This soft paste pottery footed sugar bowl was made in Staffordshire, England in the mid 1800s. It is decorated with polychrome hand painted flowers & leaves and measures 5.5 inches high, 7.75 inches wide. On the underside is an incised “2” and what appears to be a green hand painted number.
At some point during the early life of this pretty sugar bowl the lid slipped from someone’s fingers and the knob broke off. Rather than toss out a perfectly good bowl, a repurposed brass ring was attached to the lid, held into place with lead. Quite an unusual repair, as tiny rings such as this were used as small box or drawer pulls, and for picture hanging. This is the first time I have seen this type of repair and am pleased that over 100 years ago, someone saved a family heirloom by using a household object and a little bit of ingenuity.
This sugar bowl with similar form suggests what the original knob on mine might have looked like
I love finding pieces with multiple repairs and this lovely soft paste pottery creamware teapot with pearlware glaze fits the bill nicely. It was made in Staffordshire or Leeds, England, in the late 1700s and is hand painted with spritely polychrome floral decoration on both sides. It measures 5 inches high and is marked with what appears to be A+A in red on the underside of the pot and lid.
But of course the reason it ended up in my collection is the three inventive repairs, which include a slightly exaggerated bronze handle covered in rattan, a brass collar concealing a chipped spout, and a cracked lid repaired with brown paper tape. I believe each repair was done years apart so one can only assume that the previous owners of this teapot were a clumsy lot.
This teapot still has its original handle and spout and shows what mine may have looked like before it was repaired.
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.
This jug with the same transfer decoration still has its original handle intact.
I purchased this unmarked soft-paste teabowl from an antique ceramics dealer in the UK who appreciates early repairs and has provided me with many interesting examples of make-do repairs over the years. This piece was made by Philip Christian Liverpool Porcelain, c.1765-70, and measures 1-3/4 inches high x 3 inches diameter. It has a fluted body with molded leaves and flowers, a cobalt blue underglaze border of leaves and berries, and a flower motif painted on the inside.
This delicate teabowl boasts multiple repairs done by a 19th century “china mender.” After the bowl broke, a large chip was reattached using tightly bound brass wire wrapped around holes drilled through the body, appearing at first like more commonly used staple repairs. A large blob of lead was applied to the center of the crack, acting as an anchoring rivet. A smaller chip along the rim, perhaps lost or too small to repair, has been replaced with a thin sliver of porcelain decorated with iron-red scrollwork from another piece entirely. This type of repair, using thin wire instead of metal staples, is typically associated with 19th century repair work done in Belgium and the South of France.
Below is a “perfect” example with matching saucer.
During one of my early trips to the UK in search of ceramics with inventive repairs, I found this charming Chinese soft paste porcelain teapot decorated in the famille rose palette and painted with colorful parrots and flowers in polychrome enamels with gilt highlights. The teapot measures 5″ high and is 9″ wide from handle to spout and was made during the Qianlong period (1736-1796) for export to Europe and North America.
After a tumble, the fanciful spout, which most likely matched the bamboo-form handle, broke off and was replaced by a more streamline metal one with a decorative backplate. Curiously, the handle did not suffer from the fall and remains intact. There is no way of knowing what happened to the original lid, but it has been replaced by a 20th century silver plated cover that fits snugly but looks nothing like the porcelain original. If only this pot could talk!
This teapot with similar form shows what the original spout and lid on my teapot might have looked like before it took a tumble.
English miniature soft paste pottery pearlware ladle from set of child’s dishes, measuring 3-3/4″ long and dating from the early to middle 1800s. The two broken halves are bound together by a criss cross of thin brass wire woven through 2 tiny holes on either side of the break. Small dabs of cement in each hole help secure the repair.
I pity the small child who briefly lost the use of their ladle during what might have been a fantasy feast. And I applaud the person who came to the rescue, making the two broken pieces whole again, thus allowing the imaginary dinner party to continue!
Miniature pearlware pottery child’s teapot made in England in the late 1700’s. With cobalt blue underglazed Chinese House (aka Pagoda and Fence) decoration, derived from English Chinoiserie pieces rather than actual Chinese ornamentation.
I am surprised I have not come across more examples of miniatures and children’s items with inventive repairs, as I would imagine that slippery little fingers would surely have caused many a fragile toy to break. I just hope the children who damaged these items were not punished too severely.
Teapot measures 2-1/2″ high and was most likely made in Staffordshire between the years 1780 and 1800.
The simple loop handle which broke off over one hundred years ago, was replaced with a sturdy tin replacement with crimped edges and an upper support band by an itinerant tinsmith, look at the wild thing review. The top portion of the original handle was not ground down and still remains.
Provenance sticker: Roger Bacon Collection, Skinner auction Sept. 23-24, 1982.
This similarly shaped and decorated child’s teapot of the same size still has its original handle and an intact lid.
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.
This English-made soft paste pottery waste bowl was originally part of a larger tea set. Waste bowls, aka slop bowls, were used for pouring out the remaining cold tea before pouring another cup of tea. It has a cobalt blue & white transfer decoration of a bee skep in a bucolic pastoral setting
The many cracks on the sides have been stabilized by the careful addition of small ridged metal staples, which appear to be machine made
A single bent metal staple affixed to the underside acts as a crutch and ingeniously supports the broken base
Bowl measures 2-1/2″ high with a dimeter of 4-1/8″
A rare soft paste pottery jug with transfer decoration and overglaze polychrome washes featuring a Napoleonic political cartoon. Made in Staffordshire, England and marked “T. Harley – Lane End”.
Thomas Harley (1778-1832) produced earthenware jugs and other wares in his Lane End (now Longton) studio from 1805-1812. In 1814 he was involved in a meeting which called for the abolition of the slave trade.
Jug measures 7-1/2″ high and is featured in AN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BRITISH POTTERY AND PORCELAIN by Geoffrey A. Godden, Bonanza Books Inc., N.Y., 1966.
A now rusted metal handle with thumb rest, made by a metalsmith over 100 years ago, replaces the original damaged ceramic handle.
This rare example with intact handle shows what my jug looked like before a clumsy person dropped it.
Antiques with inventive repairs (also known as "make-do" repairs) are unique examples of necessity and thrift, made during a time before Krazy Glue was invented. Unlike today where we discard anything chipped or cracked, broken household items were repaired at home or taken to a metalsmith to be brought back to life, often with whimsical results. Once regarded merely as damaged goods by antiques dealers and collectors alike, antiques with inventive repairs are justly receiving the respect they deserve.
ABOUT ANDREW BASEMAN:
I am a film set decorator, author, and interior designer, with a passion for antiques and collecting. Please visit my website to see examples of my work:
