porcelain « Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Posts Tagged ‘porcelain’

Leeds pepper pot, c.1830

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Provocatively profiled pearlware pottery pepper pot. This 4-3/4″ tall Leeds pepper shaker was made in the region of West Yorkshire, UK, known for quality pottery which once rivaled the wares of Wedgwood

With a cobalt blue 7-point star design on the top…

and a ribbed, feathered band around the middle

The original base has been replaced by a beautifully made tin replacement, painted to match the cream colored body, but now yellowed with age

A cork in the bottom allows this pot to hold and dispense the pepper once again

Another Leeds pepper pot with a more typical baluster form, maintains its original base

Photo courtesy of Prices4Antiques

Tags:blue & white, English, porcelain, pottery
Posted in pepper/salt | 1 Comment »

“Make-do” at the Met, part 2

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Over the summer I returned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to see what antiques with inventive repairs were hiding in plain sight. I discovered numerous examples scattered throughout the various collections, including these two teapots found among the Japanese porcelains.

“Teapot in the Shape of a Melon with Floral Design” Rim and hinge made by Thome, New York. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868), late 17th century. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and overglaze enamels (Arita ware, Kakiemon type); modern silver lid

“Lobed Teapot with Floral Design” Japan, Edo period (1615-1868), late 17th century. Porcelain with overglaze enamels (Arita ware, Ko Imari type); European replacement spout and handle

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tags:Japanese, metal lid, metal spout, porcelain, silver, wood handle
Posted in teapot | No Comments »

Famille Rose decorated mug, c.1750

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

This Chinese export porcelain cylindrical form mug is decorated in the Rose Mandarin style with polychrome underglazed enamels. It is painted using the Famille Rose palette and has stylized flowers and a domestic scene

Over the past 260 years or so, this ceramic survivor sustained a life of clumsy owners, resulting in many large chips along the rim and a broken handle

Mug stands 4-1/2″ tall

The once separated handle is now held tightly in place with the aid of two small metal rivets, repaired in the 1800’s by an itinerant mender

This Chinese ceramic mug with similar form has an intact handle and no chips

Photo courtesy of Artifact

Tags:Chinese, porcelain, staples/rivets
Posted in mug/tankard | 2 Comments »

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

Tags:blue & white, Chinese, metal spout, porcelain, silver, staples/rivets
Posted in jug | No Comments »

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

Tags:Chinese, metal patch, porcelain, staples/rivets
Posted in bowl/dish | 2 Comments »

Teapot with heavy metal handle, c.1750

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Chinese export globe-shaped porcelain teapot with Mandarin style decoration in the famille verte palette. This teapot, like many others in my collection, is missing its lid. As other teapots I own have replaced or mismatched lids, I find it curious that the many teapots I find missing their lids have remained lidless

Teapot measures 5″ tall

An identical scene on both sides depicts men and boys, some sitting around a table surrounded by many objects, seemingly a variation of the noted “hundred antiques” pattern

The broken handle was replaced long ago with an existing iron handle taken from another object and adapted to fit this teapot. Although it is larger than the original handle was and looks out of proportion with the scale of the small teapot, it does the trick in making the pot once again functional

This teapot, similar in form and design to mine (and also missing its lid), shows what the original handle would have looked like

Photo courtesy of Collect Fair

Tags:Chinese, metal handle, porcelain
Posted in teapot | No Comments »

Tiny sparrow beak cream jug, c.1750

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

I just picked up this miniature porcelain sparrow beak cream jug last week in Maine. It appears to be from a child’s toy tea service, although miniatures were made for adults to collect as well. This bulbous form jug was made in China during the Qianlong period (1736-96) for export to North America and Europe in the mid-1700’s

Jug is embellished with flowers, butterflies and a bird in orange, brown, black, green and ochre enamel…

…and stands a mere 2-1/2″ tall, originally with a matching porcelain lid

A tiny bronze handle covered in woven rattan replaces the original porcelain handle, which must have broken off in the early to mid-1800’s

These Chinese export “toy” teawares were also made during the Qianlong period

Photo courtesy of M. Ford Creech Antiques

Tags:Chinese, metal handle, miniature, porcelain, rattan
Posted in jug | No Comments »

Chinese Canton platter, c.1825

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

This large porcelain platter with blue & white underglaze decoration is commonly referred to as Canton. It was first made in China for export to North America and Europe in the 18th century and production continued through to the early 20th century. It was one of the first stapled pieces I purchased and it has travelled from Canton to London to Miami to Manhattan with, most likely, a few more stops along the way.

Metal patches were attached from the back and bolted though to the front, holding the three broken pieces together.

This large platter measures 15″ x 12″.

Iron patches with visible bolts have become loose over the years, not holding up as well as the more typically used metal staples.

Tags:blue & white, Chinese, porcelain, staples/rivets
Posted in plate/platter | 1 Comment »

Royal Crown Derby plate, c.1880

Monday, June 28th, 2010

English pottery plate with popular “Japan style” decoration in the Imari palette of dark blue, red and gold on white. Plate measures 7″ in diameter and bears no manufacturer marks. Please see an earlier entry, “Wedgwood Imari Teapot, 1880” posted on March 13, 2010, which has a similar decoration

When the plate was dropped and broke in to seven pieces, a china mender used thirteen small metal staples to mend the breaks

White enamel paint was used to help mask the “unsightly” repair job

Tags:English, porcelain, staples/rivets
Posted in plate/platter | No Comments »

Mandarin teapot with Rococo spout, c.1790

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Chinese export globular form porcelain teapot made in China in the late 1700’s and painted with polychrome underglaze enamels in the Mandarin palette.