoleon on the leg when he entered her room.

The artist Hogarth was also a Pug owner; his famous dog Trump appears in several pictures painted by him, notably in his self-portrait where Trump is sitting beside his master, and in the painting of Lord George Graham in his cabin, with Trump upright on a chair wearing my lord's wig! Trump was modeled in terracotta by the great Rowbiliac, and from this model the Chelsea potters made reproductions.

The original terracotta model has been lost, but the Victoria and Albert Museum has a very fine early copy of it in plain white, lying on a cushion. Trump, although a Pug without any doubt, would not win in shows today.

While on the subject of pictures of Pugs, one must mention the lovely Goya painting now in the National Gallery in Washington. In this fascinating picture, a beautifully dressed lady is walking out with her parasol, preceded by her small fawn Pug with a ribbon round its neck.

Pugs were very popular with high society and royalty in the early nineteenth and late eighteenth centuries. This accounts for the many models made by Kaendler for the Meissen factory and so sought after today by all who love and collect anything to do with Pugs. Meissen models arc very expensive and matching pairs fetch enormous prices.