Moorabool’s 2022 Exhibition is currently being prepared, and will open on May 7th.
While the actual goods will be on display in our Geelong premises, we realize that many of you are unable to come in person – so all items will be well documented and available for preview on moorabool.com .
There will be over 300 choice pieces released.
Below, we’ve spun you up some interactive images: turn, zoom in, take a good look.
Enjoy!
April 1
Today we’re releasing a flood of lovely Fresh Stock.
There’s a scattering of porcelain, including Meissen, and some other highly decorative porcelains including the scarce ‘wall pockets’ modelled as birds on nests, and a sweet little pair of ‘perfume ewers’, probably Coalbrookdale, all encrusted in flowers.
The selection of small little precious pieces is mainly of French origin; this is no coincidence, as the branch of the local family they came from traces its origins to a romance in France at the time of WWI: these were just the sort of thing to buy a French ‘sweetheart’, before they came back to Australia and settled down.
There’s a host of other fine pieces, with more to be added shortly. The large-scale ‘Mercury’, illustrated below, is a 19th century Bronze after the 1580 original by Giambologna. It was made for the Medici family of Florence – to put in the middle of a fountain! A very wise choice, considering he was the god of commercial success – and successful the Medici most certainly were.
In other news… we are very pleased to announce our 2022 Exhibition date.
We have waited patiently for our Government to announce when they will call our looming election – but as they have yet declined to do so, and there is very little time left, we have taken a chance and settled on the ‘least likely for election’ Saturday in May – the 7th. It will run for the next few weeks, before we bring it up to Melbourne for our next event….
This Exhibition is an accumulation of wonderful items of quality from the past several years, sourced from all over the globe – but also very locally. Several high-profile collections of ceramics will be included, with many published pieces.
Dr Wall Worcester punchbowl, circa 1760
A superb large-scale example of early Worcester porcelain, with a rare combination of four prints by Hancock, printed in a rarely seen ‘Lilac’ tone.
One of a number of fine Dr Wall Worcester pieces to be seen in our upcoming 2022 Exhibition.
Check out the extensive ‘Preview’ page here >> with much more yet to be added as it is process and published.
Finally, we are also eagerly anticipating our Melbourne Antique Fair for 2022. This is taking place ‘back where it all began’- in the Malvern Town Hall, High Street Armidale, Melbourne, 10th-13 June. The AAADA is selling tickets already, book via their website here >>
Enjoy!
regards,
Paul & Glenys Rosenberg,
Mathew Bugg
23rd March 2022
Today’s ‘Fresh Stock’ additions are mostly classic pieces of ‘Old Sheffield Plate’ – with a few Sterling Silver and a few Plated pieces mixed in.
Old Sheffield Plate was of course the method developed in the 18th century to cut down on the amount of silver used in tablewares. It did, however, increase the amount of time & care needed to make the pieces, as they are all laboriously put together from a flat rolled sheet of silver & copper.
Of particular note is the Old Sheffield claret jug. This is an absolute rarity; the coffee pots we featured a while ago are not common, but a claret is magnitudes rarer.
In ‘The History of Old Sheffield Plate (published 1912), Bradbury’s definitive book on the subject, he illustrates the identical claret jug (p.308). This is captioned as a “1 1/2 pint Adam jug, by Mathew Fenton & Co. Date 1777”.
He then describes these jugs as “By no means the least useful, and certainly the most graceful…” of the Old Sheffield products. He refers to them as ‘Claret jugs’, stating they are ‘very rarely to be met with to-day’ (in 1912). In 2022, it’s even more so – especially in the excellent condition we have found this one in.
The attribution to Mathew Fenton & Co. via Bradbury’s illustration is firm, with only a couple of minor differences; the junction of the foot & body in ours has a seam, while the engraved illustration is smooth, and the handle – hand-carved from boxwood- has an extra protruding spur at the base.
