Posts Tagged ‘transferware’

Large jug with woven handle, c.1820

Sunday, September 25th, 2016

Early in my collecting days I purchased a small pottery cream jug with blue & white transfer decoration and a wonderful wicker replacement handle. I had not seen a repair quite like it before, woven, I believe, by a basket maker. Flash forward about 20 years when I was notified by one of my favorite dealers in the UK who offered me another jug with a similar woven handle. The photo he sent did not show the scale, so I had no idea what size the jug was. When an oversized parcel arrived a couple of weeks later, I unpacked what turned out to be a HUGE jug.

This Dutch shape pottery jug with blue and white transfer decoration and woven rattan replacement handle was made in England in the first quarter of the 1800s. Measuring 9.25 inches high and 12.5 inches wide from lip to handle, it is marked “Lasso” on the underside. It must have been much loved over the past 200 years, as is evident by the unusual replacement handle and large hole worn away on the bottom. Although unable to hold liquids today, this impressive jug and ultimate survivor still commands respect merely by sitting quietly on a shelf in my home.

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This jug with similar form and decoration shows what the original handle on my jug may have looked like.

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Photo courtesy of Applecross Antiques

Covered vegetable dish, c.1830

Sunday, May 22nd, 2016

This English pottery covered vegetable dish measures 12.5 inches by 10.25 inches and has brown transfer decoration of Greek buildings, urns, and classical figures. Although a potter has yet to be confirmed, there is speculation that it may have been made by Hicks, Meigh, & Johnson in Shelton, Staffordshire, between 1822 and 1835. It is marked on the underside “ANTIQUES, Stone China”.

When the original handle on the cover broke off, a tinker made this chunky iron replacement. Although it in no way matches the elegance of the original handle, this sturdy repair allowed for the cover to function once again.

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This covered dish with similar form shows what the original handle on mine might have looked like.

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Photo courtesy of Antiques Image Archive

William of Orange commemorative jug, c.1840

Saturday, October 17th, 2015

This colorful soft paste baluster form commemorative jug was made in England around 1840 and is decorated with a figure of William of Orange on horseback, figures showing brotherly love, a crown, flowers and Protestant emblems. It has polychrome glazed black transfer decoration, hand painted flowers and pink lustre trim, measuring 6 inches tall and 7-3/4 inches wide from handle to spout.

After the original handle broke off, a tinker secured the sturdy copper replacement handle to the body using two flat screws. See an earlier post, Inventive repairs at the Rijksmuseum, showing a painting, Prince’s Day by Jan Havicksz Steen (1625-1679), depicting the birthday celebration of Prince William III of Orange-Nassau on November 14, 1650.

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This jug with the same transfer decoration still has its original handle intact.

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Photo courtesy of eBay

Spode bat printed cup, c.1820

Sunday, December 14th, 2014

This handsome porcelain cup was made in England by Spode, circa 1820. It is decorated with a bat printed pastoral scene of a person approaching a cottage, with gilt trim at top and bottom. It measures 2-1/4″ high, with an opening of 3-1/4″.

At some point in the 1800s the cup was dropped and broke into three pieces. A china mender with a steady hand used eight tiny brass staples to hold the cup back together.

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Masonic creamware mug, c.1800

Saturday, November 22nd, 2014

This cylindrical form creamware mug was made by Herculaneum Pottery in Liverpool, England, circa 1800. I am a sucker for bold graphics so you can understand why I like this mug so much. It is covered with black transfer decoration of Masonic symbols and stands 5 inches high, with an opening of 3-1/2 inches.

What makes this early mug so special to me is the sturdy silver replacement handle. Although unmarked, it appears to have been made by a silversmith in the early 20th century. An elaborate silver mounting system was devised to hold the new handle in place by mounting it to a broad plate and attaching it to a rim and base. The choice to mount the replacement handle, as opposed to drill through the body and bolt on a new handle, may have saved the mug from possible leakage and more damage. Typically, I do not polish metal repairs, as I feel the darkened patina adds to the overall appearance of the piece. I like how the tarnished silver is close to the color of the printed decoration, enhancing this clever repair even more.

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This mug with the same form and decoration shows what my mug would have looked like with its original handle intact.

