Author: Paul Rosenberg

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17th century Boxes

Amongst the early English Oak in this week’s ‘Premium’ furniture release are some ‘Bible Boxes’. These are simple products, the side planks merely overlapping and secured with a peg or nail- no fancy dovetail joins. As their name suggests, they were the perfect place to keep your large leather-clad Bible safe from being destroyed by rodents…. but also useful for anything else that might need storing, being kept safe by a basic lock & key from larger pests!

They acted as a bit of a hold-all, a way of instantly cleaning up by opening the flap & stashing items out of sight.

You could use them for your leather gloves, the linen & lace, deeds & letters – written on animal-skin velum – the every-day clutter of life, and all very tasty to rodents….

If we were to bring the concept into the modern age, the every-day life clutter I struggle with would be: iphone, ipad, various chargers for devices, gadgets, the manuals for the gadgets… the 21st clutter of life which always looks unsightly on display. We have a 17th century solution to a 21st century problem!

One particularly nice example just in is the Walnut one with Scotch thistle carving….. in itself an unusual design which must have had a significance to the original owner (usual designs are scrolls, diamonds, or foliage). Inside is a visual delight with a historical twist.

Early 19th century woodblock printed wallpaper offcuts used as lining – rare survivors!

The interiors were lined with woodblock printed paper sheets in the 17th century, as shown by extremely rare survivors. This would have become worn and tatty, and been refreshed, which is what has happened to our example – but the paper used is most fascinating, and allows us to date this refreshing to the mid 1830’s – most probably 1832!

The sides have a series of colourful wallpaper scraps pasted on – remarkable patterns which are probably rare survivors of the period, late Georgian designs. In the base is the fascinating piece of English history – a poster printed for the ‘TAUNTON Reform Festival’ , THE GRAND PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT TO BE GIVEN AT TAUNTON on WEDNESDAY the 18th JULY 1832′.

What follows is the ‘Order of Procession’ , grouped by their trades – and what a fascinating list of long forgotten skills it is.

  • The Tailors
  • The Gardners, Agriculturists, Shepherd & Shepherdess
  • The Cordwainers
  • The Maltsters and Brewers
  • The Stonemasons, Bricklayers, Tilers and Plasterers
  • The Blacksmiths
  • The Whitesmiths, and Tinmen
  • The Sawyers
  • The Carpenters and Joiners
  • The Cabinet Makers
  • The Painters, Glaziers and Plumbers
  • (at the end)The Basket Makers and Weavers….
    and so on..;.

I’m not sure what a ‘Throwster’ was – and the ‘Whitesmith’ had me puzzled, but being combined with the Tinmen gave the answer – a Whitesmith worked with metals and a file, finishing off items that other metalmen made… and assumably was usually covered in a fine layer of his whitish filings…

Taunton was a mill town, full of wool & silk mills. The Reform Society was a ‘grass roots’ organisation of the working classes, hence the pride in their trades demonstrated in this document. They sought for a chance of better treatment from the Government of the time, asking for such things as regulated working hours and welfare for those in need. Through peaceful rallies and organised marches such as the one outlined to take place here, they were able to show a strong and pressing voice for ‘Reform’ – and of course the occasional strike and riot helped as well. The year after this procession for example, the 1833 ‘Factory Act’ was passed – intended for the textile factories at first, this meant:

  • No children under 9 to be employed
  • just 48 hours for those aged 9 to 13, and only 12 hours a day
  • Children under 13 to receive 2 hours schooling each day

A small step towards a complete change in society, which soon led to such modern concepts as health & safety, and a gradual reduction in the use of child labour…. 60 years later, in 1891 the minimum age for working in a factory was raised to…. 11!
I’m going to keep this fact in store for next time my children complain about doing their household chores….

Isn’t it amazing the discussions a simple item like a ‘Bible Box’ can result in!

See this interesting item here >>

See the ‘Premium Fresh Stock’ release here >>

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Zangzhou Ceramics, Ming Dynasty

Formerly known as Swatow Wares….

A selection of Zangzhou pieces, either from the Binh Thuan wreck (1608) or of the exact type recovered from it in 2002.

