pottery « Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Posts Tagged ‘pottery’

Large stoneware crock, c.1890

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

When I found this large and very heavy American stoneware pottery wine jug in Maine, I was unable to pack it properly and take it with me on my flight back home later that day. Luckily, one of the friends I was visiting was a pilot and simply brought it on board his flight to New York the next day. The triangular remains of the broken clay handle leaves a distinctive maker’s mark

It would have been awkward to lift this 18-1/2″ tall jug with the absence of its handle, especially when full of wine. Rather than trying to replace the broken handle, a sturdy iron band with swing handle was attached to the jug

A close up of the iron strap and handle shows the work of the local ironsmith who made this East coast jug more functional

The small hole at the bottom is where a wooden spigot would have been inserted to dispense the wine

A similar jug shows what the applied handle would have looked like

Photo courtesy of Prock’s Crocks

Tags:American, metal handle, pottery, stoneware
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Silver resist lustre jug, c.1820

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

This soft paste pottery “Dutch” shape jug is decorated in a stylized grape leaf pattern using a silver resist method of decoration. This type of decoration is achieved by painting the design with a resist substance such as thinned honey, applying the silver glaze over the entire jug, washing off the resist to reveal the unglazed decoration and firing to set the silver lustre background

Silver lustre, or “poor man’s silver” was first introduced in the 18th century by John Hancock for Spode. It remained popular throughout the 19th century, until the invention of electro plating brought silver plated items in to the masses in 1838. This jug measures 4-3/4″ tall

Tin was used to fashion a replacement handle and strap, most likely by an itinerant tinsmith or china mender

Another silver resist lustre jug shown with its original handle with the same silhouette as the replacement

Photo courtesy of John Howard

Tags:English, lustre, metal handle, pottery, soft paste
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Flow blue jug, c.1840

Friday, April 16th, 2010

“Flow blue” describes a technique of firing transferware pottery with lime or ammonia chloride added to the kiln, resulting in an intentional blurry or runny effect. Over 1,500 different patterns were produced throughout Europe, England and the United States during the Victorian era

This ironstone pottery jug stands 6-1/4″ high and has a popular Oriental pattern in deep cobalt blue

Although unmarked, I believe this piece to have been made in England

A silvered metal handle with wide bands were secured to the jug, replacing the original broken handle

This similarly shaped flow blue jug shows what the original handle might have looked like on my jug.

Photo courtesy of eBay

Tags:blue & white, English, metal handle, pottery, transferware
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Wedgwood sugar bowl, c.1840

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

I am still researching this 3″ high by 5-1/2″ wide black basalt open sugar bowl with an incised WEDGWOOD mark on the bottom.

I purchased this piece of jasperware in London at the Covent Garden Market and was told by the dealer that the piece dates from 1753, though I feel it to be from a later date, and that the hallmarks on the (added?) sterling silver rim date to 1853.

Cracks in both handles are now supported by the addition of four silver bands riveted through to the inside of the bowl.

If anyone knows more about this piece, I would greatly appreciate any further information you may have.

Tags:English, pottery, silver, staples/rivets
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Georgian Swansea jug, c.1810

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Beautifully painted high quality pottery jug from Swansea, Wales dates from around the year 1810.

The expertly painted decoration could be the work of William Billingsley of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

The front bears the original owner’s initials “AJ”, nicely painted in a gilt monogram.

Both sides of the jug are equally impressive.

Jug measures 5-1/4″ high.

A brass fitting, gilded to match the gold rim, was added later to replace a broken spout.

Interestingly, the original pottery handle has a trompe l’oeil “metal” strap and 2 rivets holding it in place.

Tags:English, metal spout, pottery
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Stoneware “one cup” teapot, c.1830

Monday, April 12th, 2010

English salt-glazed stoneware teapot decorated with brown iron-rich slip, attributed to S & H Briddon in Brampton, Derbyshire in the early 1800s. The lid has a pierced mushroom-shaped finial.

This small fluted form “bachelor’s teapot” measures 3-1/2″ tall and is 7″ wide from the end of the handle to the tip of the spout.

The metal replacement handle is secured to the body using two horizontal and three vertical metal straps.

Here is the exact same teapot showing its original handle, as found in Robin Emmerson’s book “British Teapots & Tea Drinking” (Crown, 1992)

This Chinese Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Yixing teapot seems to be the inspiration for the English piece.

Photo courtesy of AntiqueTica

Tags:English, metal handle, pottery, stoneware
Posted in teapot | 1 Comment »

Large white bowl from Seville, c.1820

Monday, April 12th, 2010

This heavy pottery bowl with a white tin glaze has a subtle blue line gracing the rim. I found it in a small, packed antique shop in Seville, Spain during a recent vacation

The hand woven wire web holds the many cracks in the ceramic together, enabling the bowl to be functional again. The web effect reminds me of a turtle shell pattern and is similar to the repair on a Tuscan pottery jug I found in Italy

A triangular formation of unglazed bubbles on the inside show where the bowl was suspended on stilts during the firing. The bowl measures 6″ high and is 15-1/4″ in diameter.

I display the bowl on my dining table, along with a Spanish tin glazed wine jug I purchased from the same shop

Tags:pottery, Spanish, tin glaze, wire
Posted in bowl/dish | 1 Comment »

Spode hunting scene jug, c.1830

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

This small Copeland Spode pottery jug with white relief figures was made in Stoke-Upon-Trent, England.

The fox hunt, a popular image on ceramics in the 19th century, was based on an original Wedgwood design.

Jug measures 3-1/2″ tall.

A typical metal replacement handle, with tin bands along the top and bottom, secures the handle to the jug.

An identical jug can be seen in this photo (top row second from the right) from The Old China Book, first published in 1903.

This close up of the photo above shows what the original handle looked like.

Tags:English, metal handle, pottery, Wedgwood
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Clarice Cliff plate, c.1935

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

This 6″ diameter Biarritz plate was made in England by Clarice Cliff in the Taormina pattern, introduced in 1935. The art deco design was inspired by the small town of Taomina, on the east coast of Sicily, Italy.

These five large brass staples still hold the plate tightly together. I believe this is the newest piece I own with staple repairs, as most of my other examples date up to the early 1900’s.

Clarice Cliff was born in England in 1899 and died in 1972, working as an industrial artist for 41 years. She was quite prolific and became one of the most important art deco ceramic designers of the 20th century.