Antique Ceramics

A Meissen Masterpiece, going to the NGV

2016-01-22T20:09:00.001-08:00

A recent discovery by Moorabool Antiques was a very large example from the fabulous Sulkowsky service, made between 1734-38.

Regarded as the first of the private commission services at Meissen, it is a remarkable piece of ceramic history with a fascinating tale to tell.

Prince Alexander Joseph Sulkowski,

from an 18th century painting

in Leszno city museum.

Alexander Joseph Graf von Sulkowski was Privy Councillor, Minister of State, and a Cabinet Minister to the King, Frederick Augustus. He was deeply involved in the Meissen factory, taking responsibility for the deliveries of porcelain to furnish the newly built ‘Porcelain Palace’ in Dresden, and also being responsible for the King’s treasure vaults in Dresden, known as the ‘Green Vaults’.

His origins & ascent to power is a tale in itself. Born to Polish gentry, rumour has it his mother fell under the spell of Augustus II ‘The Strong’, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland ( and creator of the Meissen porcelain factory!). Augustus II was known as ‘The Strong’ for his musculature, a nickname reinforced by his favourite party trick of apparently ripping iron horseshoes in half with his bare hands….. But there is another aspect to his nickname, the results of which were a debatable 354 illegitimate children!

Augustus II
'The Strong', detail from
a 19th century copy of a
portrait of circa 1720 by
Louis de Silvesre

Rumour has it that Alexander was one such child, and certainly Augustus II cared for the youth who came to the Royal Court at Warsaw in 1711 as a page. He entered the service of the crown prince, Frederick Augustus, who was one year younger, and they grew up together. He received his first title in 1712, ‘Master of the Horse’, and for the next seven years he & the Crown Prince went travelling through Italy, France, and the other German states. A couple of teenagers seeing the sights of Europe together, who can imagine what adventures they had…. certainly it would have been a bonding experience, and so Augustus was well established to rise in status in the court. He became a ‘Gentleman of the Bedchamber’ in 1726, married a court Lady-in-waiting in 1728, and became a Count in 1732. On 1st February 1733, Augustus II ‘The Strong’ died, and his heir Frederick Augustus ascended the throne. Straight away, Alexander was made Privy Councillor, Minister of State, Cabinet Minister and an Imperial Count. He also became a Count of the Holy Roman Empire. He was a Pole, and the only Pole to achieve such a lofty position in the court at that time. Like a Shakespearian play, the scene was set for his fall.....

What is fascinating is that this very service has been blamed for his descent; it was so much showier & desirable than the King’s own services, and more importantly, he had not asked permission from the King – the owner of the works – before putting in his order. Certainly, he lost favour at the exact same time the pieces began to be delivered, and so Sulkowski lost his many positions of privilege & responsibility to another of Frederick Augustus’s ministers, Heinrich Graf von Brühl. Brühl takes on most of Sulkowski’s titles, including Director of the Meissen works, and straight away commissions his own grand, Baroque service – the delightful & iconic ‘Swan Service’.

Meissen Sulkowsky Service plate, Rosenberg Collection, Geelong.
Sulkowsky Service charger, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

The National Gallery already has a magnificent charger from Brühl’s service, and these two marvelous Meissen chargers will soon be housed together in the same cabinet – let's hope they get along, and let past disagreements of their respective owners remain as history!

A Sèvres porcelain artist 'discovered'....

2015-03-13T04:50:00.001-07:00

UPDATE:
Thanks to the interested Sèvres connoisseurs who contacted me to point out the slight problem with the following 'revelation': some-one else has already made the same 'discovery'!
10 years ago, David Peters published 'Sèvres plates and services of the 18th century' (2005) , in which he clears up the previous discrepancies about this artist & his mark. I'm pleased to learn this; it's like being at University again, with a master supporting my hypothesis!

The lesson here is : do not believe everything you read on the internet; there is a lot of 'junk' out there without academic support. I'm just pleased that this post, although incorrect in describing a 'new' discovery, is still accurate & a useful description of how a researcher can still discover fresh insights into this fascinating field.

Maybe next time I will be first.....

Paul Rosenberg, April 2015.

A colourful Sévres coffee can & saucer has a fascinating tale to tell, and is an as-yet unpublished clue that helps to identify a under-appreciated Sévres artist.

The cup & saucer - a ‘gobelet litron’, third size - is a stunning yellow colour, with a finely painted blue continuous landscape in blue that seems to float on the thick yellow ground. There is a border of dainty colourful scrolling foliage, and in the centre of the saucer, a pinwheel device almost like a

target. It’s fully marked to both pieces, and being unusual - and knowing the way Sévres was so often copied and outside-decorated - a full examination was required to ensure it was authentic. This brought to light some problems, and shows once again the ever-changing field of ceramics research: never believe absolutely what you read in print!

A quick look in the authoritative book on the subject, 'SÉVRES PORCELAIN' by Eriksen 1987 (p153 #46) apparently attributes the mark ‘ f B ‘ to a certain Francois-Marie Barrat, active 1769-91, a date that conforms nicely with the date 1788. However, the next entry is more accurate for the mark: #47, a ‘f B’ combination. Eriksen attributes this to Francois-Marie Barrat as an alternate mark, but states ‘….the compilers have never seen mark 47 which may be an incorrect rendering of Barrat’s usual mark.’

I can now demonstrate that this is wrong; there is another artist with a surname starting with B, Bouillat, who came to Sevres in 1758, and remained active there until 1810, a remarkable example of the dedication workmen felt to the factory. His mark was a capital Y, so he is not the artist in question; rather, his marriage in 1768 to a female artist at the factory, Genevieve-Louis Thevenet - (herself the daughter of a Factory artist Louis-Jean Thevenet!) resulted in a son and a daughter, who both became painters at Sévres. The son, or fil in French, began work at the factory in 1786, and left to join the army in 1793. During that time this mark appears on a series of pieces, including this cup & saucer. The lower-case f is obviously a stand-in for fil , and the B for Bouillat. The mark ‘fB’ should now be identified as Francois Bouillat, painter of flowers and landscapes.