Zangzhou (Changchow) is a major production centre for this type of distinct porcelain body, and appears to have been focused on the export market to South-East Asia in the 16th-17th century. Older literature discusses them as ‘Swatow’ or  ‘Provincial’ Ming, but excavations in the 1950’s in Fujian Provence located numerous ceramic production centres, with Zangzhou on the Jiulong River giving the name to this category of ceramics.

The wares are varied, with blue & white, celadon, and polychrome enamels all appearing. The best way to examine the product is through the Binh Thuan Shipwreck, which was filled with tens of thousands of pieces from this source. This ship went down in circa 1608, and contained a large number of blue & white pieces, as well as enamelled wares and pieces with blue underglaze and enamelled colours overglaze. This rarely survives in good condition as it is vulnerable to wear, especially in the context of a shipwreck….

Fragile onlgaze colours on Zangzhou porcelain – the bowls at the back were once decorated like the rare example in the foreground, all from the Binh Thuan Shipwreck (1608), but seawater wears it off…. the example at the right has never been under the sea.
  • Sharp pebbles on the base of Zangzhou wares were to stop it sticking to the kiln during firing. Very dangerous on polished surfaces!

One way to recognise this product is through the firing technique; dishes & bowls were placed onto rough granitic sand, which allowed the pot to be safely removed from the kiln without sticking. In the shipwreck examples, this still survives in its original extent; in pieces that made it to market, this has been carefully removed prior to sale as it is extremely sharp!

See our Ming Ceramics here >>

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A connection with our earliest settlers…. and a formidable female farmer!

Old Sheffield Plate teapot with gadrooned half body and gadroon & leaf border, wooden handle, circa 1835.        

Re-purposed in 1929 as a cattle Trophy Prize for the Royal Melbourne Show, inscribed as follows;

THE FRANK REYNOLDS MEMORIAL TROPHY / presented by AUSTRALIAN HEREFORD SOCIETY / best pair of yearling Bulls, MELBOURNE ROYAL SHOW 1929 / won by Mrs J BIDDLECOMBE / Golf Hill Royal Standard, Golf Hill Royal Sceptre.

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Janet Russel - later Biddlecombe - of Golf Hill, Victoria
Janet Russel – later Biddlecombe – of Golf Hill, Victoria, a work in the National Gallery of Victoria by Mathew William Webb, circa 1890

Mrs Janet Biddlecombe (1867-1954) was the daughter of George Russell, the well known settler who was one of the earliest in Victoria, claiming his ‘squat’ at Shelford (just north of Geelong) in 1836 and naming it ‘Golf Hill’. She was a private person who refused to let her gifts to charity be published – but was clearly a great patron of many things. In the last year of her life, she donated the contents of the historic ‘Golf Hill’ to the National Gallery of Victoria, and also many items to the Geelong Art Gallery. (An auction to clear the remainder was held in 1955, attended by a very young John Rosenberg!)          

Janet Biddlecombe (Russel) 1939
Janet Biddlecombe (Russel) with a prize bull at the 1939 Royal Melbourne Show

Janet Biddlecombe was the youngest daughter of eight children, and when the property passed to a brother who proved incapable of maintaining it, she was able to assume control. She married several years later, to an English born Navy officer; they had no children. After his death in 1929, she continued to run the station, and attained the highest standards with her livestock. At the Royal Melbourne Show & the Royal Easter Show, Sydney, she consistently won every prize in her division – including this lovely teapot, repurposed from a 100 year old English piece for the purpose. Interestingly, the teapot was made in England at about the same time her father came to Port Phillip as one of the first settlers….

Here’s the newspaper report of her win, where she was awarded this ‘Antique’ teapot in 1929.

 

See this piece of local history on our website here >>

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Swedish Royalty!

Us Rosenbergs always joked about having Scandinavian Royal blood – my Grandfather came from Sweden, and in the heart of Copenhagen there’s ‘Rosenborg Castle’, full of wonderful treasures such as the Crown Jewels and lots of Meissen porcelain. On visiting a few years ago, my father John enquired if family members got free entry; no humour was detected in reply!
Perhaps the closest we will get was found in Geelong recently, a small silver case of Swedish silver, with a series of Swedish inscriptions that pinpoint it to the Swedish royal family!

