pottery « Past Imperfect, The Art of Inventive Repair

Posts Tagged ‘pottery’

English diptware jug, c.1800

Sunday, October 27th, 2013

I purchased this 7-3/4″ tall jug from a collector last February and it quickly became one of my favorites. The simple form, hot chocolate colored glaze, and impressive tin handle with strapping make it a visual delight. When I brought this jug to one of Don Carpentier’s workshops at Eastfield Village this summer, he marveled at it and said it was something special. So rather than try to describe it myself, here is what Don had to say:

“It is a baluster form English earthenware jug 1790-1810. It is technically know as diptware because it was decorated with slip. The design at the rim inslip-inlaid checkered rouletting. Made by impressing the design in the leather hard clay on the lathe with a roulette tool and then flooding the area with dark slip. When the slip sets up to leather hard it is put back on the lathe and trimmed down flush with the surface of the body and the design is inlaid.”

The tinsmith who crafted the metal replacement handle did a fine job securing it to the jug, by means of straps running diagonally across the ovoid form. He also added a comfortable hand support, thumb rest and small curled flourish at the bottom. Sadly, some of the jug’s best features are covered by the tin handle, such as the intricate leaf terminals and almost half of the checkered rim. But without the added handle, the original owner would not be able to use the jug for its intended purpose and I would have nothing to write about today!

This jug with similar form and rouletted black slip-filled herringbone mid-band, shows what the original loop handle on my jug may have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Prices4Antiques

Tags:English, metal handle, pottery, redware
Posted in jug | 7 Comments »

Nelson commemorative jug, c.1805

Saturday, September 28th, 2013

This colorful “Dutch” shape jug with transfer decoration and overglaze washes was made in Staffordshire, England to commemorate Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died in battle at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. After he was killed by a French sniper, Nelson’s body was preserved in brandy while being transported by ship back to England for burial. Nelson become one of Britain’s greatest war heroes and is memorialized by many London monuments, including Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.

In 1797 during the unsuccessful Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Nelson tragically lost an arm. The ship’s surgeon, James Farquhar, wrote in his journal: “Compound fracture of the right arm by a musket ball passing thro a little above the elbow; an artery divided; the arm was immediately amputated.” Legend has it that within 30 minutes of treatment, Nelson was back in battle commanding his troops.

It seems this jug, too, has been to battle, as sometime in the mid-1800s it’s original handle snapped off and was replaced by a metal one. The itinerant tinsmith did a fine job fashioning a simple yet sturdy loop handle with thumb rest and small flourish at the bottom, which might have been his signature embellishment. It’s a shame that Lord Nelson couldn’t find a replacement for his own missing arm, as seen by the empty draped sleeve in his famous portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott.

This jug, also commemorating the death of Admiral Nelson and with similar form, shows what the handle on my jug might have looked like before it was wounded in battle.

Photo courtesy of Toovey’s

Tags:commemorative, English, metal handle, pearlware, pottery, Staffordshire
Posted in jug | 1 Comment »

Agate surface decorated teapot, c.1785

Saturday, September 7th, 2013

This handsome redware urn-shaped teapot was made in England in the late 18th century and stands 4-1/2″ tall. Its confetti-like agate surface decoration is inlaid with ochre, orange, brown, olive, blue, and white bits of clay. Encircling the middle is a slip-filled checkered rouletted band of pumpkin and brown. All that remains of the original handle, which must have broken off sometime in the 19th century, is a molded bearded mask terminal, set ominously askew. Growing out of its forehead is the lower part of a pewter handle, fashioned by a tinker to replace the broken original. This replacement follows the form of the simple loop-shaped original.

I found this piece in Maine a few years ago and was reminded of it during a recent trip to the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, where I spotted a teapot on display with similar agate surface decoration, shown in the last image below.

This teapot is another example of agate surface decoration, and although it differs in form and coloring, the checkerboard band decoration is similar to my collaborative whiteboard template.

Photo taken at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT.

Tags:English, metal handle, pewter, pottery
Posted in teapot | 5 Comments »

Leeds creamware teapot, c.1770

Saturday, August 10th, 2013

I had been looking for an 18th century creamware teapot for many years so I was excited to have recently come across this appealing example with a most unusual, if not unique, repair.

This globular teapot, which measures 5-3/8″ high and 8″ wide, has an entwined strap handle with floral and leaf terminals and a cover with a pierced ball finial. The hand painted floral polychrome decoration is in tones of purple, green and persimmon. It was made in England during the last quarter of the 18th century at Leeds, a factory famous for developing creamware, a new type of earthenware using white Cornish clay and a translucent glaze.