Other interesting pieces include two ‘Cheese Toasters’. The toasted bread was placed inside with the cheese ready on top; the enclosed shape, when heated, would to a good job of melting the cheese, something that has never gone out of fashion! These small single-handled dishes were popular in the late 18th – early 19th century, and one has the very smart hi-tech feature of a ‘warming compartment’. This is hidden beneath the interior, and accessed by unscrewing the wooden handle.
The thread then makes a water-tight seal, and his Lordship’s cheese is guaranteed to be nice & runny…. it bears the crest of an arm with an arrow, but as this was applied to dozens of families armourials, it is impossible to be specific about who had their cheese from this dish.
The smaller armorial piece does, however, have a rare makers mark, and this allows us to identify the workshop of T&J Creswick, Sheffield.
An elegant couple of items are the Old Sheffield shell-form dishes. These are often seen in porcelain, where they are called ‘pickle dishes’, the idea being they were used on the table to serve pickled garnishes necessary to disguise the dubious preservation of any meat served, a necessity until the invention of reliable refrigeration.
However, silver finished items would not be very useful with an acid-like pickle vinegar placed in them – they would tarnish before your eyes. These dishes must have been used for something else on the tables of the gentry, perhaps for the sweetmeats of the desert setting. There are large ‘towers’ of shells in porcelain from Derby Worcester and Bow from the 18th century which are described as being dessert / sweetmeat stands, so it is logical these were used in the same manner.
Some interesting pieces of history are the ‘candle snuffers’. Shaped like scissors, they have a rectangular box one arm, the lid on the other. Despite their name, they were not to ‘snuff’ the candle out; rather, they fulfilled a very important job in the world of illumination: when the wick of the candle burnt lower and left a charred remnant, it would cause problems with the flame, smoke a lot, and could melt the candle to one side and cause an unwanted loss of molten wax. It was important then to trim the wick; a householder would take pride in being able to use a pair of these scissors with the box incorporated to carefully slice the old burnt portion from the top of the wick, leaving it to still burn & illuminate below. The wick would be ‘snuffed’ in the metallic box, and cease to smoke; it could then be disposed of later, as once placed on the handy snuffer-tray it could be taken away by your servants to be disposed of once you were finished for the evening.
A particularly interesting pair can be traced to a 1776 patent by Christopher Pinchbeck, a London clock maker. His story is fascinating, a worthy subject of another blog post; his design both snuffed the offcut wick, and through the use of a levered ‘gate’, held the offensive black remnant securely. The snuffers above follow the design of his 1776 patent drawing closely, which he described as follows:
Pinchbeck’s 1776 Patent application.
‘Some additions to those very useful domestic machines, called snuffers, by which those disagreeable circumstance of them dropping the wick after snuffing the candles, so generally complained of, is totally prevented’.
Searching for examples online I was amused to find an ‘Ode to Pinchbeck’s Candle Snuffers’ – penned by “Malcolm McGreggor” – the pseudonym of political satirist William Mason – in 1776. This was of course the year of the American Revolution, and it is a direct attack on the sad state of affairs with the British smarting from the loss of their American colonies. So, the author calls on the latest high-tech invention to solve the problem:
‘Illustrious Pinchbeck I condescend,
Thou well beloved, and best King’s friend;
These Lyric lines to view.
Oh! may they prompt thee, e’re too late,
To snuff the candle of the State,
That burns a little Blue….
1776 ‘Malcom McGreggor’
It continues in this vein, bringing in the characters associated with the American Revolution, and suggesting that a very large snuffer could be the solution – to completely snuff out the pesky Rebels like Washington!
The deed is done, thy foes are dead,
No longer England shalt thou dread,
such Presbyterean Huffers;
Thy candle’s radiance ne’er shall fade,
with now & then a little aid,
from Pinchbeck’s Patent Snuffers!
1776 ‘Malcom McGreggor’
(If you’re curious, I have copied the original pamphlet onto a single page here – click to enlarge).