On this basis, his work can be found on a service in the Queens Collection, and also a cup & saucer in the Hermitage, Russia. This example is particularly interesting as it has the same fluted colourful pinwheel device to the centre as our cup & saucer. It also bears small panels of the same vivid yellow, overpainted with brown scrolling foliage & urns, and is dated 1789.

There is a second painters mark, set in next to the footrim, consisting of ‘…’ . This mark is that of Jean-Baptiste Tandart, a prolific painter from 1754-1803. He is recorded as a ‘painter of flowers’ , which along with the secondary position of the mark indicates he was responsible for the garlands of flowers in the border.

The landscape decoration is known as ‘paysage circulaire’ (circular landscape) and in this form is extremely rare on Sévres, with the scene in blue painted directly on a brilliant yellow ground. This was technically a feat in itself, and perhaps was not used much due to the issues we see on this cup & saucer: the blue tends to bead into clumps, and the thick yellow enamels shift in the heat of the enamel firings. While the yellow pigment had been a very early Sévres development, the tone seen here appears in the early 1780’s and is not repeated after the Revolution. There are a handful of specimens scattered around the globe in various collections, making this a most rare & desirable item.

Moorabool is pleased to offer this rarity as a part of our 2015 Exhibition & Catalogue, opening in Geelong & online on March 28th.

Exhibition & Catalogue Update

2015-02-27T05:24:00.001-08:00

Set of Meissen 'Seasons' busts, c. 1755

We’ve been burning the midnight oil at Moorabool….. literally. Our 2015 Exhibition is now scheduled for March 28, and the lavish catalogue is well underway - just an endless stream of photographs, research, and information to insert.

With over 500 items, spread out over 64 pages, there is a fantastic variety of quality items - for all budgets.

We delayed the catalogue to include an extensive collection of porcelain pickle dishes from an Australian collection. Amassed over many years, it is a comprehensive array with almost all known English pickle-dish makers represented.

Rare Limehouse pickle dish, circa 1747

There’s Limehouse, Isleworth, Vauxhall, Bow, Plymouth, Bristol, Liverpool (various….) Derby, Caughley - and of course, pleanty of Worcester!

We’re very pleased to be able to offer this collection, and they will have their own dedicated website in the very near future. If you’re interested in anything, make certain you are signed up to our mail list: we will let you know when the Pickle Collection is online, and of course there are the other 500 pieces of ‘Fresh Stock’ about to be launched…..

A Remarkable Discovery

2015-01-22T04:59:00.001-08:00

There’s ‘rare’ and then there’s ‘supremely rare’. These bottles illustrated here belong to the ‘Supremely Rare’ catagory, particularly the smaller engraved one.

Brought in to Moorabool by a local, they were family pieces, handed down through several generations with origins in Holland, and the Dutch East Indies Company.

These wine bottles are of typical mid-17th century form, although in a vivid emerald green colour rather than the more often-seen deep black/green. My assessment was: nice early pieces, a few thousand dollars worth. But something was nagging the back of my mind; looking back through some photos taken at the Victoria & Albert Museum ( late last century!) I realised why the engraving was familiar; I had admired & photographed one there.

Theirs was signed & dated, and sure enough, this example bears a tiny engraved signature, “WillemVan Heemskerk” and the date - 26th February 1677!

Willem Jacobz. van Heemskerk (Leiden, 1616-93) was actually a cloth merchant, but in his spare time he practiced the art of caligraphy - using diamond-point engraving on glass vessels. His verses are described by the authorities as ‘pithy’ - often biblical, or drinking toasts, often with a touch of humour. "The lamp of life is but a vapor” reads one, while others appeal to the mercantile Dutch sensibilities: "Eat silently", i.e. keep quiet when making gain, and "He who brags about his success, often loses his gains” , both quotes from a Statesman of the time, Jacob Cats (1577-1660).

The bottle we have is a very charismatic piece, and needs to be handled to truly appreciate the beautiful (as yet un-translated) script. However, it has now been locked away in a very safe place, as I will explain:

The real shock came when I looked up auction prices…. they head into the 6-figure range!

Our example is comparable to this one, sold at Christies in 2013:

It seems there are only around 80 of these beautiful pieces known, and they are considered to be the most desirable of their kind. The Rijksmuseum has 25 of his works, while the Museum Boijmans in Rotterdam has 8; the Getty has 1, the V&A has one, and our own National Gallery of Victoria here in Melbourne has a clear glass goblet by him, purchased in 1989.

Moorabool is very excited to be able to offer this rarity, along with its simpler un-engraved relative, in our 2015 ‘Recent Acquisitions’ Exhibition.

The best way to enjoy it is to have a look at the video I have posted on YouTube.

A Tournai Bacchus group, c.1765

2015-01-18T03:24:00.001-08:00

A Large Tournai figure of Bacchus & his merry band, Circa 1765.

Measuring almost 40cm high, this is a very large piece of 18th century porcelain. Modelled in the round, it was intended as a table-piece, to be placed in the center of the table. Bacchus sits astride a barrel raising his cup, accompanied by several cherubs….. rather young to be drinking! One is raising a small glass, while the other is filling a bottle from the bung of the barrel. Moving around the figure, there is a semi-clad woman with a basket of pears….. what her significance is I am not sure, but she doesn’t appear to have a drink: another cherub is approaching her around the rock pile, holding up a bottle while riding a goat backwards; clearly under the influence!

The central Bacchus with the barrel & the child filling the bottle is a good recreation of a Meissen model, by Johann Joachim Kaendler, circa 1745. (Moorabool had one such group in the late 1990’s). The rest is the creation of the Tournai artists, who were particulary skilled at creating an ‘island’ of rocks on which the figures are placed, along with foliage to soften the composition; in this case, there are grapevines growing rampant.

Unmarked, it links clearly to other pieces attributed to the porcelain works at Tournai, such as these examples in the Victoria & Albert Museum, South Kensington;

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O99123/clock-case-lecreux-nicolas/

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O307967/figure-group-children-tournai-porcelain-factory/

This amazing piece is a part of Moorabool Antique Galleries ‘Recent Acquisitions’ Exhibition, to be held in our Geelong premises in March 2015.

2014-11-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

2015 Catalogue.....

We're excited to announce our next catalogue, to be launched early 2015. Over the past year, we have accumulated a host of interesting items, mostly ceramics. They will be well documented with painstaking research, and beautifully illustrated in the colourful format of catalogue we have pursued over the past few years. The items in the catalogue will then be the core of our 2015 'RECENT ACQUISITIONS' exhibition, to be held in our Geelong shop. This will be February some time.... date still to be announced. Join our email list on www.moorabool.com to be alerted when items are viewable.

Meanwhile, here are a few of the pieces currently being processed: we'll post more as the year draws to an end.

above: a gaggle of English coffeepots, all 18th century. left to right: Wheildon type (ex Zorensky Collection); Jackfield type with beautiful cold-painted decoration, a rare survivor; Pearlware Chinoiserie; Redware (ex Rosenberg Collection).

Lots more to come.... photography begins this week.

Clem Ainslie of the Harvey School: An important discovery for Australian Pottery fans.

2013-11-07T20:23:00.001-08:00

A Slight Deviation.

While we've always been focussed on the earliest ceramics, there's a whole world out there called the 20th century.....

It recently caught up with us, and it was a remarkable experience. I have always admired the Martin Brothers pottery, and the associated Arts & Crafts movement potters, who went back to basics and created hand-sculpted pieces in the earlier manner, turning their backs on the mass-produced 'ceramics for the masses' of the later 19th century.

In Australia, this idea takes root in Brisbane, in the classes of Mr L.J.Harvey who taught at the Brisbane Technical College during the 1920's and 30's. One of his main ideas was that each pot should be unique, and so he did not teach or allow the wheel to be used: the results of wheel-made pots were all too alike. It was from this hotbed of creativity that a young lady discovered her passion for sculpting pots, and it was our good fortune to discover her daughter living in Geelong with an amazing collection of 40 of her mothers creations.

But there is a mystery: she is not in any of the books on this interesting period of pottery in Australia.

She is an unknown potter, and we are delighted to have re-discovered her.

The Kookaburra Vase, by Clem Ainslie of the Harvey School, 1927

Introducing Clem Ainslie

Isabella Clementina Ainslie was born in Brisbane in 1888. She had an artistic temperament, and it was only natural that in 1923, she found the classes of Mr Harvey most agreeable, so much so that she continued to go along for the next 14 years. In this time, her daughter estimates she produced a few hundred pots, many as gifts, and as special orders from people who had seen others with her work in their drawing rooms and wanted their own.

The Crane Vase - by Clem Ainslie 1924

Her style was varied, and follows the Harvey School tradition with 'exercise' pieces showing her honing her skills at sculpting clay. She does a series of excellent pots in the Australiana taste, such as the Kookaburra Vase above. However, her most intriguing show her exploring her own creativity; the Crane Vase of 1924 and the Egyptian pieces illustrate her talents. The latter, from a time just after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, are apparently unique in the field of Australian art pottery from the period.

The Egyptian Vase by Clem Ainslie, 1927

Each piece is marked quite clearly, and yet she doesn't appear in the publications on the subject of Australian Pottery.

Moorabool has taken it on themselves to rectify this situation, and has published a beautifully illustrated book, titled 'Isabella Clementina Ainslie of the Harvey School'. For more info, many illustrations, and the ability to purchase your own copy, visit the website set up to promote this once forgotten lady potter:

Clem Ainslie's Website

Avarian Antics

2013-03-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Moorabool has recently become home to quite a number of exotic birds.

Berlin Birds.....

This remarkable pair of White Partridges are incredibly rare, being the product of a short lived factory in Berlin Known as the Wegely factory after its founder, it only lasted for 5 short years, 1752-57.
Any pieces from this period are rare, but a pair of charismatic birds are the ultimate.

Rare pair of White Partridges, by Wegely of Berlin 1752-7

From Meissen comes this delightful group, known as the 'Billing Doves' - modelled by Kaendler in the early 1740's, this group circa 1745.

Meissen 'Billing Doves' by Kaendler, circa 1745

Derby Bird Service plate by Dodson, circa 1820

Our cover art for our 2013 catalogue was this rather bright Derby dish circa 1820. From a bird service painted by the well respected Derby artist Dodson, it depicts a turkey, a parrot, and an odd flying bird about to crash into them. The turkey has had a colour make-over, and is either rather small in size - or the parrot next to it is HUGE!

Chelsea Gold Anchor rococo vases, c. 1765

This pair of Gold Anchor Chelsea vases circa 1765 is pure rococo in form, and bears its birds as gold silhouettes - the details being inscribed to a very fine standard.

This detail and the one below comes from a Meissen knife handle of the 1760's, and has charming farmyard birds painted to the grip on either side. The image you are seeing is enlarged, the originals are miniature works of art.....

This knife handle is Chelsea circa 1760, and shows an unusual composition of two birds within rococo frames.

Bow candlestick bird groups, circa 1765

This pair of candlesticks are remarkable, being made at the Bow factory in London in around 1765. They have two yellow birds each, who are guarding a nest of hatchlings hidden in the flowery branches - while at the foot of the tree a dog and a lamb sit patiently. The sconces are original, and are formed as tulips - exotic and expensive items at this period of history - and are supported on original tole (tin) leaf supports, rare survivors. An interesting discovery relating to these will be discussed in a future blog post - one bird is actually a 19th century English Bone China restoration!

Vienna sucrier, circa 1765

This sucrier (sugar box) is Vienna porcelain, and dates to the 1760's. It has a rather pleased bird eyeing off a bounty of fruit spilling from a basket.

Meissen cup & saucer with bird studies, c. 1745

A Meissen cup & saucer with superb ornithological studies dates to the 1740's.

These two would have been copied from an ornithological work of the period, and appear to represent a European Kingfisher and possibly a American Woodpecker?

Just for fun, these tiny miniature chickens and quail are Meissen porcelain - watched with interest by a Meissen cat! While these versions are 19th century, the originals were conceived in the 18th century.

These remarkable 'pith paintings' are Chinese, and date to the mid 19th century.

What makes this example remarkable is that it is still bound within its original black lacquer covers - all 32 illustrations fold out as a continuous frieze. One side has colourful pairs of birds, the other has the story of tea - from planting the bush to packing it in the chests bound for Europe.

