Russian teapot with metal cage repair, c.1910

May 11th, 2012

This small, hard paste ceramic ovoid shaped teapot with colorful hand painted floral decoration in oval reserves on a blue ground has sustained more damage than just about any other piece in my collection. Most likely made in Moscow in the early 1900s for the Persian market, it came from the estate of a doctor who taught medicine in Afghanistan in the 1950s-60s and travelled extensively, acquiring items from around the world. The multiple repairs appear to have been done in Persia over a period of time, and include a number of staples, a replaced metal spout, a large patch made from a tin can cemented to one side, a green string tethering the mismatched lid to the handle, and an inexplicable metal buttress encompassing the body. Teapot measures 4″ high by 8-1/2″ wide from handle to spout and is marked on the base with cursive letters JTC in a decorative cartouche.

This teapot with similar form and decoration was made by the Gardner Porcelain Factory in Moscow, c.1860.

Photo courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum

Tags: , , ,
Posted in teapot | 4 Comments »

Pearlware teapot, c.1820

April 21st, 2012

English pearlware pottery 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 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.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in teapot | 6 Comments »

Sauceboat with remarkable silver handle, c.1750

March 31st, 2012

This large porcelain sauceboat was made and decorated in China and dates from the Qianlong period (1736-1795). Sauceboats (aka gravy boats) were part of larger dinner services, exported to North America and Europe and snatched up by wealthy customers eager to display in their china cabinets.

A skillful hand decorated the gravy boat with polychrome enamel flowers and an iron red border with gilt detailing.

Even the interior is painted with peony flowers and a blue zig zag fence, visible once the last bit of gravy has been consumed.

The broken handle has been replaced with an ingenious solid silver removable replacement, held together with screws and hinges. The craftsmanship is superb and unlike any other I have seen.

Only the wealthy would have able to afford this type of intricate repair, which keeps the body intact and without the intrusion of piercing rivets and bolts.

Sauceboat measures 4-1/2″ high and is 9-1/2″ long.

This shows what the simple loop handle on my similarly shaped sauceboat may have looked like before it broke off.

Photo courtesy of Guest & Gray

Tags: , , ,
Posted in sauce boat | 6 Comments »

Shelley Art Deco cup & saucer, c.1930

February 25th, 2012

“Vogue” shaped porcelain teacup in the bright yellow Sunray pattern 11742, designed by Eric Slater for Shelley and introduced in August 1930. Discontinued in 1933, due to impractically designed hard to hold cup handle.

Teacup has footed conical form and measures 2-1/2′ high and the saucer is 4″ in diameter.

Stamped in green on the bottom: Shelley; ENGLAND; Rd 756533 with pattern number 11742-4.

A close up of one of the metal staples which was drilled through the outside of the delicate cup, holding the 2 broken pieces together.

The inside of the teacup reveals the ends of the staples flanking the crack.

Tags: , ,
Posted in cup, saucer | 4 Comments »

Child’s pearlware teapot, c.1790

February 8th, 2012

Miniature pearlware pottery child’s teapot made in England in the late 1700′s. With cobalt blue underglazed ”Chinese House” 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. 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.

Photo courtesy of De Porcelijne Lampetkan

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in teapot | 5 Comments »

The New York Ceramics Fair, 2012

January 21st, 2012

On Wednesday of this past week I bundled up and made my annual journey northeast to The New York Ceramics Fair, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Each year at this time I look forward to attending the event and have been doing so since 2004. It’s always a pleasure to see the dealers and to drool over their fabulous merchandise, hoping that I will see some wonderful examples of inventive repair.

Leon-Paul van Geenen brought this amazing 17th century Dutch or German roemer with jaw dropping repairs.

Two brass palette-shaped plates, convex on the outside and concave on the inside, have been riveted together to conceal a large hole in the center.

The inside of the goblet shows the hammered ends of the rivets holding the plates in place.

The stem also has a unique repair; a plate with initials and a date of 1718, most likely the date of the repair and the initials of the restorer.

This is an example of a roemer without repairs, and in my mind, the less interesting of the two!

Another example of inventive repair brought by Mr. van Geenen is this small stoneware jug made in Sieburg, Germany.

The jug has three molded figural medallions, the center one with a man’s face and a date of 1595.

But what interests me the most is a lead plug with an incised cross, sealing a small hole on the side of the jug. I have not seen this type of simple yet effective repair before and will now be on the lookout to find other examples.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in anecdotal | 5 Comments »

Miniature vase to scent bottle transformation, c.1700

January 12th, 2012

Chinese Kangxi period (1662-1722) miniature porcelain vase, decorated in blue underglaze floral design. Costly miniatures such as this were collected by adults and were not necessarily made for children, although they are still commonly referred to as doll’s house miniatures.

After the neck broke off, an unmarked chased silver neck with chain & stopper was added, most likely in Amsterdam, sometime in the early to mid 1800s, turning the vase into a scent bottle. This is my favorite type of inventive repair; one where an object’s original function is altered and transformed into another.

Scent bottle stands a mere 3-1/4″ tall.

Please check out my other doll’s house miniature vases from the same period showing similar striking transformations.

This miniature vase, with nearly identical form and decoration, shows the original form with an intact neck.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in vase | 3 Comments »

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

Tags: , ,
Posted in jug | 7 Comments »

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.

Tags: , ,
Posted in bowl | 9 Comments »

« Older Entries