These life-size depictions of fruit are botanical illustrations from a 1851 American publication. They are Lithographs – etched onto stone as a method of printing – and hand-coloured to accurately depict the apple and pear varieties. They are all a little browned & faded, and their gilt frames are overpainted in white – but they certainly have a terrific impact! And the price…. irresistible!
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With Christmas fast approaching we have some great gift ideas for everyone.
Moorabool has been selling Antiques as Christmas Gifts for over 60 years…
Antiquities FRESH to stock today.
Looking for something ‘Unique’? We can provide that!
Antiques and fossils make great gift for the person who has everything. Today’s Fresh Stock has a terrific range to consider. All the ancient pieces & fossils come with a Certificate of Authenticity & Description explaining what they are.
There’s an influx of interesting Fresh pieces to browse, released today. We’ll have a lot more going on over the next few weeks, so keep an eye on our ’Latest’ gallery.
A remarkable folio of 200 year-old Chinese paintings recently came to Moorabool. They are large-scale examples of the ‘China Trade’ paintings, usually seen on a smaller scale on ‘Pith-paper’. These are on a thicker paper, using Mulberry bark as the basis, hence known as ‘Mulberry Paper’. They were popular with the European traders who came to Canton to buy Tea, Silk, Porcelain, and exotic Eastern produce. Rare early examples can be the mid-18th century, but they became very popular by around 1800 as trade flourished. Their subject matter reflects this intention as a ‘souvenir album’ – the distant ancestors of the postcard folio of the modern tourist.
‘The Story of Tea’, small folio, ex-Moorabool Antiques
One theme was ‘The Story of Tea’, showing the process it went through from the bush to the tea chest- appropriate considering the intended customer, visiting European merchants. Another rarer series follows the manufacture of Porcelain.
By far the most popular subjects were the everyday people that visitors would have seen on the streets – the umbrella mender, the fish sellers, the hat maker. Crime & punishment folios featured many macabre details not suitable for children… Others have children playing with toys, the dress of the wealthy & court, and the bright & lively processions for various holidays and celebrations.
Camellia Sensis, tea plant, Chinese Export pith painting, Moorabool Antiques
A third group served as a ‘Visual Encyclopaedia’ – with subjects such as flower specimens, birds & fish specimens, ship types, and even ’Antiques’. This album we are showing here belongs to this group, a Musical Instrument ‘visual guide’.
Occasionally there are small-scale pith paintings of Chinese musicians playing the various instruments – but it seems these depictions of instruments on this album are quite rare. No comparable example could be found.
Chinese Pith Painting – a Musical Procession, c. 1830-50 Moorabool Antiques
They represent a large number of Chinese musical instruments, as were used in the early 19th century when they were painted. As a folio, they were a document of the types of Chinese traditional instruments, which brings to mind it’s purpose: to the Westerners who were often the clients for the China-Trade paintings, they were curios; to the Chinese, they would be a fine reference folio for the musically minded – a tutor to a prince, perhaps?
Ready to play….. a finely detailed Chinese Qing Dynasty Musical Instrument Painting depicting a ‘Qin’ harp, circa 1800- 1830
A total of 20 instruments are depicted, some single, several double, and two triple.
These works are for sale individually, or talk to us if you are interested in the complete group, or part thereof. Individual prices – $750 each, all 11 total price $7,000
Welcome to our 2022 Special Gallery of Fresh Chinese items.
We’ve always stocked a good selection of Chinese items, and at present, we have a large number of items to share.
Of particular note below are the Ming Dynasty blue & white pieces. Part of a collection we are selling, the highlight is perhaps the Jiajing period dish, 500 years old and complete with a mark. This 4-character mark misses the important part – the name of the Emperor during the period it was made – but is also found on a very similar example in the British Museum. They have linked it to an example that has the complete mark, revealing it to be made in the time of Emperor Jiajing, who reigned 1522-66.
Ming barbed-rim dish, 1622-40Ming blue has a ‘wet’ characteristic, and burns black when thick An excellent example of the Ming Dynasty cobalt blue pooling into a ‘heap’ or ‘pile’, causing it to erupt through the glaze and burn black in the kiln.Jiajing period mark ‘Made during the Great Ming’
We have some quality Chinese Hardwood furniture to offer. A pair of cabinets make excellent display cases for any collector of Asian Antiques, and are available as a single or the pair. The long low table has handy compartments beneath, and is an excellent shallow size for small spaces, such as a hallway.
Chinese Hardwood furniture, beautifully made pieces that are very useful for both collectors and decorators.
Below are some lovely examples of the Tang & Ming dynasty pottery models. These items were buried as offerings, to ensure the deceased had a life of luxury in the afterlife. They are accurate models of everyday items, and allow us to vividly imagine everyday life in their time: in this respect, they indeed meet their purpose by bringing the past to life!