Chinese pith paintings - the story of tea, mid 19th century.

Last but not least, this is an American decoy duck of great character. Hard to date, but has clearly been used, probably early 20th century.

These items are all to be found within the covers of our 2013 catalogue -
also listed on our website, unless already sold.
Feel free to email us any questions.

Moorabool's 2013 Exhibition has started with a bang!

2013-02-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

Busy times at Moorabool Antiques!
On Saturday 23rd February, 2013, the annual Moorabool Antique Galleries exhibition of recent acquisitions was opened. A good crowd attended, with many items being quickly 'red spotted' by keen collectors.

Taking place in our upstairs gallery, there were over 500 fresh pieces to chose from.

This was also the revealing of our new Picture Hallway- a new space that makes anything placed I it look smart!

My next post will detail some of the interesting pieces in the display, including this fabulous pair of Chelsea Gold Anchor vases.

All items in the exhibition are now listed on the Moorabool website.

Catalogue almost ready!

2013-02-09T01:52:00.002-08:00

I am pleased to say the 2013 Moorabool catalogue is coming along nicely. Due to be released on Saturday 23rd February, it's filled with an amazing collection - over 60 pages this time!
Here are a few items from the 500+ items in the 2013 Recent Acquisitions exhibition.

Wedgwood basalt hedgehog, or porcupine, early 19th century

Derby vase, circa 1758-60

Lowestoft coffee can, circa 1758-60

Creamware coffee pot, decorated in the workshop of David Rhodes, circa 1775

English enamel scent bottle, South Staffordshire, circa 1780

A selection of Staffordshire enamel card trays, 1780's

Blanc-de-Chine figure of Guanyin, circa 1680

Just plain silly!
A 'Grebe' jug by Brannam of Barum, circa 1900

Swansea cup & saucer, flowers by Billingsley

These are a few samples from the 2013 Catalogue. Once completed in the very near future, it will be a downloadable PDF and posted here.

Any questions, feel free to email us!

To Giles or not to Giles:

2013-01-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

James Giles is a well-known, well-respected and well-priced name in the world of Antique Porcelain. Dealers like to add his name to a ticket, as it helps to sell.....
However, he's not always responsible for the piece attributed to him on the label.
A recent purchase of pirs was a pair of plates, Chelsea-Derby circa 1770. They are superbly decorated in a style traditionally associated with James Giles, and he is known to have sometimes used Chelsea-Derby porcelain- certainly he sold it as part of his stock.

The details are amazing: all fruits or vegetables, plus butterflies.

The cut fruit are distinctive, and often seen on Giles- although the ripening strawberries are something new- they have only reddened up one side!

Chelsea-Derby fruit specimens - note the red & yellow pear!

The butterflies are brilliant, and kept company with a cicada.

Chelsea-Derby butterflies

Chelsea-Derby insects

So are they Giles?
Yes, according to Coke who illustrates two examples in his 1983 'In Search of James Giles' book, p187- a Worcester example and a Chelsea-Derby example from a mixed service. These are curious in that they have exactly the same pattern- and repeating the pattern is not associated with Giles, where the elements of a design are usually mixed and refreshed for each piece.

Coke's book - in search of James Giles - illustrates a mixed Worcester & Chelsea-Derby service by the same hand.

He also illustrates a Liverpool bowl, now known to be Seth Pennington of Liverpool, which he claims is by the same hand, ie Giles. This has since been discredited, due to style and technique differences when compared against accepted Giles work.

These Seth Pennington pieces are addressed in Maurice Hillis's amazing 2011 book on Liverpool Porcelain- (one of the finest books on ceramics ever published, in my opinion).
Comparing the details with our Chelsea-Derby, it is clear they are another artist with a different painting style- but similar subject matter.

The Chelsea-Derby plates are a group on their own. They do not compare favourably with the accepted Giles repertoire, as defined by Hanscombe in his catalogue.

These plates are all by the same hand, on Chelsea-Derby porcelain but not factory decoration.

Stephen Hanscombe in his 2005 catalogue (for an exhibition on Giles held at Stockspring Antiques, London, and the definitive text on the subject at the moment) illustrates a related Chelsea-Derby dish from the same repeating service Coke showed, as seen above. This chapter is titled SOME POSSIBLE GILES PIECES, for while the flamboyant style, the use of cut fruit, and the odd vegetable all suggest the Giles studio was responsible for these interesting pieces, the details suggest otherwise. As Hanscombe points out, repeating patterns are rare (as in the mixed Worcester & Chelsea-Derby service linked to these plates) , the double line dentil rimis not seen on other Giles pieces, and the butterflies are quite different to established Giles versions.

James Giles features do not compare to the Chelsea-Derby cut fruit painter being discussed.

The conclusion we can make is that while not definitely Giles, they are of the same type, so one of the other decorating studios in London in the latter 18th century is the likely candidate, perhaps an unknown artist who had spent time in the Giles studio, where he picked up the unmistakeable flamboyance of the master- but with his own idiosyncrasies.

Unfortunately, Giles is the only name who has facts to flesh out his story: the other decorators are just brief mentions and guesses......

This plate will be a part of our upcoming 2013 Exhibition of Recent Acquisitions.

More Italians.....

2013-01-23T21:09:00.001-08:00

My last blog involved the lovely little white porcelain figure. It links in nicely with another item earmarked for our 2013 Exhibition, a pair of giltwood figures.

In an embarrassing double-up, they'll be at the same exhibition wearing the same hat!

Left: Naples porcelain figure, Right: Italian giltwood figure, both late 18th century.

They are an interesting pair, and possibly once had gesso leaves- or perhaps gilt brass foliage- behind them, rather like English figure groups of the 18h century. The small holes visible below are the clue - they obviously had something attached to the back of the figure with small metal pins.

They date to the later 18th century, and are of interest to the ceramics enthusiast because of the link to porcelain figure production:
Many ceramics were based on the more prolific wood sculptors work, and indeed Kandler, the master sculptor of Meissen fame, was discovered by Augustus the Strong as an apprentice wood carver, and moved to the King's porcelain factory. He went on to direct the factory, and produced some of the finest ceramic sculpture ever made.

