Archive for August, 2010

“John Bull” Staffordshire jug, c.1812

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

A rare soft paste pottery jug with transfer decoration and overglaze polychrome washes featuring a Napoleonic  political cartoon. Made in Staffordshire, England and marked “T. Harley – Lane End”.

Thomas Harley (1778-1832) produced earthenware jugs and other wares in his Lane End (now Longton) studio from 1805-1812. In 1814 he was involved in a meeting which called for the abolition of the slave trade.

Jug measures 7-1/2″ high and is featured in AN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BRITISH POTTERY AND PORCELAIN by Geoffrey A. Godden, Bonanza Books Inc., N.Y., 1966.

A now rusted metal handle with thumb rest, made by a metalsmith over 100 years ago, replaces the original damaged ceramic handle.

This rare example with intact handle shows what my jug looked like before a clumsy person dropped it.

 

Photo courtesy of Commemorative Ceramics

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Large glass apothecary jar, c.1880

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

This American made pressed glass apothecary jar is one of the largest antiques with inventive repair I have in my collection. It sits proudly on my office conference table, garnering much interest and curiosity from my employees and clients. The many cracks in the glass bowl are held tight with 8 vertical metal reinforcement straps and a top, center and bottom horizontal band, made by a tinsmith in the early 1900’s

The simple globular form is so timeless it almost defies period

The rim is decorated with a molded ribbed pattern

The surface on the metal bands have oxidized nicely over the past 100 years

Jar measures 13″ high and is 9-1/2″ wide

The apothecary jar pictured below has its original lid and has no cracks. It appears to have been made by the same manufacturer as mine, as the bases on each are nearly identical

Photo courtesy of Collectibles Articles

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Blue & white chocolate pot, c.1750

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

For me, the more repair I see on one piece of porcelain the more I like it, and this fine chocolate pot with five separate repairs does not disappoint! This baluster-shaped chocolate pot was made in China in the mid-1800’s but its form was based on German Meissen porcelain of the same period, and was made for export to Europe and North America

A skilled silversmith created a fanciful scallop edged silver spout to replace the more simple original spout, which must have broken off soon after this 8″ high pot was made

Other repairs and replacements which occurred during the next 170 years or so include metal rivets which hold the broken handle back in place; a 20th century plain white replacement lid decorated in blue enamel to match the original…

and a chain attached from the top of the handle to a replaced knob made of composition and painted blue

This chocolate pot with similar form shows what the original spout and lid on my pot would have looked like

Photo courtesy of Richard Gould Antiques

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Stoneware tavern mug, c.1850

Monday, August 9th, 2010

A much battered Doulton Lambeth style salt glazed stoneware tavern mug has barely survived many a bar room brawl over the past 160 years. It was made in England in the mid-1800’s and has an applied sprigged decoration of drinking and smoking men with a two-tone brown glaze

I am sure much beer has been consumed in this small mug, which measures 3-1/2″ high

This charming fellow is seated on a beer barrel, beside a clay pipe and his own stoneware tavern mug

When the handle broke off, a tinsmith fashioned a replacement handle and 2 support bands, allowing the drinker to resume consuming his beloved brew

The stoneware mug below, with similar form and glaze, still has its sturdy applied handle

Photo courtesy of Ruby Lane

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Chinese footed dish with fort scene, c.1840

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

A wonderful Chinese export quatrefoil footed dish with an unusual fort scene, painted in polychrome enamels and measures 11″ by 8-3/4″ and is 2-3/4″ high. I found this piece in 1995 at the long gone and much missed outdoor Chelsea flea market on Sixth Avenue & 26th Street in NYC. At the time of purchase, I paid more for this dish than any other piece in my collection, but I loved the decoration combined with the many repairs and had to have it. Fifteen years later, it remains a favorite of mine and I have yet to see another example with a similar decoration

If anyone can translate these Chinese characters I would greatly appreciate it

Multiple repairs include metal “cuff” patches mask large chips along the edges…

and crudely made lozenge-shaped iron rivets, which seem to have been mass produced and are different than the more commonly seen staples made from wire

The decoration on my dish could have been inspired by Fort Folly in the Pearl River, as seen in this fine China trade oil painting, c.1840

photo courtesy of Richard Gould Antiques

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