Posts Tagged ‘soft paste’

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Child’s waste bowl, c.1830

Monday, July 19th, 2010

A child’s waste bowl with brown printed transfer decoration on soft paste pearlware pottery, made in England in the early 1800’s. This small waste bowl was part of a child’s tea set which would have included a teapot, cream jug, sugar jar, plates, cups & saucers. The waste bowl (aka slop bowl) was used for emptying unwanted cold tea before refilling a cup with hot tea

One side of the bowl has a printed design depicting a girl and boy chasing a butterfly…

…the other side shows the same girl and boy after the successful capture of the butterfly

After the bowl was dropped and broke in to four pieces, it was taken to a tinsmith who created an elaborate metal truss to keep it intact. A puddle of light blue glaze seen on the inner rim confirms this to be a piece of pearlware pottery. Bowl measures 2-1/2″ high and has a diameter of 5″

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“Thee Creswell” hand painted jug, c.1818

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Wonderfully painted soft paste yellow ware pottery jug made in Leiestershire, located in central England

The hand painted pastoral scene in black seems to have been inspired by an 18th century engraving

Hand lettered and dated: “Thee Creswell, Ibstock 1818”

Jug stands 6-1/2″ tall

A graceful tin handle with thumb grip and curled flourishes replaces the original pottery handle, which must have broken off at least 100 years ago

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Copper lustre jug, c.1820

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

English soft paste pearlware jug with copper lustre bands, pink lustre trim and applied low relief classical decoration of frolicking cherubs and animals. It was most likely made by Wedgwood around 1820.

A metal bolt, visible just below the pink lustre band inside of the jug, holds the replaced handle securely in place

Jug stand 3-3/4″ tall and is 5-1/2″ wide

A metal handle was bolted on to the body of the jug to replace the original handle after it broke off. Curiously, the metal replacement was gilded to match the copper color of the jug and not white to more closely resemble the original handle color

This jug, with the same form and similar decoration, shows what the original handle of my repaired jug would have looked like

Photo courtesy of Aurea Carter Antiques

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English “Chinese House” mug, c.1790

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

This large soft paste pearlware ale mug was most likely made in Staffordshire, England in the late 1700s. Standing 6-1/2″ tall, the mug is decorated in cobalt blue underglaze with the “Chinese House” pattern, a popular middle class replacement for similarly decorated Chinese porcelain, affordable only to the wealthy. I am quite fond of this loose, stylized decoration; a melding of Eastern and Western influences. The sturdy 19th century replacement handle, with thumb rest and support straps, is made of Britannia metal, aka Britannium, a composite made up of 93% tin, 5% antimony and 2% copper. A traveling tinker made repairs such as this for the townspeople who saved their cherished broken wares in need of his services. Members of the upper class would have taken their damaged goods to a silversmith, resulting in a more refined sterling silver replacement.

This is what the simple loop handle must have looked like before it broke off, as seen on this similarly shaped mug of the same period.

photo courtesy of Earle D. Vandekar

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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

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Gaudy Dutch coffee pot, c.1810

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Colorful pearlware baluster shaped coffee pot from England with double repairs and “King’s Rose” pattern decoration. Pot stands 12″ high, and has seen better days.

The base, riddled with large chips and no longer able to support the pot, was repaired with tin replacement in the middle to late 1800’s.

The ill-fitting domed lid, possibly from another piece in the set, originally had a skep shaped knob. This replaced knob, made of iron and looking like a large push pin, has been bolted through the top of the lid.

An astonishingly similar coffee pot, in wonderful condition, boasts its original base and finial.

Photo courtesy of Christie’s

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Stick spatter peafowl teapot, c.1810

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

English soft paste pottery teapot in the new oval shape, decorated with folksy bird decoration and unusual “S.T.” initials, measures 11″ long and 5-3/4″ high. My mother purchased this wonderful teapot in the mid-1970s, where it sat on a shelf in our kitchen for over 20 years. It was recently given to me as a birthday gift and is a welcomed addition to my collection.

The same naive decoration is on both sides of the teapot.

A simply formed tin lid from the mid-1880’s replaced the original lost or broken lid.

This miniature tea set has a similar peafowl decoration.

Photo courtesy of John Howard

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“King’s Rose” pearlware bowl, c.1850

Monday, March 15th, 2010

I found this large soft paste bowl while vacationing in Kerala, India and carried it on my lap during the long flight home. I was hoping to find other antiques with interesting repairs throughout my travels to central and southern India, but I mostly found just broken ceramic pieces with chips, cracks and no repairs. But I am sure India is filled with more many examples of wonderfully repaired antiques and I look forward to finding some of them when I return.

Bowl measures 10″ in diameter and is 4-1/2″ high.

A large chip on the rim has been covered up with a tin cuff and a long crack has been secured by means of a brass strap and rivets.

I believe this to be an English example of Gaudy Dutch ware, with a boldly painted variation of the “King’s Rose” pattern. Please see a coffee pot I posted earlier with a similar pattern.

When I see multiple repairs on the same piece made from different materials, I am led to believe that the damage and subsequent repairs were done at different times.

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