Finally, to find your way to bed through the darkened house, there was the chamberstick; these candlesticks are low and broad, giving the safest possible configuration to guard against the very real danger of accidental ignition of the furnishings. The handle and thumbpiece gives an excellent grip, and our example here has the original cone-shape snuffer, nice & handy to completely extinguish the flame when time came to sleep.
Enjoy!
Paul & Glenys Rosenberg
Mathew Bugg
In other news….
Date to be defined once the Australian Government settles on a definite date for the upcoming election, as we do not wish to compete for attention on the same day!
Featuring: Bow, Chelsea, Derby, Worcester, Isleworth, James Giles (on Chinese Porcelain), Swansea, Nantgarw, Spode, Newhall, etc. etc….. over 100 choice pieces to tempt.
A ‘Preview’ gallery will be accessible on our website shortly, keep your eye out for an upcoming email announcement.
February 23rd, 2022.
Welcome to our ‘Fresh Stock’ update – these items are fresh to our stock , and fresh to this website.
Today it’s some Wonderful Worcester.
Dr Wall, or ‘First Period Worcester’, is the earliest period of this important English porcelain maker. Dr John Wall was a fascinating 18th century Gentleman, a practical doctor who helped found the charitable hospital at Worcester, becoming wealthy and well-known in the process.
In 1751, along with William Davies and 13 other businessmen, he established the Worcester works on the banks of the River Severn, Worcester. Davies was an apothecary, not far removed from alchemy in the mid-18th century, and actively experimenting in the quest for a porcelain body. Together with Wall, and the help of the group of investors, the distinct Worcester porcelain body was developed.
There were many other attempts at making porcelain in England at this time. Bristol had a porcelain factory, and Chelsea and Bow were active in London, while Derby also had a porcelain works. Liverpool, Lowestoft and Bristol followed soon after in their respective cities. 60 miles from Worcester, Caughley made almost identical wares (before the age of copyright…). The pottery makers of Staffordshire soon began their own porcelain production, and so there are quite a number of makers of porcelain in England in the last half of the 18th century.
Confusingly, some of these other makers used the same ‘C’ crescent mark as Worcester. So how do we tell Worcester from the rest? A simple answer may be ‘Quality’. They always had a high standard, at least once they worked out how to consistently produce the same results from their kilns. But many other makers also produced high quality wares, and the decoration is often very similar, following the demands of taste. Without copyright, it was easy to copy a popular design.
The answer to identifying early Worcester is the body. They had developed a soft-paste, or artificial porcelain. Unlike the Chinese – and the Continental porcelains, like Meissen – it lacked a vital ingredient found in ‘true’, or hard-paste porcelain. This ingredient was responsible for the stability, or hardness of the body, and this in turn meant it was more durable. Especially important considering the teawares that came to be a major part of their business; if a teapot cracked when hot liquid was poured in, it was not good for business – and this was what often happened to the likes of early Bow and Derby. Worcester prided itself in the ability to withstand hot water ‘shock’ – but was resistant, not crack proof. We do see an awful lot of Worcester teapots with classic spreading hot-water cracks.
One of the 15 initial partners in the Worcester concern was Richard Holdship. He was somehow aware of a struggling porcelain manufactory at Bristol, the works of Benjamin Lund. This had begin in 1749, with the granting of an exclusive licence to mine ‘soaprock’ at the Lizard, Cornwall. When this special ingredient was combined with their clay, Lund’s Bristol porcelain had a different quality to other English porcelains of the period. The soaprock unified the body, allowing it to distribute heat better, for example when boiling water was poured into it. Lund produced a limited line of products for a limited time, and by 1751, was in financial strife. Holdship was able to come in and buy-out the works, including the equipment, workmen, even Lund himself came to Worcester to the new works there. Most importantly, the Worcester firm now had the rights to the soap-rock of Cornwall, and added to their clay, produced the fine body we are used to with 18th century Dr Wall Worcester.