The engraved clues begin with a 5-pointed coronet crown, an arm with sword beneath, then the date 10/8/1941, with an the inscription beneath the arms reading “fran syrelse kamrater i Usala lans Jaktvardsforening” – roughly ‘From the Comrades of the Upsala Hunting Guard Association’.

The title ‘Count of Wisborg’ is an interesting one. Wisborg (or Visborg) is a town on Gotland, off the coast of Sweden. In 1892 , Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Gotland and second in line to the Swedish throne, married against the wishes of the King – a shocking thing in the European Royal Circles of the period. He lost his claim to the throne, and all other titles – but was given the title ‘Count of Wisborg’, created just for him by his uncle Adolfe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Since this first awarding, it has been awarded three other times, all to the male-line descendants of Princes of Sweden who had married without permission from the King.

Prince Oscar Bernadotte
1859-1953

Prince Oscar’s marriage in 1888 caused shock in the Royal family, and a document was drawn up to ensure the remaining 3 princes didn’t follow suite – the comment was the King had lost one son and didn’t want to ‘lose’ any more…. this had the opposite effect on the population, who were quite taken by the prince who gave up everything for love. He actually headed over to England to be married, and tied the knot in a church in Bournemouth!

His wife Ebba was of noble birth – and had been a Lady-in-waiting to the Crown Princess, Victoria – but was just not titled enough to marry the second-in-line to the throne. Fortunately, Oscar had the full support of his mother, and on their wedding day, with his mother present, they were given the title of ‘Prince and Princess Bernadotte’. This comes down through the subsequent generations as their family name. Four years later, in the court of Luxembourg, they received the title ‘Count and Countess of Wisborg’.

Oscar & Ebba, Prince & Princess Bernadotte.

They lived a quiet life in Stockholm, away from the court, taking great interest in improving the lot of the poor. Both were religious and involved in numerous charity organisations. Oscar had served in the Navy, attaining the rank of Vice Admiral – achieving a voyage around the world and several trips to America. Later, he was involved in the YMCA of Sweden, and chaired the ‘Friends of Mission to the Laps’ for several years. They had five children, and enjoyed holidaying in summer on the island of Gotland: this was also the place their ‘countship’ originated, Wisby being the name of a ruined fortress nearby. Here, they stayed at ‘Villa Fridhem’, an interesting swiss-style building erected in 1860-61 for Princess Eugenie. She left it to Oscar in 1889, and in 1927 he gave it to the YMCA.

Back to our silver box; the inscription states it was dedicated in Upsala – which we take as being present day Uppsala, not far north of Stockholm. What the Upsala Hunting Guard Association was, I could not find out – or what they were hunting – but he was a military man, and this was in the middle of World War Two.

Sweden in 1941 was of course neutral; they had built up their own military as they nervously eyed-off both Russia and Germany heading towards war in the Baltic, and when hostilities inevitably broke out, managed to keep both at arms length. August 1941 was a particularly concerning time, as Germany had just invaded Russia with great success – using iron ore purchased from Sweden to build up their military – and in turn causing the union of the ‘Allies’ of England, USA and Russia, in the fight against Germany. Sweden allowed German troop trains through their country on their way to the front with Russia in Finland. Fast-forward a few years and Sweden was allowing the Allies to send troops and supplies through their territory to beat Germany into submission; ‘neutrality’ with careful concessions got them through the war.

Somewhere in the middle of this, the 82-year old Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, had an event in Upsala, along with 5 companions; as a souvenir, they had silver cases with everyone’s signatures carefully inscribed on them. As the Count’s is the first on the list, could we say this was his?

The inscriptions are beautifully done, no doubt from a calling-card bearing the originals. The skill of the engraver is very evident, and brings to mind the ease at which this person could have forged such signatures. This opens up a world of possibilities, when we consider the other aspect of Sweden’s neutrality; Spycraft! As the neutral territory between Germany and Allied countries, all sorts of interactions took place via Sweden – leading to a need for forged ‘official’ documents, useful in crossing borders. An engraver of skill such as the person who did these signatures would have been well placed and in demand…

I wonder who this interesting piece of Swedish silver was presented to… and how did it make its way to Australia? perhaps like Grandpa Rosenberg, it came with the influx of people looking for a new life in this new land of promise…

>> See this interesting piece here >>

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War of the Roses

Thomas and John Rose Coalport

An interesting case of re-attribution.

