The ‘Water Lily’ is the boldest & most beautiful pattern Wedgwood produced in the early 19th century. Why is it called ‘Darwin’s’? And who designed it? The answer is fascinating!
‘Darwin’s’ Water Lily, by Wedgwood, 1806
Category: Important Discoveries
Row your Boat – Local Regatta Trophies 1879-81
A Row about Rowing! This group of silverplate trophies are an interesting insight into the origin of Australian’s obsession with Sporting Events, which were used as a means of bringing the newly established colonial communities together and giving them a sense of ‘Pride of Place’ that is still very active today. Moorabool recently discovered this…
The Prince Rupert casket
A fascinating recent discovery was this stunning little casket, or tea caddy. It has a terrific tale to tell, and even has a link to a great name in English ceramics, John Dwight of Fulham. Prince Rupert of the Rhine, by John Dwight of Fulham, c. 1678 Made from a golden toned oak, it has…
The Begining: a Saint Cloud salt, circa 1700
We are always fascinated by the origins of things…. when and where did it all begin? In the porcelain world, it was of course China, around 1,000 years ago. This was so foreign and magical to the Europeans that pieces which made the perilous journey across the globe were only affordable by the most wealthy,…
A Vienna ‘Harvester’ Re-united
Moorabool is often a place of meeting, both for people who enjoy Antiques – and for the Antiques themselves! We have occasionally been guilty of ‘match-making’ in the Antique world, discovering pieces that were quite literally made to be together…. but somehow became separated. It’s a thrill to re-unite pieces. Ready for the harvest…..? In…
A Victorious Italian Madonna, dated 1619
A fascinating fresh item at Moorabool is this tinglaze plaque – inscribed & dated ‘Della Vittoria / 1619’. It depicts a Madonna and Child, with her arm supporting a spear/staff from which flutters a banner with a cross. A depiction of a crowned Madonna & Child, set in a wall in the village of Sommana,…
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…
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…
Machin & Potts… a detective tale
There are two pottery jugs in this week’s ‘Fresh’, sourced from the same amazing collection of early 19th Century pottery & porcelain as all the similar pieces we have released recently. Our research team had been working overtime (thanks John!) and poured through every book in the library to help identify the vast number of…
The Boyd ‘Medieval’ chess set
A fascinating and most probably unique creation is also the most modern item in stock at Moorabool – dating to the 1960’s, it is an Australian Pottery ‘Medieval’ chess set, by David & Hermia Boyd, members of the remarkably artistic Boyd family. Medieval Chess set by David & Hermia, 1960’s David & Hermia Boyd Chess…
