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 | 1 Comment »

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 | 2 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 | 7 Comments »

Free-blown glass goblet, c.1700

November 8th, 2011

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

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

Tags: , ,
Posted in goblet | No Comments »

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 small teapot with Imari decoration and from the same period as mine still has its original lid.

Photo courtesy of Tennants

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

“Farmers Arms” harvest jug, c.1805

October 15th, 2011

An English pearlware 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

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in jug | 2 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

Tags: , , ,
Posted in pot/jar | 4 Comments »

« Older Entries