Archive for April, 2022

Mocha ware pepper pot, c.1820

Sunday, April 24th, 2022

This baluster form redware pottery pepper pot was made in Britain during the first quarter of the 19th century. It is decorated in brown, pale blue, and cream glazes and features a tree (aka dendritic) pattern on the body and dome. Intricate inslip-inlaid checkered rouletting in black and cream decorates the top rim. Pepper pot stands 5.25 inches high.

After the original base broke off – I imagine sometime between the middle 1800s and the middle 1900s – this nicely proportioned turned wood replacement base was added. The warm color of the polished brown wood blends nicely with the natural redware glaze, making this distinctive repair unnoticeable at first glance.

This pepper pot, with similar form and decoration, shows what the original base on my pot might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Skinner

Conserving Active Matter Exhibit at Bard Graduate Center

Sunday, April 3rd, 2022

I am pleased to have three pieces from my collection on view at the exhibit Conserving Active Matter at Bard Graduate Center Gallery in New York City. Please check out the exhibit, which runs through July 10, 2022.

As is noted on their website, “Conserving Active Matter explores the activity of matter through objects that span five continents and range in time from the Paleolithic to the present. From the things that clothe us to those that shelter us; from things that reflect our interest in the past to those that enable its performance in the present; and from sacred objects to the profane, Conserving Active Matter envisions the work of conservation as essential for the lives of the things that sustain us.”