Ridgway jug c.1820
Ridgway jug c.1820 – close to our example

We had a fine couple of Imari pieces put out in a recent ‘Fresh Stock Tuesday’ release, catalogued as Ridgway. Thanks to a keen collector online, and their nicely worded email (“I think there might be a mistake….”) – we now have a re-attribution, and an interesting story to go with it.

Our attribution came via the jug, which shares the pattern & pattern number mark with a sucrier. Slight differences in the pattern suggest different hands – probably different years – but both collected by the same Australian collector, who had an eye for lush Imari.

Coalport examples in 'Cabinet of Creamers'
Coalport examples in ‘Cabinet of Creamers’

The jug was found in Berthoud’s ‘Cabinet of Creamers’ (p102 – pl. 609) where it conforms nicely to Ridgway circa 1812, the lower handle spur being distinctive, and having a flare to the top thumb rest. If we look at the Coalport example a few pages before (592 & 594) we see they have weak little spurs, and a flatter thumb rest…..  another John Rose Coalport, pl 588, has the same issues. Ridgway seems a good attribution – and as the pattern number is the same on the sucrier, Ridgway seems good for both.

And then along comes the email…. stimulating a re-evaluation. Our lovely contact has given a reference to Geoffrey Godden’s ‘Coalport & Coalbrookdale Porcelains’, and there the mystery deepens. Illustration 69 is the same pattern – and he illustrates examples of it alongside the original John Rose Coalport pattern book, from which the painters sourced their designs…. irrefutable proof, as each of our pieces has the correct pattern number, ‘597’.

Pattern no. 597 - John Rose Coalport!
Pattern no. 597 – John Rose Coalport!

But we still have a non-conforming jug handle, according to Berthoud – and the sucrier to explain. On the next page of Godden is an illustration of a Anstice, Horton & Rose teaset – with the exact handle profile!
Tis the other Rose…. in an interesting twist, while John Rose had a porcelain factory on one bank of the canal at Coalport, his younger brother Thomas ran one on the opposite side ( partnered with Anstice & Horton) for several years! Much confusion results, with patterns and shapes being copied by both…. so a piece without a number can be impossible to place. Both of ours have John’s numbers, meaning they have to be John’s production – and yet, here it is, on a piece considered to be Thomas’s variation of handle shape.

The Sucrier is perfect for John Rose, and bears his pattern number. Why is the same number on the jug? Perhaps the simplest answer is the correct one – John decorated a piece of Thomas’s production with his own numbered pattern. Was he one jug short for a tea service, and sent a boy over the canal to obtain one from his brother?

The other possibility revolves around the origins of the Coalport works, and the short life of the Anstice, Horton & Rose partnership.

John Rose is best know, beginning as an apprentice at the 18th century softpaste works of Caughley, not far as the crow flies from the Iron Bridge Gorge location of the Coalport works. He left (and later bought it up!) and set up the first Coalport works in 1792, alongside the newly opened Coalport Canal. This canal was a part of the huge network, the preferred method for industry to transport both raw products and the finished goods throughout England. The Coalport Canal was perfect for bringing in the clay and coal, and then safely transporting the fragile products to the markets in the big cities.

Coalport works depicted in 1862, Iron Bridge Gorge
The Coalport Canal, opened c.1792

A few years later, his younger brother Thomas sets up a porcelain factory on the opposite side of the canal. This is running by 1800, and made porcelains in exactly the same manner, and of the same quality as his brother. It must have been an interesting situation separated only by the canal….! While Thomas remains, there were a couple of partner changes – ie the money behind the costly business of porcelain manufacturing comes & goes – then in 1814, during the economic turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars, it all collapsed, debts were called in and his works is offered for sale. Unsurprisingly, his brother John – just over the canal – is the purchaser.

So the other solution to our mysterious jug revolves around the absorption of Thomas’s works by John. The jug was probably an undecorated white piece in 1814, and shortly after Thomas closed his works, made its way across the canal to be decorated by John’s artists.
How does ‘Circa 1815’ sound? Perfect!

