Welcome to the all-new Moorabool Antiques home on the web. We have been busily preparing since the start of the year, and are pleased to introduce our new site. It’s been designed to make browsing our immense stock a pleasure for you, our online customers. Right from the front page, you’ll find lots of different…
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…
Indian ‘Alabaster’ …?
‘Alabaster’ has always been the term used by us Antique dealers to describe any translucent, whitish stone…. but have we been mis-labeling it? Sometimes, different industries have different terms for the same thing; I remember arguing with a floor-tile salesman, who insisted that with tiles, ‘ceramic’ was not the same as ‘porcelain’, something I still…
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…
War of the Roses
An interesting case of re-attribution. 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…
Mary, Mary, quite Contrary….
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.…
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…
2019 Exhibition, opened 5th October
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 From a lovely pair of 18th century ‘dummy boards’ – almost life-size – to a dazzling array of Ceramics, there’s a huge variety of…
Mechi’s amazing Emporium
Victorian Entrepreneur John Joseph Mechi (1802-80) was born in London, the city of opportunity – and his story shows all the ups & downs in the life of an entrepreneur. John-Joseph-Mechi 1808-1880 As suggested by his name, his father was Italian, and employed in the household of George III, marrying a local girl. He claimed connections…
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…
Radioactive Collectibles!
Yes, these pieces are so radioactive they glow! With the help of a ‘black light’ Ultraviolet torch, these innocent yellow pieces with the whitish ‘Vaseline’ finish really put on a show. But no need to be alarmed – the radiation they emit is a tiny fraction of a percent of our everyday experience, where the…