Last week I took a day trip to Oxford and made a beeline to the Ashmolean Museum, Britain’s oldest public museum, which houses a world renowned collection of ceramics. Much to my delight, it also contains dozens of examples of porcelain and pottery with distinctly different types of early repairs. Amongst the “perfect” ceramics on display, and the ones with obvious repairs and replacement parts, are many examples with metal mounts, which I will tackle in a future post.
Is number 68 carved out of blue john?
The info card in the showcase reads “Winepot painted in underglaze blue with flowering branches, with silver mounts. China, Tianqi period, 1621-27…”
Very nice. The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge also has a very nice pottery department– and a very interesting fan display. Sometimes you can’t get enough of it. And then across from the Fitzwilliam is my favorite antique shop in Cambridge–it’s wonderful if you should chance to find him open.
How very nice. I now have three places to visit my next trip to the U.K., the Ashmolean Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum and across the street. Thanks Andrew and Joanne.
What a treasure trove. A treat to see such exquisite workmanship.
Ahh to be in England now that April’s here…!
Dear Andrew,
It sounds like you may not have room in your schedule, but since other people made some suggestions I wanted to pass on don’t miss Dennis Severs house museum in the east end. Not sure how much repaired-ware you would find, but somehow I think you would really like it.
Best,
Emily
Those examples are so beautiful! I would not have recognized them as repairs.
I concur with the Dennis Severs house recommendatio if you haven’t been there. I went in the daytime but heard night was really great!
Beautifully chosen examples from a man with an exceptional ‘eye’ ! and thank you for the tip about Dennis Severs – will hotfoot it there !