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While I have called this post the ‘War of the Roses’, there is no indication there was outright conflict; rather, the market seems to have been big enough for both brothers to provide very similar goods: perhaps sharing the workload for big orders. When economic uncertainty caused a drop in sales, only John survived. They did use different ‘pattern books’, and while Thomas’s has disappeared, we do have one of John’s, full of wonderful patterns to be painted onto porcelain. Amongst these designs are some contemporary notes, referring the reader to the ‘other Rose’: pattern 319 in John Rose’s book for example bears the note “No. 696 at Mr. T. Roses’.

We do try to be as accurate as possible – but as shown above, things can slip through. If you notice something, please send us a note!

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Mary, Mary, quite Contrary….

Mary Queen of Scots alabaster statue

A serious piece of British History has surfaced in Australia…. or has it?

In our current Exhibition is a remarkable discovery: a ‘Nottingham Alabaster’ carved figure of a Lady at prayer, a small dog at her side. The costume is superbly detailed, and allows us to date it firmly within the Elizabethan period, mid-16th century. A colleague joked ‘it’s Mary, Queen of Scots – with her dog’ – and so, a chain of research was started, with a startling conclusion.

Mary Queen of Scots alabaster statue

Mary, Queen of Scots was one of English history’s great tragedies. Imprisoned by her half sister, her story is full of intrigue and mystery until her beheadal in 1587.

A quick google of ‘Mary Queen of Scots Portrait Bust’ came up with multiple examples of her, mostly originating with the funerary image placed on her memorial in Westminster Abbey (by William and Cornelius Cure, 1606-16). Comparison with our example is remarkable -they depict the same face! We have the usual high-forehead that was fashionable in the Elizabethan era – and a squared temple, eyes at slightly varied level, long thin nose, and chin with central dimple. Even her mouth conforms nicely. It’s the Queen!

Mary Queen of Scots
left – our stone example – right- a plaster cast in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Mary Queen of Scots dog - alabaster statue

When we include the small dog off to one side, the idea that this is depicting Mary, Queen of Scots, suddenly becomes real. The tragic tale of her execution includes the discovery of her small Skye Terrier ‘lap dog’ beneath her dress, covered in blood and refusing to leave the Queen’s headless corpse…..


There is no known ‘devotional’ figure of this nature of the Queen known, although it is just the sort of thing she may have commissioned. We could go through her sad tale and find the time in which she would have been able to do such a commission, in the mid 16th century, for a private chapel in one of her residences, perhaps? And then, naturally we start thinking of where a piece this important should be now: the National Portrait Gallery , London springs to mind…..

But first, it’s a bit grubby and needs a clean: and suddenly, the statue of the Queen takes a completely different path….

As the layers of dirt are washed away, several areas of restoration become evident, masked by plaster; the plaster is what has stained dark. Once it is off…. we have three areas of great concern.

  1. her head
  2. the dog
  3. the cushion

The reason these appear different is because they are a completly different stone – white, instead of honey-toned. They are added to the carving.

In a twist of fate, the Queen who so tragically lost her head… has found a body!
It becomes clear from the different stone used that what we are looking at is a Victorian ‘Restoration’, where a head, a cushion, and a dog have been added to an earlier sculpture. In other words, the very details that made it into a super-rare, unheard of sculpture of Mary Queen of Scots are actually all from the fertile imagination of a Victorian trickster. They created something that probably never existed!

We do wonder when it came to Australia: certainly a long time ago…. and so, it enters the list of ‘magnificent frauds’ that made their way to Australia, sold to some gullible wealthy squatter on a trip to London, probably back in the 19th or early 20th century. We have seen a lot of other examples – the fabulous ‘Sevres’ pieces we featured a few years back are exactly the same, partially original period pieces, but doctored up to make them impressive, rare, and saleable.

Mary Queen of Scots by Cure

The origin of the head can be traced back to her memorial in Westminster Abbey. Her body was brought here by Charles I in 1612, and a magnificent marble construction with a depiction of the queen was created by the sculptors William and Cornelius Cure, 20 years after her execution and based on a small portrait miniature painted from life. This cast in turn inspired all the busts and statues of the Queen which appear in the Victorian era, when she became so popular – and when this well carved head was most likely to have been spliced onto a genuine Elizabethan relic….