This lively couple of Italian giltwood figures will be part of our 2013 Exhibition, to be held 23rd February in our Geelong premises.

Mystery solved. It's Italian!

2013-01-23T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's always encouraging to get 'closure' on a mystery piece of antique porcelain.
In this case, it is a small white figure. I bought it on a hunch, liking the feel of the piece. I had no idea what or where, but I believed the when was 18th century.

Standing 14cm tall, it's a sentimental group of a lady& child: mother & son? Or nurse?
She holds his hand as if to stop him running off- a familiar scene to all parents! Her left hand definitely looks chastising.

She wears a broad rim hat, a very distinctive style. Her coat is also very stylish, and spoke of the 18th century to me.

The details are actually rather fine- but hidden under a thick, glassy glaze that pools to a blue colour where thick.

So where was she made? There was enough clues to suggest a Bristol or Plymouth origin- slightly naive, hard-paste and unmarked.
While researching another piece I stumbled across this photo.

Suddenly it all made sense- 18th century Naples porcelain- Fabrica di Napili.
There were a whole series of figures with the same style dress, even the child:

These pieces of early Naples are rather rare. Often marked with a crown over a N, the same mark was unfortunately used on a flood of later pieces. Our piece is fortunately unmarked and genuine!

The figure above is from Francesco Stazzi's book 'Italian Porcelain', and is said to bear the likeness of Emma Hamilton! There is most definitely a possible link, as follows:
In Naples, Ferdinand IV came to the throne. His father, Charles III was of course responsible for the original Naples factory, the Capodimonte factory. When he had moved to Spain, he had moved his porcelain works also, becoming the Buen Retiro works in Madrid in 1759.
Ferdinand followed in the footsteps of his father, and in 1771, he began building rooms for a factory onto the royal palace. Production began slowly, but by the 1780's was producing an impressive range of wares.
Ferdinand was married to Maria Carolina of Hapsburg, the sister of Marie Antoinette. She was extremely good friends with the English Ambassador and his wife, none other than William Hamilton and Emma Hamilton- famously connected to Admiral Nelson. The queen was fond of her husbands porcelain factory, ordering special presents to give to her mother - Empress Maria Theresa- and other favoured people, much the same as Marie Antoinette did at the French Sevres factory her husband owned! So it is not inconceivable that the queen had her beautiful friend immortalised in porcelain.

This item will be release for sale along with hundreds of other rarities, in our
2013 Recent Acquisitions exhibition,
23rd Feburary 2013.

Rare Birds from Berlin

2013-01-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

Every so often, a mystery piece comes in that communicates on some subliminal level. In this case, it is a pair of birds, beautifully detailed. They were from a fine collection- their companion was a Meissen group of kissing doves by Kandler, c.1745, and they had a certain feel about them that suggested they were nice and early.

left: Billing Doves, by Kandler, Meissen c.1745 right: mystery Partridges

They are two of the same, meaning they came from the same mould. They stand 16.5cm high, around life size. I believed them to be white quail, but have changed to 'partridges' after viewing many photos of quail, all of which lacked the longer necks shown here. Note the superb detail to the moulded feathers, and the subtle use of touches of grey to highlight & give depth- another characteristic of 18th century porcelains.

Underneath, there is a central circular hole, to let the hot air vent from the interior during firing. There is an old collection number - unusual in that it is leather, stamped 132 and then gilt, suggesting a very exclusive and old provenance, alas now lost. And there is an incised mark on each piece..... both have a 4, while one is clearly 1/4, the other could be T4. This mark would surely reveal the maker - but no clear solution could be found.

After several days of fruitless search, they were put back on the shelf. Cataloging of more obvious pieces went ahead, and of course right when least expected, they turned up in a photo!

The book is a 1960's paperback, little used and rather brown, being printed on cheap paper: George Savage's Penguin publication, 'Porcelain through the Ages', first printed in 1957. It's a great general read, although I rarely open it- the info is MOSTLY more readily accessible in other more recent books, and the photos are black & white and very average. The only reason I chanced to open it was it was at the front of a group of books I wanted to investigate- I flipped the pages, and the 'partridge' leapt out at me!

Trembling with excitement, I read the caption- Berlin c. 1755- and suddenly it all made sense. Somehow, the clues- the mark, the details, the old collection number- all fit. How extraordinarily rare.

Berlin Partridge, Wegely period 1752-57, alongside the example illustrated by Savage. The seedhead on our example has been restored; in the photo, it is broken off at the same place.

Turning to the marks section, he illustrates a perfect match:

The pair belong to the rarest possible Berlin group, the early porcelain factory of Wegely.
Wilhelm Kasper Wegely was a Prussian cloth manufacturer by trade. The Prussian monarch, Frederick the Great, was a porcelain addict. He eyed the neighbouring Saxon Meissen factory of Augustus with green-eyed jealousy, and indeed when he had the chance in the second Silesian was of 1744-45, he directed his soldiers to take as much Meissen porcelain from the factory as they could. They also were to secure workmen and materials, as Frederick realised he could jump-start his own ambition of owning a working porcelain factory in his territory. However, Augustus was one step ahead, and had removed all key personnel from the Meissen works, securing them within another of his strongholds. They placed their raw materials in secret rooms, which they bricked up before leaving, meaning Frederick's men found nothing but the stock at hand. They emptied the storerooms of thousands of pieces of both decorated and white Meissen, which they brought back to Berlin- where many pieces still exist.

Back to our Birds: he never lost his dream, and in 1751 granted permission for Wegely to establish a porcelain factory in Berlin. With the help of Johann Reichard, an alchemist with experience at the factories of Höchst and Fürstenburg,he was able to produce a brilliant white hard paste porcelain. In appearance, it was very similar to Meissen, and indeed the clay was sourced from the same location at Aue that Meissen used.
Production was never great, and apparently Frederick was hard to please: he still preferred Meissen. When he came to occupy Meissen again at the outbreak of the Seven Years War, Wegely hoped to receive raw materials and workmen to boost his concern. Instead, Frederick gave the charge of the Meissen factory to his Army contractor Schimmelmann, and Wegely found his enterprise failing. He closed his doors in 1757.

Berlin porcelain plates, the first two circa 1790, the third circa 1870.

