Posts Tagged ‘wire’

Globular teapot with double repairs, c.1750

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Someone must have really loved this much abused Chinese export porcelain teapot with globular form and famille rose decoration. Not only does it have a severely chipped lid but it lost its original spout and handle sometime during its long life.

Teapot measures 5″ high.

The same red and green enamel decoration is on both sides.

A loose, cartoon-like decoration is revealed upon closer inspection.

When the porcelain handle broke off it was replaced with a wooden handle, possibly from a pewter teapot. It was repaired again later with reinforcement wire

A silver plated spout replaces the original one, sometime in the late 18th to mid 19th century.

Surprisingly, the original lid with skep-shaped knob has survived, though it bears the battle scars of large chips along the outer edge.

This teapot is in excellent condition and has both its handle and spout intact.

Photo courtesy of AntikWest

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

Redware jug with lid, c.1870

Friday, March 26th, 2010

This 6″ tall cracked jug with a replaced mismatched lid and tin base, possibly from Pennsylvania, is covered in a web of hand woven wire.

Redware pottery is earthenware made from red clay containing ferrous oxide, and the dark spots on the surface are a result of manganese in the glaze.

the cracked base was completely covered in wire and tin, now rusted. Please take a look at Tuscan pottery jug, another example of an earthenware jug with a similar repair.

This antique redware jug with similar form is without cracks and wire reinforcement.

Photo courtesy of Malleries

Greek style teapot, c.1850

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Porcelain teapot made in the UK in the mid nineteenth century with matte finish neoclassical decoration, stands 7.25 inches long by 4.5 inches tall. I originally thought this teapot was made by Samuel Alcock but I have been told it was made by Dudson.

The other side of the teapot with chariot decoration.

Both the handle and the spout have an unusual repair of tightly wrapped metal wire.

The undamaged lid has extra deep sides.

The teapot was also available with a black background, shown here without the wire repairs.

Photo courtesy of eBay

Tuscan pottery jug, c.1860

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

When this redware pottery Italian jug from the mid-1800’s cracked, a skillful person enmeshed it in a hand-woven wire net.

I spotted this jug at an outdoor market in Tuscany a few years ago and since then I discovered similarly repaired pottery from other European countries.

The large rim chip on the lip reveals the red clay underneath the black glaze. Jug stands 6-3/4″ high.

Cold painted cast lead dog figure, c.1930

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

A simple yet remarkable home repair using just a small nail and short length of wire to replace a tiny toy dog’s missing leg. I find vintage toys with inventive repair rather poignant and I am always glad to see that someone bothered to repair the plaything, rather than discard it.

Dog measures just 2″ wide and 2” high and is incised “France” on belly with a paper label marked “46”.

Recently, a friend named the toy canine “Lucky”, but I think I am “lucky” to have adopted this stray dog with a most effective inventive repair!