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Photo courtesy of Bramfords

Minton cup with butterfly handle, c.1869

Saturday, October 4th, 2014

This delicate English porcelain bone china cup and saucer each have a transfer decoration of butterflies and flowers with hand painted washes of color. The figural butterfly handle, though lovely to look at, makes for an unsteady grasp on a steaming hot cup of tea. Perhaps that’s how both the cup and the saucer met their early demise and ended up crashing to the floor, breaking into many pieces. But luckily a local china mender was standing by with drill and staples at hand, and able to join together the broken pieces. Six tiny brass staples were carefully attached, three on the cup and three on the saucer, allowing the tea to flow once more.

Marked on the underside of the cup, which measures 1-3/4″ high, is an English registry cypher, dating the piece to April 7, 1869. The saucer, with a diameter of 5-1/2″,  has a faint impressed MINTON mark.

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Creamware motto mug, c.1800

Saturday, August 16th, 2014

This simple creamware pottery mug with cylindrical form is decorated with a black transfer decoration of the Farmer’s Toast aka God Speed the Plough. It was made in England in the late 1700s-early 1800s and measures 4-3/4″  high. A tinsmith fashioned a sturdy replacement handle, attaching it to a metal band at the top and bolting it through the body at the bottom. I love the boldness of the dark printed decoration and patinated metal handle against the stark cream color of the mug.

Let the Wealthy & Great,

Roll in Splendor & State.

I envy them not I declare it.

I eat my own Lamb,

My own Chicken & Ham.

I shear my own Fleece & wear it.

I have Lawns I have Bowers,

I have fruits I have Flowers.

The lark is my morning alarmer.

So jolly Boys now,

Here’s God speed the Plough.

Long Life & Success to

The Farmer.

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Although the black transfer decoration differs, the form is the same and shows what the simple loop handle would have looked like on my mug.

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Photo courtesy of Martyn Edgell

Doulton Lambeth Galleon jug, c.1900

Sunday, May 4th, 2014

This Teniers shape footed porcelain jug was made in Burslem, Staffordshire, England by Royal Doulton, 1892-1902. The bold transfer decoration in the Galleon pattern is printed in black with hand painted washes of mustard and aqua. This popular nautical scene appears on other forms, including vases and tobacco jars, and is clearly stamped in black on the underside DOULTON, BURSLEM, ENGLAND, GALLEON. Jug measures 7 inches high and 7 inches wide.

After this heavy jug slipped through the hands of an earlier owner, breaking its handle into four pieces, it was taken to a tinker (or china mender) who reattached the sections using five wide metal cuffs. Rather than leave the unfinished metal repairs to detract from the allure of the jug, the bands were painted in enamels to match the color and decoration of the handle. Although the color on the repairs has mellowed with age, the result still holds up and continues to be effective.

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The Dalton Lambeth Galleon jug shown here has a different coloration and a perfect handle.

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Photo courtesy of eBay

“Sailor’s Farewell” Sunderland jug, c.1830

Sunday, March 2nd, 2014

This small pottery “Dutch” shape jug, decorated with black transfer prints and verses of the popular Sailors Farewell, was made in Sunderland, England, in the early to middle 1800s. Standing 6″ tall, it is embellished with polychrome overglaze washes and pink lustre accents. The front and rim have floral prints and the reverse side is decorated with a black transfer print of the poem A Birth-Day Thought, written in 1809 by Charles Lamb (1775-1834):

I envy no one’s birth or fame,
Their titles, train, or dress;
Nor has my pride e’er stretched its aim
Beyond what I possess.

I ask and wish not to appear
More beauteous, rich, or gay:
Lord, make me wiser every year,
And better every day.

Over one hundred years ago when the jug was dropped, resulting in the loss of the original loop handle, it was taken to a tinker who made a metal replacement. The owner must not have liked the incongruity of the raw metal handle strapped to the delicate ceramic jug, so the handle was painted in copper tones, to help ease the offensive blight.

This jug with similar form and decoration shows what the handle on my jug would have looked like with its original handle intact.

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Photo courtesy of Carter’s

Georgian pearlware teapot, c.1820

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

English pearlware pottery cottage-form teapot with puce transfer decoration of a girl sitting on a richly upholstered chair in a pastoral setting and holding a bird. Teapot is unmarked but was most likely made in Staffordshire during the Georgian era, in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

Both sides of the teapot have the same decoration.

Teapot measures 10-3/4″ from handle to spout and is 5-1/2″ high.

A replacement handle made of solid pewter incorporates the top remaining handle fragment and has a nice heart-shaped plate at the bottom.

The lid also has an inventive repair, with a copper bolt reattaching the broken knob.