Of course, Berlin porcelain was re-established, and came to be one of the top European porcelain factories for the remainder of the 18th and the19th centuries. This second factory built on what Wegely had begun, and obtained the ear of Frederick- who actually lived in Meissen 1760-62, a neighbour to the great Meissen sculptor Kandler himself! As the occupying ruler, he was able to prise away the artist Meyer and several decorators and workmen. With this help the new concern of a gent named Gotzkowsky was able to be successfully established in1761, although it soon found itself in trouble, and he sold it to Frederick in 1763. As King, Frederick could ensure the financial future of the factory, for example making any Jewish person in his kingdom buy an expensive service of porcelain from his factory if they wished to have a marriage license! So the Berlin factory became state owned, and has continued to operate as such right down to the present.
The plates above are from the Berlin factory, marked with a blue sceptre.

These marks put them in the late 18th century, while the one in the distance is from the 1870's.

The birds, and these plates, will be released for sale as a part of our 2013 Exhibition & Catalogue of recent acquisitions, to be held late February in our Geelong premises.

A James Giles Surprise.

2013-01-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

My last 'Giles' piece turned out to be factory decoration, as outlined in my last post.

When I first examined this dish, I thought of it as Bow: the bright colours are typical Bow, the soft paste porcelain full of small flaws, also typical of Bow. However, the shape is not Bow: it was made by Worcester and Caughley, the latter omitting the curious 'snail' moulding near the handle. The dish is therefore Worcester.

While researching the supposed Giles bowl outlined in my last post, I came across a Worcester plate, in the 2008 catalogue & exhibition by Stephen Hanscombe.

There is a difference between the two in the shape, an also our example has a green & yellow edge, while the illustrated has just green: but what caught my eye was the large butterfly: it's identical to our butterfly!

Above: on our dish
Below: the illustrated definitive example of Giles

The form of the bug is the same, the technique also, the main difference being the colours are swapped between the two.

This bug, his body painted in two tones to make him appear iridescent, also appears on other Giles pieces.

The fig & red currents also have direct comparisons amongst confirmed James Giles pieces.
So while I was disappointed with the bowl in my last post, along comes this surprise, a magnificently decorated James Giles Worcester dish of the 1760's!

This item will be part of our upcoming 2013 Catalogue & Exhibition of recent acquisitions.

Cataloging like crazy!

2013-01-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

It's coming close to our 2013 exhibition, where we will release our 2013 catalogue (some time late February). There are a few hundred choice pieces of antique pottery and porcelain to research, so very busy times.

We have had some excellent James Giles decorated pieces in recent years. Giles was a London porcelain decorator from the 1750's into the 1770's. His wares were expensive back when they were commissioned, and have remained desirable and rare, meaning expensive. Some recent publications and exhibitions have increased the interest in his work, and I have always kept my eye out for examples.

When I found this Worcester bowl, I instantly though of Giles. The colours are so bright, the flowers so vibrant- not something typical of the factory decorated flowers.

When I looked at the mark, I was convinced: it has a mock Meissen mark of crossed swords, along with a 9. This mark is often seen on James Giles pieces of Worcester porcelain. In the older books, you will see this mark as a Giles characteristic - almost as if he ordered his pieces from the Worcester factory with this mark- a blatant attempt to pass the ceramics off as Meissen!

So I thought I had found a rare James Giles decorated piece. How wrong I was.

This was what I had in mind- Meissen style flowers by Giles, these examples painted into Chinese porcelain. The 2008 catalogue & exhibition by Stephen Hanscombe has many examples of this type of decoration. But as I went through them, my unease grew: the Giles pieces were all very close to each other- and didn't share enough characteristics with my bowl.

These rosebuds were one feature. None appear in published Giles pieces, yet they do appear on Worcester factory pieces.

This teapot, and the sucrier below, are factory decorated, and bear a close resemblance to my bowl. The bowl is not Giles decorated, but Worcester original decoration. The crossed swords mark, used 1765-75, was obviously not a definitive Giles feature, but occurs on Giles pieces by chance. The fact that it appears here on a Meissen style piece is particularly ironic!

Above is a blue flower from the Worcester bowl; below is an example from a Meissen cup & saucer, circa 1745 (also in the 2013 exhibition at Moorabool Antiques). This shows clearly the direct influence of Meissen on Worcester in the 1760's.

I'm back!

2012-12-11T17:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have posted: a mix of computer problems and list passwords have conspired against me: all are vanquished now, and ready to resume.

This means a lot of catching up! A lot of very interesting ceramics have come our way over the year, and are being researched & photographed for our 2013 Exhibition & Catalogue.

Shelf after Shelf of interesting pottery & porcelain !

There are over 400 pieces awaiting investigation....

The porcupine above is fun- designed to plant bulbs inside, when they grew & flowered they would poke through the holes! He is Wedgwood black basalt, early 19th century.

There are literally 'stacks' of exciting things to catalogue, mostly 18th & early 19th century pottery & porcelain.

Drop back for regular updates & previews of our fascinating 2013 catalogue currently in preparation.

The 2012 AAADA Antique Show, Australia

2012-05-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

The AAADA Melbourne Antique Show ends today!

Set in the magnificence of Melbourne's Unique Royal Exhibition Buildings, the perfect setting for Australia's best Art & Antiques.

This is Moorabool's 'small' corner - we have over 1,000 pieces on display....

Moorabool Antiques of Geelong stocks Australia's largest range of Antique Ceramics.

Athena the warrior, with a rare Thomire portrait in the background......

2012-05-01T04:56:00.001-07:00

The 2012 AAADA Melbourne Antique Fair is about to begin!

Moorabool will be coming to Melbourne for this special 'show' - and will display over 1,000 choice pieces.
Although not ceramic, I would like to share an amazing pair of andirons, also known as fire-dogs or chinets. Made from beautifully detailed bronze, they have a patinated figure seated on an ormolu scroll base. I am attracted to them because it is very easy to imagine them as a pair of Meissen - or Chelsea - porcelain figures, rather than gilt bronze!

