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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Photo by Ira Lippke

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.