Sadly for the owner, the original spout succumbed after an unfortunate accident (luckily, no charges were brought up and no bail bonds company existed back in the day if there were), while remarkably the more delicate handle remained intact. Happily for me, though, sometime in the early 1800s, the teapot was brought to an expert metalsmith who fashioned a unique replacement spout in what appears to be Britannia metal, a pewter-type alloy composed of tin, antimony and copper. The metal spout, expertly executed with precision and artistry, appears have a modern steampunk attitude. To me it looks like a crooked finger urging “come here!”

The underside reveals an early gummed paper label marked “Leeds” and a price of £4, which I would happily have paid. Of course it cost me a bit more, but I have no regrets.

This example, with similar form and decoration, shows what my teapot’s spout would have looked like had it not broken off. But I much prefer my unique example with the juxtaposed metal spout.

Photo courtesy of eBay

Tags:creamware, English, metal spout, pottery
Posted in teapot | 6 Comments »

Staffordshire pottery cradle, c.1820

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

Miniature pottery cradles were a popular form of wedding gift throughout the UK during the late 17th to mid-19th century. The not-too-subtle message to the newlyweds was to encourage fertility. This humble example, measuring 3″ high by 3-3/4″ long, is made from yellow glazed pottery and decorated with an incised circle pattern. It was made in Staffordshire, England, in the early 1800s. Perhaps after the young couple took the hint of the cradle’s implied message and had a child, the little darling grew up and one day broke the cradle. But one can’t blame the child who simply thought the cradle was a toy to be played with and not a symbol of its own mere existence. Distraught over their broken gift, the couple took the two halves to a china mender who repaired the cradle using two 3/4″ metal staples. Although the cradle is back in one piece and suitable for displaying, the obtrusive scars bear witness to the unfortunate event.

This grouping has similar cradles with molded babies in swaddling, rarer than my empty one.

Photo courtesy of John Howard

Tags:English, miniature, pottery, Staffordshire, staples/rivets
Posted in decorative | 7 Comments »

German Maskau jug, c.1740

Sunday, July 14th, 2013

This rustic brown stoneware jug with ovoid body was made in the Muskau region of Germany in the mid 1700s. It is decorated with incised stylized foliate against a crosshatched ground above vertical fluting and black glaze highlights. Remains of the original stoneware handle can be seen beneath the metal replacement. It is attached at the top to the remains of the pewter lid hinge and at the bottom using a horizontal metal band, blending in nicely and appearing to be a part of the original design. An additional horizontal band around the neck helps to stabilize the multiple cracks beneath. The original pewter mounted lid went missing long ago, which is not uncommon for a much-used flagon of this age. It measures nearly 9-1/2″ high.

This fine example has its original handle intact and shows what mine would have looked like before it broke and was brought to the local tinker for repair.

Photo courtesy of Martyn Edgell

Tags:German, metal handle, pewter, pottery, stoneware
Posted in jug | 2 Comments »

Magnificent Yixing teapot c.1700

Sunday, May 26th, 2013

This is one of my favorite and, as it turns out, one of the rarest pieces I have in my collection. I purchased it last fall at auction where it was among a small but impressive collection of early Yixing teapots, most with silver mounts. In total, over a dozen items were being offered; at least half were museum quality. I ended up with 2 teapots, each with multiple replacements, and I paid dearly for them. I only wish I had been able to forgo my monthly mortgage payment and purchase the entire lot so I could keep the assembled collection intact. But at least I acquired this breathtaking teapot, which in my opinion is the best of the lot, along with another rare gem, which I will post at a later date.

Made in China during the Kangxi period (1662-1722), this Yixing teapot of hexagonal form is decorated with six relief molded panel designs on a thunder pattern ground and depicts spear and sword carrying warriors on horseback. The matching lid with a beautifully carved Buddhist lion finial has a thunder pattern ground. The teapot stands 4.5 inches high. The intricate details make this piece special, but the exquisite silver mounts and carved wood handle make this piece magnificent.

When the original handle and spout broke off sometime in the first part of the 18th century, a silversmith of the highest level created these outstanding repairs and replacements. The wood handle is carved with what appears to be a scrolled leaf on top and a tiny grotesque head at the bottom, attached to the body using chased silver mounts. The spout is repaired with silver mounts at the base and at the tip, both handsomely engraved.

There is a small hole at the top of the body near the spout, which I have seen on other Yixing teapots. Some of these other examples have a small silver mount covering the hole. Does anyone know if this is to allow steam to escape or why on some pieces the hole is covered?

This teapot with similar form shows what the original loop handle would have looked like on my teapot. For more information, please take a look at other Yixing teapots I have previously posted to see a variety of forms and styles and to learn more about Yixing clay and its unique qualities.