The designs are pure Chinoiserie, and come from the wonderful imagination of Jean Pillemont (1728-1808), the French master designer of the rococo age. In his fanciful designs, Chinese figures parade through landscapes of scrollwork, often resting such as in this case. The umbrellas are a delightful feature, being organic leaf-forms very much in keeping with the rococo spirit of the pieces.

While much imitated in the 19th & 20th century, these remarkable pieces show all the signs of period ormolu, and date to the mid-18th century.

They are on show at the 2012 AAADA antique fair in Melbourne, and can also be seen on our website - here is their individual item page.

2012-03-28T16:02:00.002-07:00

This rare Flight & Barr Worcester shanked-form plate, is from an interesting Scenic Dessert service, which was painted in chocolate monotones with views of the British Isles, a different scene to every piece. This one has an Irish coastal view including figures around fishing boats, a ruined castle by a village high on the cliffs, within a gilt strawberry border and gold line rims.
Inscribed to the rear: HOWTH near DUBLIN,
Flight & Barr, Wor.   Manufacturers to their MAJESTIES.
Circa 1795

The central panel is superbly painted, and is probably by the noted Worcester artist John Pennington, most famous for his work on the 'Hope Service' in 1792.

This must be the village of Howth, near Dublin, in the late 18th century.

The ruins on the cliff top are a distinctive feature.

Obviously, Howth was a fishing village.

Here, a dingy heads out while a fishing boat makes its way towards the sheltered cove where the womenfolk wait with tubs for the fish.

The mark is a very unusual variation on the usual, and other pieces from the same service have this same unusual format.

The wording of the mark tells an interesting story:

       In 1783, the Worcester factory, started by Dr Wall around 1751, was sold to Thomas Flight - the former London sales agent for the concern - for £3,000. He let his two sons run the concern, with John Flight taking the lead role till his father’s death in 1792.
      George III and Queen Charlotte visited the city of Worcester with their second son (Prince Frederick, Duke of York) and three of their daughters in August 1788. They called at the retail premises of Joseph and John Flight and placed several orders for china. The King then accepted the Flights’ invitation to visit their factory, gave the brothers permission to style themselves ‘Manufacturers to their Majesties’, and advised them to set up a shop in London.
      Similar favors were bestowed on the rival firm of Robert and Humphrey Chamberlain, which had recently opened a shop in Flights’ former premises in the High Street, Worcester.
      Martin Barr joined the firm as a partner in 1792, and the mark Flight & Barr was used until 1804, when on the death of Martin Barr, his two sons took over the partnership, the company becoming Barr, Flight & Barr.

There is a similar plate from this service with a view of Dudmaston House, Shropshire, can be seen in the house today, which is a National Trust property. Item 813541.

This superb piece is part of the 2012 Exhibition at Moorabool Antique Galleries, Geelong, Australia.
Item page with details & photos here

Visit the Exhibition here
or
Visit the website here.

A Swansea cup & saucer with Thomas Baxter figures

2012-03-27T15:59:00.001-07:00

This is a rarity: A Swansea London-shape cup & saucer, superbly painted by Baxter with classical figures, the cup with a depiction of the god Mercury, the saucer with the goddess Ceres.
Unmarked, but unmistakeably Swansea porcelain, it dates to Circa 1817.

There are only a handful of classical figures by Baxter recorded; this one comes from a pair of chache-pots, signed & dated 1801.

This rarity is part of the 2012 Exhibition at Moorabool Antique Galleries, Geelong, Australia.
Item page with details & photos here

Visit the Exhibition here
or
Visit the website here.

Patriotic Caudle Cup by Thomas Baxter, c.1800

2012-03-27T15:19:00.001-07:00

An interesting piece from our upcoming 2012 Exhibition is this Coalport double handled candle cup, superbly painted in the Baxter studio with large realistic flower groups, one side with roses, tulip, and an iris, the other with a patriotic mixture of oak leaves and acorns mixed with roses.
Unmarked it dates to circa 1810.

The painting is distinctively Baxter's hand at work: note the delicate veining to the iris, and the small fuzzy thorns to the rose stem.

What is quite unusual, possibly unique, is the reverse: it has a patriotic British flair, with the Rose mixed with Oak branches, complete with Acorns.

references: Wilstead & Morris- Thomas Baxter, the Swansea years- p68 for a plate with the same feel of life-like flowers, painted a few years later. The same style can be seen on the famous 'Garden Scenery' service painted while Baxter was at Swansea, c.1817. ref. p41 for examples, also Nance- The pottery & porcelain of Swansea & Nantgarw- pl CXX for other pieces from the service, including very similar irises & roses.
references: Messenger- Coalport- p122 for the shape, decorated in bright elaborate gilding and flowers, attributed to an independent decorating studio and generally thought to be the work of the Baxter studio.

This item is part of the 2012 Exhibition at Moorabool Antique Galleries, Geelong, Australia.
Item page with details & photos here

Visit the Exhibition here
or
Visit the website here.

2012 Catalogue for Moorabool is here!

2012-03-23T05:02:00.001-07:00

Moorabool Antique Galleries, home to the largest range of genuine Antique Ceramics in Australia, has just released its 2012 catalogue.

It's a lavish, glossy affair that does justice to the superb items within.

