Floral pearlware cream jug, c.1800

January 2nd, 2012

Lightweight, soft paste pottery cream jug with fluted body, made in England, possibly by Lowestoft. Boldly decorated with hand painted pink flowers and diaper decoration on the inner rim.

Jug was made at the turn of the 19th century and measures 2-1/2″ tall by 4-1/2″ long.

Metal handle with thumb rest and finger grip replaces the original handle and was most likely made by an itinerant tinsmith.

One of 2 rivets which holds the tin handle firmly in place can be seen on the inside of the jug.

This nearly identical cream jug still has its original loop handle.

Photo courtesy of eBay

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Happy Holidays!

December 22nd, 2011

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year.

Photo by Ira Lippke

Posted in anecdotal | 3 Comments »

Heart-shaped metal brace on Chinese bowl, c.1770

December 1st, 2011

I have never seen another repair quite like this. The porcelain bowl itself is fine but unremarkable: made in China in the mid-1700’s for export to North America and Europe, decorated in Famille Rose enamels with large stylized flowers and cobalt blue underglaze leaves.

But what makes this piece truly remarkable are the figural repairs. Rather than using standard metal staples or straps to join the broken pieces of the bowl, an inspired metalsmith cut three different shapes to form a unique bond. An unmistakeable heart-shaped brace sits below a strap shaped like a scepter. Each of these has short metal pins attached, which pass through small holes drilled into the side of the bowl.

This short metal strap, straddling a crack, resembles a bow tie.

Bowl measures 4″ high and has a diameter of 8-1/4″.

A single red blossom surrounded by spidery blue leaves is found at the center of the bowl and a decorative border is painted along the inner rim.

The inside of the bowl reveals the carefully hammered ends of the metal brace pins, which are mostly masked by the deep cobalt painted decoration.

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Posted in bowl/dish | 9 Comments »

Free-blown glass goblet, c.1790

November 8th, 2011

This free-blown conical shaped wine glass with gadrooned bowl stands 4-1/2″ tall. I believe it to be of European origin and made in the late 1700s.

I especially like the lozenge shaped glass bubble “imperfection” on the side, which looks like a microscopic organism.

A crafty tinsmith transformed this goblet in to a tumbler, after the stem and foot snapped off sometime during its early life.

A “witches hat” style tin replacement foot with concave bottom measures 3″ in diameter.

This unaltered goblet with the same design still maintains its original double knob stem.

Photo courtesy of eBay

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Japanese teapot, c.1730

October 27th, 2011

A small pear-shaped porcelain teapot made in Japan during the Edo middle period (1704-1800), with underglaze Imari decoration of birds and flowers in cobalt blue, iron red and gold.

Measures 3-1/2″ high, 5-1/4″ wide.

Silver replacement lid with chain, engraved decoration and Dutch hallmarks is from the early to mid 1800’s.

This nearly identical teapot shows what the original lid on mine would have looked like before the silversmith got a hold of it. Thanks Hans!

hans

Photo courtesy of Pater Gratia Oriental Art

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Posted in teapot | 5 Comments »

“Farmers Arms” harvest jug, c.1805

October 15th, 2011

An English pearlware “Dutch” shape jug made in Staffordshire, England in the early 1800’s. It is decorated on both sides with a black transfer decoration with red & yellow overglaze washes and silver lustre bands at the top and bottom. Although it has been beat up over the past 200+ years, is riddled with numerous chips and cracks and lost its original handle along the way, I am glad to have plucked it from near oblivion.

The banner proclaims “INDUSTRY PRODUCETH WEALTH” along with images including a bee hive, shafts of wheat and farm tools.

Jug measures 4-3/4″ tall.

Below a banner which reads “TRUST IN GOD” is the verse:

“SUCCESS TO THE FLEECE

THE PLOUGH AND THE PAIL

MAY TAXES GROW LESS

AND THE TENANT NE’ER FAIL”

The replacement metal handle with thumb rest has been painted silver to blend in and appear more pleasing.

A metal bolt, securing the metal handle to the body of the jug, can be seen from the inside of the fragile jug.

This example has the same form and silver lustre decoration as my jug and shows what the original handle might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Powerhouse Museum

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Posted in jug | 3 Comments »

Ming Swatow jar, c.1590

October 8th, 2011

Small Wanli period (1573-1620) Ming pottery jar from Swatow, in Southeast China, with a blue underglaze decoration of deer and stylized plants with crackle glaze. I purchased this great little jar from a ceramics dealer in Amsterdam, where a replacement neck was created over 200 years ago after the original neck broke off.

Jar measures 3-1/4″ high, 3-1/4″ wide.

Remains of the original broken neck are mostly obscured by the replacement neck and collar.

The Dutch replacement copper neck has an elaborately engraved floral design.

This jar has the same form and decoration as mine but with an intact neck.

Photo courtesy of Trocadero

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Posted in pot/jar | 5 Comments »

Chinese charger with 35 staples, c.1730

September 9th, 2011

This large porcelain charger, made in China during the Yongzheng period (1723-35), measures 13-3/4″ in diameter. The famille-rose palette with predominantly pink colored enamel is made from colloidal gold, a suspension of gold particles mixed into the glaze.

The polychrome decoration of a large tree on a terrace with over-scaled flowers is painted in shades of green, pink and blue on a pale green ground.

After this charger was dropped and broke in to over 20 pieces of varying sizes, an itinerant china mender made it whole again by carefully drilling holes in to the underside of the porcelain and securing 35 metal staples to either side of the cracks.

The disarray of cracks and staples make a wonderful pattern of their own.

These unusual metal staples have a deep ridge running through each length.

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Posted in plate/platter | 7 Comments »

Hunting scene tavern jug, c.1860

August 22nd, 2011

English salt-glaze stoneware cream jug with sprigged decoration entitled “The Kill”, made in the mid-1800’s, possibly in Derbyshire. The glass-like coating is achieved by adding salt to the kiln and firing at approx 1660 degrees F (780 degrees C). As the sodium chloride vaporizes and bonds with the silica in the clay, it creates a silicate glass “salt-glaze” finish.

Jug stands 4-1/2″ high and is 5″ wide.

Over 150 years ago, a tinsmith repaired the broken handle with a metal replacement, complete with thumb rest and straps.

A screw and metal strap, part of the molded sprigged decoration, “held” the original ceramic handle in place, and now an actual metal handle has replaced the broken handle.

This jug, similar in form and decoration, still has its original handle intact.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

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Chinese Nanking mug, c.1790

August 6th, 2011

What a mess this guy is! It looks like someone threw it out of a moving car. This humble porcelain mug with cobalt blue Nanking underglaze decoration began its life in pristine condition over 220 years ago in China and was most likely exported to North America or Europe.

Measures 5″ high with a 3-3/4″ diameter.

The original porcelain handle seems to have gone missing some time ago. The rim appears to have been nibbled at by a porcelain mouse.

Although this mug is riddled with numerous cracks and chips, it will make a splendid pencil holder.

All that holds the mug together now is a single tin strap, added by a tinsmith in the 19th century.

Bits of old fabric strips once sealed the cracks on the bottom. Looks to me like the linen used to wrap mummies.

This mug, clearly in much better condition than mine, still maintains its original handle. But I am sure my mug had a much more colorful life.

Photo courtesy of Antiques.com

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Posted in mug/tankard | 4 Comments »

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