Mary has been the subject of numerous films and books, and has quite a following on the web. One of the problems with the nature of information on the web is ‘anything goes’…. and in the case of Mary, we have misconception of the various plaster casts of her head as ‘death masks’. This is not the case, the plaster casts were all taken from the Cure creation, which was a re-construction from a miniature portrait of her painted from life.
Calling these busts ‘death-masks’ would be as accurate as calling this wonderful Victorian Fraud an Elizabethan Devotional Statue of Mary, Queen of Scots…. it’s not quite right.

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Great (Exhibition) Expectations

A surprise attribution leads to a fascinating provenance.

Pair of well-painted plates, unmarked, maker uncertain….

A flamboyant pair of plates with startling orange borders had been in our storeroom for some time before their significance was unearthed, purely by chance.

Their shape is a common ‘lobed’ form, and made by many porcelain makers in the mid 19th century. Our possible attribution was Copeland…. circa 1870…. one of many similar makers of bone china in the 19th century. But as unmarked pieces, it would take a miracle to attribute them firmly. 

One day, their origin literally left out at me – on the front cover of a newly acquired book (a gift from a good friend, thanks Helen!) was an identical plate! The book was Godden’s ‘Ridgeway Porcelains’, 1985 edition. At last, a firm attribution. 

Opening up to p229, we discover their significance:  

‘A plate from a John Ridgeway dessert service shown at the 1851 Great Exhibition’..>>!   What excellent provenance! 

Tracing Godden’s identification of this service to an original booklet that was available to visitors at the Great Exhibition, we find the following inscription: 

#42 One Dessert Centre(piece) , Two Comports, Six Plates….. Coral Border, Watteau Centre & Gold 

At the ‘Great Exhibition’ in Crystal Palace, London, this was a ‘sample’ display of a service type, showing off what the company was capable of, and one of a group of other sample services with different decoration. Similar to the way ‘concept cars’ at today’s car shows sometimes never get made commercially, the display and the available retail product may well have differed; some items may have been ‘Great Exhibition Only’ pieces and never been part of the commercial production of the firm. The superb and very costly large scenes on these plates makes the case for the idea that these plates are two of the 6 made for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and were not part of the general offerings to the public from Ridgeway. 

See plate 1 here >>

See plate 2 here >>

Browse all 2019 Exhibition items here >>

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2019 Exhibition, opened 5th October

Pair of 18th century Dummy Boards

It’s Exhibition time again at Moorabool Antiques – time to showcase our recent exciting finds with a display & sale of over 500 exciting items.

Pair of 18th century Dummy Boards
Pair of 18th century Dummy Boards

From a lovely pair of 18th century ‘dummy boards’ – almost life-size – to a dazzling array of Ceramics, there’s a huge variety of items to be seen.

Our local purchases included a remarkable collection of late 18th / early 19th century English pottery of all descriptions, a collection of coffee cans, ditto spill vases, and a large number of early 19th century English porcelain pieces. We’re particularly struck by the beauty of the ‘Dry Bodies’, a group of feldspathic stonewares which have incredible detail to their decoration due to absence of glaze.

Chetham & Woolley drybody sucrier, brown ground white sprigged children, c. 1800
A delightful Chetham & Woolley drybody sucrier, the brown ground panels with white sprigged children, circa 1800

In porcelains, you’ll find the collectable, and the unusual: Coalport, Daniel, Davenport, Derby, Spode, Swansea, Worcester are familiar names; less known are Wolfe, Machin and Mayer. And there’s plenty more to add to that list!

From 18th century Europe comes a selection of Meissen, Sevres, and other Porcelain makers.

Exotics include the humorous Japanese Satsuma ‘turtle’ kettle, some Italian creamwares, and an interesting array of Antiquities beginning with a 4,500 year old ‘Indus Valley Culture’ pottery bull from the John Kenny collection, Melbourne.

Indus Valley Culture Bull, 2,500 BC
Indus Valley Culture Bull, from Northern Pakistan, circa 2,500 BC

We are busily cataloguing several hundred more pieces, and adding them to the website Preview Gallery on a daily basis. Keep an eye on the uploads, and feel free to send through a ‘query’ if there’s anything you wish to know.