60 pages overflowing with antiques, mostly pottery & porcelain -

- with plenty of interesting insights to bring the items to life. Topics include:
Freshly discovered Bow figures, a Worcester Blind Earl sweet meat circa 1760, a shell shaped Worcester dish from the Zorensky Collection, C.1754, a fine selection of Lowestoft including a bowl from the Norwich Castle Collection, a look at the products of the Liverpool factories, including a teapot with pheasants attributed to William Reid & Co, a fine selection of James Giles decoration on Worcester porcelain, including a stunning pair of serving dishes from a Lady Mary Wortley Montagu type service, A Thomas Baxter feature including a newly attributed Chamberlains plate with a French peasant to the center, another of classical figures on Swansea porcelain, and a most unusual Coalport piece with patriotic rose and acorn panel; some documentary Swansea plates with pattern no. 721- birds on a branch- which is also 16 numbers higher than the previously highest Swansea pattern number; a look at the Swansea imitators who fulfilled the demand for fine porcelain after the failure of the Swansea works in the 1820's, a look at William Billingsley's contribution to the ceramic world of the late 18th/ early 19th century, including a rare W(***) bough pot painted with a landscape by Billingsley at Mansfiled, a French tureen with botanicals almost certainly by his hand at Brampton, some Pinxton, a good look at Factory X, Y, & Z and their recent attribution to Keeling (X) and Thomas Wolfe (Z) with many interesting examples, a look at the Nglish Hard Paste story with examples of Plymouth, Bristol, and the eventual children's factories in Staffordshire, a rare Wolfe, Mason & Lucock plate made at the Islington Pottery in Liverpool, Miles Mason, Newhall, a gathering of English Armorial replacement plates from various early 19th century factories; From the Continent, a supremely rare Meissen Bottger porcelain teabowl & saucer with the tea plant applied decoration, made 1710-15, a gilt chinoiserie teabowl & saucer with Seuter decoration c. 1725, a Meissen butter tub with Klinger decoration, a Saint Cloud cup & saucer with unusual N mark, a rare Mennecy unglazed urn & cover, a Sèvres yellow ground cup & saucer by Madam Bunel, 1786; a Vienna Gardner figure with a large pot, dating to 1749, a period Capodimonte plate with cherubs c.1780, a fascinating jug attributed to Herculanium, Liverpool, dated 1809, a creamware mug of Australian interest with a convict - Barrington- on it, a German stove tile from the 16th century, a leadlight panel by Stephan Kellner, a pair of French ormolu andirons (fire dogs) after a design by Pillemont, circa 1750, a page of mugs, another of jugs, some supremely rare English pottery, Irish Dublin delft, Staffordshire elephants and cats, stirrup cups including a pugs head, French faience, pages of tea canisters (caddies) of every description, a collection of 18th century milk jugs, some interesting Chinese Export European patterns, a collection of Sukathai stonewares from 12th century Thailand, Majapahit pottery models, some Chinese rarities including Song Dynasy Qingbai dishes, Han Dynasty bronzes, Ming houses and models, Roman glass and artifacts, Egyptian artifacts including a bronze Anubis with an inscription, Etruscan bronze figures, some stunning pre-columbian including a Mayan cylinder vessel with he Hero Twins, c.800AD........ just to name a few items!
If you kept your attention through that amble among the pages of the 2012 Moorabool catalogue, make sure you obtain a copy for yourself- pop over to www.moorabool.com and download one, or request a printed copy.

Excitement awaits on every page- all 60 of them!

Vienna figures.....

2012-03-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

We have two interesting Vienna figures for our 2012 Exhibition (31st March, 2012).

This dandy is Vienna porcelain, and relates to the earliest period of State Ownership: when the businessman Du Paquier was bankrupt, the State stepped in, with the Patronage and funds of Maria Theresia of Austria. For a brief five years, from 1744-49, they used an impressed mark:

In 'Ceremonies-Feasts-Costumes, Viennese figures during the reign of Maria Theresia' by Sladek, - p61 has a related figure with a jug. She mentions the origins being a Meissen figure (as is this one) and bears the earliest 1744-49 impressed mark, as does this one.
The enamels are of a similar mottled effect, in particular tones only seen in the pre-1750 figures. Clearly they are related, and represent a small group of rare copies of Meissen figures for the table, possibly a single table setting.
Many Vienna figures were copied from Meissen originals, but the post 1750 period leads to a majority of original, distinct designs, many by the hand of Ludwig von Lück and other sculptors with a distinct style far removed from the Meissen style. French sources become apparent, as the Vienna court strengthens its connection with the French court by the marriage of Marie Theresia's daughter, Marie Antoinette, to the future Louis XVI in 1770.
The Meissen original by J.F. Eberlein, modeled in 1748, can be seen in Adams -Meissen Figures- p170, titled Pair of Gardners and dated 1748. This very precise date, combined with the usage of the impressed Vienna mark between 1744-49, allows us to date this figure precisely to 1748-9.

This lovely lass is most probably a representation of 'Spring'. She bears the familiar underglaze blue 'bindenschild' mark of Vienna. Sometimes this is called a 'beehive': however, that description comes from someone who was holding the piece upside down, when it does look like an old-school beehive....
It is in fact the Royal Shield of Vienna. This particular example has a workmans mark also, a Q, to be seen on the earliest pieces of the 1750's.

These interesting figures can be seen in our 2012 catalogue.... download the full PDF here,
or have a preview of a few more items here.

...and before the begining!

2012-03-14T03:53:00.000-07:00

Previous post refers to the earliest porcelain of Europe: However, this is not absolutely accurate.....

This cup & saucer is from the Saint Cloud porcelain factory, France. While Meissen has its origins in 1710, Saint Cloud is decades earlier.......
In 1702, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans gave letters-patent to the family of Pierre Chicaneau, who were said to have been making porcelain as "perfect as the Chinese" since 1693. This was the origins of Saint Cloud.....
Our example dates to circa 1725..... note the unusual base: the radiating rifts show the clay was not quite right when the back was turned on the jig, to make the footrim..... it tore in a spiral pattern, The pieces are incredibly thick, also, showing a vast difference between the Meissen hard paste and this French soft paste: the Meissen is thin because it is true Hard paste, which can be potted to a very fine thickness, due to the strength of the clay.
Soft paste Saint Cloud, however, could not be made so thin, or it would collapse in the firing. It is not a true porcelain, but an artificial one, lacking an important ingredient. The soft is an apt description..... it reflects the light in a very different way....... softly. Light enters the body and is diffused within, like a net curtain on a window with sunlight into a room. Meissen hard paste is like the Chinese, being very dense and harsh, allowing light through in a uniform manner - like a louver blind.

The mark is fascinating on this piece. Usually, there is a St C or Saint Cloud. This example belongs to a group of as-yet unexplained letter marked pieces.

The British Museum has an example with an M mark. The Sevres museum has two similar examples, one with an H mark, another with an F mark. In the Rosenberg Collection in Geelong, there is one with a B. All are cups of the same form, with the same design. The reason for these marks is uncertain, they are all Saint Cloud pieces so it is not a manufacturers mark, but an internal factory code of some sort.

This Saint Cloud cup & saucer can be seen in our 2012 catalogue.... download the full PDF here,
or have a preview of a few more items here.