Photo courtesy of Christie’s

Tags:Chinese, metal spout, pottery, silver, wood handle, Yixing
Posted in teapot | 5 Comments »

Redware vixen stirrup cup, c.1775

Sunday, April 28th, 2013

This redware pottery figural stirrup cup was made in England in the third quarter of the 18th century and is in the form of a cunning little vixen’s head. L-shaped, it measures 4″ tall by 6-1/4″ wide and is freestanding, which is unusual, as most stirrup cups are base-less and unable to stand on their own. Stirrup cups, traditionally filled with port or sherry, were given to guests as a parting drink at the conclusion of a fox hunt, while their feet were still in their stirrups. This tradition began in the United Kingdom in the 18th century and continued for hundreds of years. As this sport never ended well for the fox, it was finally banned in Scotland in 2002 and in England and Wales just three years later.

The original handle must have broken off after an inebriated hunter grabbed the cup at the conclusion of the hunt, downed his sherry, then promptly fell off his horse, dropping and breaking the prized vessel. I imagine the host was not pleased by the guest’s unruly behavior and surely did not invite him back anytime soon. Luckily, a metalsmith, most likely in the 19th century, came to the rescue and fashioned a new handle with support bands, thus enabling another, more sober guest to stay in the saddle and toast his gracious host.

An original paper label on the bottom links this cup to esteemed collector and author Frank Falkner of Cheshire, England. The June 1905 issue of Glass and Pottery World contains an article that includes this amusing excerpt: “Mr. Falkner and Mr. Lidelstham had a hobby for old pottery, but they did not follow the usual practice of collectors by acquiring rare specimens of old Sevres, Worcester, Crown Derby, Wedgwood or others of the same high class. They directed their attention to the homely figures and ornaments with which ‘the rural population of a century ago used to deck their dresser or mantel shelf. These common rustic figures, made by men who were little more than peasants themselves, had been passed over in silence for the most part even in ceramic histories.'”

The Stirrup Cup by Heywood Hardy (1842-1933) shows hunters being offered drinks in figural stirrup cups by their host.

Another fine example of a rare L-shaped stirrup cup, this one is in the form of a hare, and still with its original handle.

Photo courtesy of Earle D. Vandekar

Tags:English, metal handle, pottery, redware
Posted in cup/saucer | No Comments »

Eva Zeisel majolica teapot, c.1929

Saturday, March 23rd, 2013

This boldly painted, hard to find teapot was designed by no other than Eva Zeisel, who worked for Majolika Fabrik in Schramberg, Germany. She arrived in the small Black Forest town in the fall of 1928 and left nearly two years later in the spring of 1930, creating nearly 200 brightly colored pottery objects of Art Deco inspired design. This lightweight pottery teapot measures 7-1/2″ tall and is 8-3/4″ wide from handle to spout.

I am not surprised that this fragile teapot did not remain unscathed over the past 84 years, as the low fired clay is susceptible to breakage. A large broken piece at the top of the pot has been reapplied, aided by three large metal staples, each measuring nearly 3/4″ long. To help camouflage this none-too-subtle repair, the staples were overpainted in matching tones, with only traces of color remaining. To add insult to injury, the top portion of the handle, once broken off, has been riveted back on to the body. Tightly woven rattan envelopes the entire handle and the lower portion of the teapot, although I am not sure if this is was a later addition. Original or not, the basket-like embellishment adds another layer of quirkiness to this most desirable vessel.

The stamped mark on the bottom reads: Majolika, SMF (contained within a shield), Schramberg Handyemalt, 64.

Photo courtesy of Kulturprojekte Berlin

These are more examples of majolica designed by Eva Zeisel during her years in Schramberg, Germany

An early photograph of Eva Zeisel in her studio, c. 1930.

Photos courtesy of John Foster

Tags:German, pottery, rattan, staples/rivets
Posted in teapot | 6 Comments »

American redware pot, c.1850

Saturday, February 2nd, 2013

I found this great little red clay pottery pot in Maine a few years back and it continues to amuse me. It has an appealing patinated surface and an unusual thrifty make-do repair, typical of pieces found in New England. I believe it was made in Massachusetts in the mid-1800s and measures 6″ high, with a top diameter of 5″. When the pot cracked, no doubt due to excessive use, an iron band was slipped over the neck, but had to be made wide enough to clear the slightly flared ridge. So to tighten the band and seal the crack, five hand forged square nails were wedged between the metal band and the outside wall of the pot, forming a snug seal. This novel repair certainly did the trick to make the pot function once again and also inadvertently transformed it from a plain vessel into a folksy curiosity.