Blue and White porcelains have been the most popular Chinese Ceramics in Europe since the Ming Dynasty, and the same aesthetic is still popular today. The following examples are all Ming, dating from 500-
Vast amounts of Chinese Porcelain was made purely as Export Wares in China, with England, Europe, and America as the main destination. The shapes reflect this, as they are usually European rather than traditional Chinese.
Works on paper – or ‘pith’, the thinly-shaved core of a fast-growing tropical plant – are beautiful, rare survivors. The larger pieces are on linen, and were intended as ‘scrolls’, to be brought out and displayed when needed. The large example with the multi-figures is a family tree, an ‘Ancestor Scroll’ set in the interior of their house.
Fresh to stock are two pieces of Royal Worcester, beautifully hand-painted, one by James Stinton with pheasants, the other with doves & a cottage by Charles Baldwyn.
James Stinton – Vase dated 1904
James Stinton was son of well known Worcester artist John, and his brother John junior, all of who painted birds. James came to work at the Royal Worcester factory when Grainger Worcester was taken over in 1902, making this a very early example of his work at Royal Worcester. James also painted watercolours of this same subject. These ‘studies’ were probably a side-line for him, but would have also been a great way to keep his skills sharp.
Royal Worcester by Stinton & Baldwyn
The large Charles Baldwyn vase is an unusual example. It dates to 1903 – the last year he worked at the factory, before leaving to become a watercolour artist. He had spent his time at Worcester, and made a name for himself painting birds: as an avid bird watcher, he was able to turn this hobby into an art with great success. A search for his Worcester painting will reveal a large number of ‘flights of swans’ – his most popular design – and the occasional own or blue bird. Our example is doves, and while there are a few of these, their background is most unusual – a classic English Country Cottage. It’s a rare, large example of this talented artist, one of the last he would have done before leaving the Royal Worcester works.
Georgian & Victorian Glass in today’s Stock Release
An interesting selection of items, just freshly released. With Christmas coming up fast, there’s a lot of items that would make great small presents – check out the ‘Under $100‘ and ‘Under $50‘ galleries.
We’re used to Dutch Delft in the blue & white, but the mineral manganese was also used to produce these interesting variations to the usual ‘Delft’. The Biblical examples are scarce, and these are fine examples – note the ‘Moses in the Bullrushes’ scene complete with a Sphinx in the background!
Once essential items for anyone who wrote, a pen-knife was a small sharp blade that allowed you to trim a quill to write with. The rarities in this collection are the ‘mini’ examples- perfectly usable , but in miniature and designed to hang from the fob chain of a gent’s pocketwatch. The ‘fancy’ examples with silver blades are in fact for use with foods – ie. cutting soft fruits, where steel would both be damaged by the acids of the fruit, and cause discolouration to the fruit. Silver on the other hand didn’t have the same reaction, and they were a popular item in the Victorian era. There’s also a rather lethal looking medical tool: a lancet, perhaps the most ancient and simple of all medical instruments: it has a super sharp double-sided blade with slender point, and was used to open a vein and allow all the badness to drain from the body… alongside the inevitable blood. Thankfully, a practice long since abandoned thanks to modern medicine! This is a German example in Tortoiseshell, marked ‘THAMM’ for a Berlin maker of surgical instruments.
For all of those who are local, here’s a selection of interesting Artworks & Artifacts of local interest – all from Geelong, the Bellarine, and nearby country areas.
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Use the ‘Compare Products’ below to keep track of items of interest.
Wedgwood Elihu Yale, Yale university Toby Jug 1933Sold
Royal Worcester Botanical plate, Dated 1874Sold
Minton Plate, Japanese style pattern 1890$65.00 AUD
Copeland & Garrett plate, panels of dogs, c. 1840Sold
Ridgway serving dish, blue border & flowers C.1835$95.00 AUD
Bowers serving dish C, 1835$45.00 AUD
Bohemian Dallwtiz plate C. 1850$35.00 AUD
English porcelain plate, pink border C 1870Sold
Royal Doulton Blue Floral serving Plate, C.1895$45.00 AUD
English porcelain plate with moulded rim, C.1835$140.00 AUD
Brownfield porcelain comport C. 1875Sold
English pottery ‘Gaudy Welsh’jug, bright coloured Chinese design C.1830Sold
Japanese plate imari with metal hanger, C.1900$185.00 AUD
English porcelain cup, saucer & plate with flowers C.1870Sold
Wedgwood Majolica plate, late 19th CSold
Ridgeway plate painted with flowers, C. 1840$120.00 AUD
Minton plate, printed and painted flowers , c.1840.$95.00 AUD
Copeland & Garrett ironstone plate, Imari pattern, c. 1820$65.00 AUD
Coalport plate, wreath and scroll moulding, flower sprigs, 1835$95.00 AUD
Coalport plate, wreath and scroll moulding, flower sprigs, 1835$95.00 AUD
Derby plate with puce & gilt scrolls, C. 1825Sold
Crown Chelsea cup + Saucer, HMAS SYDNEY Cocos Battle Commemorative 1914Sold
