Archive for March, 2010

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Victorian Toby jug, c.1870

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

What could be more English than a Toby jug? This example, most likely made by Copeland Spode around 1870 and much copied by other potters, is hand painted using polychrome overglaze enamels.

Jug measures 6-1/2″ tall by  7-1/4″ wide.

A sizable tin handle with thumb and fingers grips was made by a tinker, replacing the original ceramic handle which broke off over 100 years ago.

The Toby jug sitting at the far left atop of the chest of drawers in the painting The Latest Addition by Charles Spencelayh (1865-1958) bears a striking resemblance to mine.

toby painting

174L11132_63Y3H - Version 2

Thanks to Robert Moores of NestEgg Antiques for sharing his knowledge of Toby jugs with me.

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Triple repair famille rose teapot, c.1770

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

I love a piece with more than one repair and this great example delivers three times over! A much loved and repaired Chinese porcelain globular teapot from the late eighteenth century has survived over 240 years, more or less intact.

A detail of the floral decoration, painted in polychrome enamels.

Teapot measure 9″ long by 6″ high and both sides are decorated with the same pattern, more or less.

A simple yet graceful bronze metal handle replaces the original.

A silver spout replaces the long gone spout, similar to the original in size and shape.

Even the lid, with a replaced tin inner flange, is from another piece altogether. I wouldn’t be surprised if each of these repairs occurred separately during the life of the teapot.

An armorial teapot with similar shape to mine reveals what the original handle & spout might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Richard Gould Antiques

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Chinoiserie sugar bowl, c.1800

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Brown glazed earthenware sugar bowl with yellow transfer-printed “willow-style” decoration, measures 4-1/2″ tall. For many years this type of pottery was called “Portobello ware”, referring to the area in Scotland where these pieces were made.

Most likely an itinerant tinsmith replaced the original broken pottery lid with one nicely made of tin, with a push pin shaped knob.

This example shows what the original lid may have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Dora Landey Antiques

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Mocha ware jug trio, c.1840

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

I love finding sets with matching inventive repairs, such as these three English jugs found together in Maine.

The largest jug is 6-1/2″ tall and has blue bands and earthworm decoration, made from slip.

There is an elegantly shaped tin replacement handle with straps, showing remains of the original broken handle.

The middle jug is 5-3/4″ high with a bold design of blue and green bands.

The crimped tin strap at the top front of the jug has corroded.

The smallest blue striped  jug is 5″ high.

A flimsy tin replacement handle is now bent and rusting.

This almost identical jug is intact without the abuse of my trio.

Photo courtesy of Louwers Antiques

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Gaudy Dutch coffee pot, c.1810

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Colorful pearlware baluster shaped coffee pot from England with double repairs and “King’s Rose” pattern decoration. Pot stands 12″ high, and has seen better days.

The base, riddled with large chips and no longer able to support the pot, was repaired with tin replacement in the middle to late 1800’s.

The ill-fitting domed lid, possibly from another piece in the set, originally had a skep shaped knob. This replaced knob, made of iron and looking like a large push pin, has been bolted through the top of the lid.

An astonishingly similar coffee pot, in wonderful condition, boasts its original base and finial.

Photo courtesy of Christie’s

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Tuscan pottery jug, c.1860

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

When this redware pottery Italian jug from the mid-1800’s cracked, a skillful person enmeshed it in a hand-woven wire net.

I spotted this jug at an outdoor market in Tuscany a few years ago and since then I discovered similarly repaired pottery from other European countries.

The large rim chip on the lip reveals the red clay underneath the black glaze. Jug stands 6-3/4″ high.

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Two glass beakers, c.1890

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Both of these blown glass laboratory beakers have etched calibrations as well as similarly repaired bases. These were most likely repaired by chemists in their own labs by filling a discarded tin lid with plaster and submerging the broken beaker. The left beaker is 4.5 inches tall, and the beaker on the right is 3.25 inches tall.

Not the most elegant repair job but an efficient way to quickly resolve a mishap, making the beakers usable again in about 30 minutes.

This pair remained unharmed and still have their original glass bases.

Photo courtesy of WorthPoint

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Chinese armorial sauce boat, c.1780

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

This Chinese porcelain sauce boat was made for export to the American market and has a distinctive Fitzhugh pattern outer rim border, and measures 7.5 inches wide, 2.75 inches high.

It bears an armorial polychrome enamel eagle/dragon, custom ordered by a family of wealth.

The replaced gilt metal handle is beautifully woven with two different colors of rattan.

A similar sauce boat shown with original handle and hard to find matching undertray

Photo courtesy of Starr Antiques

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Wedgwood “S.Y.P.” teapot, c.1909

Friday, March 19th, 2010

A tilting teapot invented in 1905 by the Earl of Dundonald from Scotland and coined “Simple…Yet Perfect”. The unique design allows the tea to brew in the built-in infuser shelf as the pot lays on its back, tilts halfway up to drain the hot water from the infuser, then sits upright, ready to pour. Teapot measures 5.75 inches high, 6 inches wide.

The replacement lid is made of Britannia metal (aka britannium), a composite made up of 93% tin, 5% antimony & 2% copper.

The ornately decorated bottom is visible when in use.

An identical teapot with its original lid, seen tilted.

Photo courtesy of Southworks Antiques

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Cast iron clothes iron, c.1900

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Every household in America had one. Many, such as this one, have a replaced handle. Some irons were just too heavy to support a lighter handle and many snapped off after years of constant use. Currently this iron is being used as a doorstop in my office and I almost forgot to include it in my blog. It is one of a select few “inventive repairs” that I am using in my home for a purpose other than what it was originally intended for.

Faint remains of the original handle are visible on either side of the replaced handle.

This lucky survivor still has its original handle.

Photo courtesy of WorthPoint

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