Otherwise…. see you on Saturday 5th October! And for all who are simply too far away – feel free to email or call.

best wishes from all @ Moorabool.

Now, back to cataloguing….

More info here >>

Preview upcoming items here >>

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Review: “Worcester Porcelain – Two Australian Collections”

2016 publication, hardback, 208 pages, 171 items illustrated in full colour

This quality 2016 book on 18th century British porcelain has a surprising local origin in Australia.

The authors are regulars to any local sales or shops with a hint of Worcester porcelain in Australia, and overseas as well; the result is to be seen in this book – a combined collection which illustrates superbly the origins,  mastery, and continuation of the Worcester factory’s products, from the 1750’s origins into the 1830’s.

 

There’s 171 items beautifully photographed, with a useful appendix with visual references to any marks the pieces have. For any dealer or collector, these marks are the essential clue for dating and attribution – but are left out in far too many ‘collectors books’.

Facts are presented in a very direct manner, and well supported with Provenance, Reference, and Literature following directly after.

What is refreshing is the inspiration this collection provides for anyone aspiring to do the same; the pieces range from the comparatively ‘common’  (ie. affordable) blue & white florals of the Mansfield pattern, through to some delicious Chinoiseries of the early 1750’s …. some which were once with Moorabool at quite substantial prices….

Refreshing also is a realistic attitude to condition; rivets in a rare piece are perfectly acceptable, as is the occasional small rim flaw….

Several more controversial pieces are carefully skirted around, in regards to attribution; like many ‘facts’ in the art world, these are often matters of opinion, and subject to change. The ‘James Giles’ attribution is one such situation, where the authors have presented both sides, with a ‘perhaps / alternatively’ attitude that doesn’t preach or lecture, but allows the reader to make up their own mind.

Moorabool recommends this book as a well written survey of early Worcester, a useful addition to any ceramic collector’s library.

Buy a copy here >>

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John turns 80!

A special milestone occurred this week, with John Rosenberg, founder of Moorabool Antiques, turning 80.

John Rosenberg turns 80, 2019
John Rosenberg turns 80, 2019

Back in the 1950’s, a young John Rosenberg could have never believed he would be proprietor of a business such as Moorabool was to become. His first purchase at the age of 12 was a Staffordshire Swan Inkwell – still treasured to this day!

Staffordshire Swan Inkwell
Staffordshire Swan Inkwell

He haunted the few places in Geelong that had Antiques, and from their owners began to learn the vast amount there is to know about the past – something he is still pursuing every day of late, pouring through our reference books for the more obscure patterns & shapes contained in the huge collection we are currently processing…..

John has seen huge change in the Antiques Trade, from his very first Antique Dealers Association fair in 1959 – the second ever held in Victoria– through 59 consecutive years exhibiting, including the boom years for Antiques in the 1980’s-90’s…. fast-forward to 2019 and there was no Dealers Association Antique Fair held, breaking his 59-year consecutive stretch… a reflection on the shrinking Antiques Market.

These days the business is quite, and prices are low – and that, says John is exciting.

“For anyone buying Antiques, there has never been a better time. In all my experience, most items are cheaper today than they were when I began, and have not been this affordable in any of the years since…” 

In other words, now is the perfect time to buy!

John has never lost his fascination in past products, hand-made with care and attention. And the variety is seemingly endless.

“Always something to discover, something ‘New’ in Antiques that I have never seen before…” 

“I still work every day – if you call this work!”

We got together some friends & family in the Reference Library of Moorabool to celebrate his 80th party.

Some wonderful in-house catering resulted in a very trendy ‘Grazing table’ – using antiques in a very encouraging way!

The cake was always a concern -clearly a ‘normal’ cake would not do for this momentous occasion – and so a Willow Pattern design was conceived – echoing the one from his 70th birthday, but in this case, brought to life with a ‘crash’!

Willow Pattern Plate Cake
Willow Pattern Plate Cake

Those cracks are an Antique ceramic dealers worst nightmare, and slicing it up & eating it was something of a relief!

A good time was had by all, and thanks to all who came & sent their best wishes – and have done so since.