March « 2014 « Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Archive for March, 2014

Inventive repairs at the Rijksmuseum

Sunday, March 30th, 2014

Past Imperfect goes international, as I am in Amsterdam, the first stop of my European jaunt and research tour. I have just returned from spending a few hours at the gorgeously renovated Rijksmuseum, home of world renowned art and a collection of exquisite Dutch ceramics. While most pieces I saw were jaw-dropping, they appeared to be intact and had in fact, not been dropped at all. So, no inventive repairs for me to drool over. But I did see one 17th century jug with a metal sleeve covering a broken handle, but the repaired end was turned away from the front of the vitrine, so no one could see it…except for me. Sadly, it was too dark to get a good photo of it.

I did spot this early Delft bowl with religious decoration that was just sitting on a shelf without any mention of the HUGE, early metal staples holding it together. Yes, I thought you’d like it, too.

I also stumbled upon a wonderful oil painting, Prince’s Day by Jan Havicksz Steen (1625-1679), depicting the birthday celebration of Prince William III of Orange-Nassau on November 14, 1650. I always imagined that many a “perfect” jug and tankard became candidates for inventive repairs after long days and nights of rowdy celebration. If you look closely, you can see a barmaid holding a jug in her right hand with what appears to have a replaced pewter handle and support straps along the middle and bottom. I have seen repairs such as this on German jugs of the same time period, so I was excited to see it included in this painting.

This coming Thursday, April 3rd, at 6PM, I will be giving a lecture in London at Bonhams for the English Ceramic Circle. Please come see me and say hello.

Posted in anecdotal | 4 Comments »

Creamware Masonic jug, c.1800

Saturday, March 22nd, 2014

This wonderfully graphic black transfer printed creamware jug, of ovoid form with loop handle, was most likely made in Liverpool, England, at the turn of the nineteenth century. It stands 7-3/4″ tall and is 8-1/4″ wide from handle to spout. Large jugs such as this were commonly found in fraternal lodges and used for dispensing alcohol after the main order of business was performed. One side is decorated with Masonic imagery and the verso is decorated with emblems and a verse from The Entered Apprentice’s Song. One night, over 100 years ago, a candidate was hoodwinked* during an especially tense initiation ritual and this jug must have fallen to the ground. Unable to repair the broken shards, a Mason brought it to a metalsmith, who fashioned a beautifully proportioned replacement spout, as well as a reinforcement rim and base. This is the first time I have come across a repair done in this fashion and I am impressed with the delicate craftsmanship. I also like how the color of the metal, which appears to contain some pewter, matches the color of the faded transfer print. *Hoodwink, which today means “to trick” or “to deceive,” was originally used in the Masonic Lodge to describe a blindfold. Hood means “cover” and wink means “closed eye.” A candidate was hoodwinked during an initiation ceremony as he was led through a room, unable to see, in order to focus on the words he was hearing. I bet many a make-do were born during such hypnotic rituals!

This jug with similar form and decorations shows what my jug would have looked like before it was repaired.

Photo courtesy of Skinner

Tags:creamware, English, metal handle, pottery
Posted in jug | 2 Comments »

Russian Gardner cups & saucers, c.1900

Saturday, March 15th, 2014

To celebrate the conclusion of my work on Season 2 of The Americans, a television show on the FX network set in 1982 about a pair of Russian spies living as Americans in Washington, D.C., I am posting this pair of Russian tea cups and saucers. They were made by the Gardner factory at the turn of the 20th century and are decorated with gold leaves, and hand painted flowers in white medallions, set against a deep red ground. They are part of a larger tea set, many of which were exported to the Turkish Empire and Central Asia. The cups measure about 2″ high, with an opening of 3-1/4″, and the saucers have a diameter of 5-1/4″. Both cups were broken and repaired by a china mender in the early to mid 1900s, after Sascha dropped the entire tea service while entertaining Anastasia and Vladimir. неуклюжая девочка!

Cup 1 (top) with gilt leaf decoration, has hand cut metal staples that still hold the two broken pieces tightly together. It has a factory mark stamped in red on the underside.

Cup 2 (bottom) has a yellowed replaced chip, possibly from another cup. Once repaired with metal staples, the cup is now held together by a sloppy glue job, although the empty staple holes are still visible.

This partial tea set was also made by Gardner and includes a cup and saucer much like mine.

Photo courtesy of LiveAuctioneers

Tags:porcelain, Russian, staples/rivets
Posted in cup/saucer, saucer | No Comments »

Coffee/chocolate pot with multiple repairs, c.1800

Sunday, March 9th, 2014

This unusual form porcelain coffee/chocolate pot was made in China during the Jiaqing period (1796-1820) for export to North America and Europe. Standing 7″ tall, it is decorated in blue underglaze, depicting people on bridges, walls, pagodas, and flowers. Its tall form suggests it is a coffee or chocolate pot, but it might just be a tall teapot. If anyone has more information to help identify the original use of this pot, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

If you know anything about me by now, you know that I love finding antiques with multiple repairs, and this pot is a doozy. This survivor has been fitted with a replaced silver spout, a replacement handle of bronze with woven wicker wrapping, and a lid with a tin collar. That each unique repair is made from a different material suggests that the original owner must have been clumsy, as I feel the repairs were made at separate times during the 19th century. But I am glad this pot was cherished enough to warrant three individual trips to the china mender and/or tinker to extend the life and service of this little gem.

This pot with similar form is intact and shows what the original handle and spout on mine might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of LiveAuctioneers

Tags:blue & white, Chinese, metal handle, porcelain, silver
Posted in chocolate/coffee pot, teapot | 3 Comments »

“Sailor’s Farewell” Sunderland jug, c.1830

Sunday, March 2nd, 2014

This small pottery “Dutch” shape jug, decorated with black transfer prints and verses of the popular Sailors Farewell, was made in Sunderland, England, in the early to middle 1800s. Standing 6″ tall, it is embellished with polychrome overglaze washes and pink lustre accents. The front and rim have floral prints and the reverse side is decorated with a black transfer print of the poem A Birth-Day Thought, written in 1809 by Charles Lamb (1775-1834):

I envy no one’s birth or fame,
Their titles, train, or dress;
Nor has my pride e’er stretched its aim
Beyond what I possess.

I ask and wish not to appear
More beauteous, rich, or gay:
Lord, make me wiser every year,
And better every day.

Over one hundred years ago when the jug was dropped, resulting in the loss of the original loop handle, it was taken to a tinker who made a metal replacement. The owner must not have liked the incongruity of the raw metal handle strapped to the delicate ceramic jug, so the handle was painted in copper tones, to help ease the offensive blight.