So how do we identify this Worcester body? A very simple process: hold it up to the light!
A porcelain body by definition is translucent. This means the light is able to penetrate into the structure of the fired clay, and some finds its way through. When it strikes the minerals inside – such as the soap-stone – part of the light spectrum will be absorbed, with the remainder of the spectrum escaping to the viewer’s eye, resulting in a certain colour tone. In the case of Worcester with the soap-stone, it’s a greenish tone we look for.
This of course isn’t definitive test – there are variations, decoration changes things, and other factories could also produce green-tinged bodies. But combined with visual cues like patterns and shapes, spotting Worcester becomes a much simpler task.
This week, our Fresh Stock release has a series of superb Worcester ‘Saucer Dishes’, painted in the various Rococo patterns of the later 18th century. Literally a dish-sized ‘saucer’ shape, there was one, or sometimes two included in a tea service, intended to hold the cake or nice little knibbles the ‘Lady of the House’ was to serve when offering tea in the fashionable sitting room to visitors.
The ‘Marriage’ pattern is beautiful, with hidden symbols of Cupid amongst the flower sprigs. Apparently George III liked this pattern, and had a service made for Kew House. The older tale was it was to celebrate his marriage, although there are no records as such; however, the name ‘Marriage’ for the pattern is totally appropriate considering the hidden symbols of a bow, a quiver, and a lover’s knot.
The ‘Powder Blue’ example is fascinating, in that the flowers are lavish and flamboyant – but the fan-shaped reserves are outlined in a simple straight line of gold, with no scrolls to be seen. This reflects an earlier period, when Chinese porcelains from the Kanxi reign were coming into Europe with similar decoration. The ‘powder-blue’ ground is literally created as it sounds – a powder of blue cobalt pigment is blown onto the piece, which is treated with an oil to make it sticky; where the white panels are to be, a paper stencil cutout is attached. Once fired, this leaves the white panels to be painted by the factory artists. in the case of this plate, the artist was very good – the same hand is at work on a jug in the Zorensky Collection, along with the very stylish flower sprays. This gilding is the thick & rich ‘honey gilding’ , once again created exactly as described – honey is used to suspend the gold and apply it to the porcelain, where it burns off & leaves the gold in place when fired.
The example with the urn in the centre is Dr Wall Worcester at its best. This fluted shape is known as the ‘French’ shape, and was very popular for tea wares. The combination of the central flower-clad urn and the colourful swags of flowers hanging from suspension amongst the rich gilding around the rim is enhanced by the startling splash of turquoise ‘caillouté‘ work, a French word meaning ‘pebbly’. It’s based on the luxurious Sevres imports of the time, and the whole look & feel of these flamboyant pieces deserve their ‘French’ title.
Enjoy!
Remember, we post world-wide at the most reasonable rates – ask for a quote.
Fresh Worcester
Art Nouveau is literally a ‘New Art’.
This stylish fashion emerged from France in the latter 19th century. It was a reaction to the re-hashed Classical and Rococo style that dominated European fashion in the 19th century. It is well illustrated by this superb Art Nouveau ‘stamp box’ in French silver & wood, with sensual flowing tendrils, like hair ringlets or organic growing plants.
Art Pottery flourished in the late 19th/early 20th century, and embraced the ideals of the Art Nouveau movement. This vase, from Belgium, has spiraling arms that look like they grew….
There’s another offshoot from Art Nouveau, originating in Austria and Germany, called ‘Jugendstil’ – literally ‘Youth Style’. This introduced more geometric elements alongside the Nouveau’s organic elements.
This wonderful piece of design comes from the Würtemburgische Metallwaren Fabrik, WMF for short – a German manufacturer of high esteem. The egg-shaped copper body holds 6 eggs inside, which can be warmed with the small spirit burner placed on the platform between the legs. The supports are cast brass with stylish leaf-motif ends, and the legs are basically leaf-stems. The lid has a cross-form support, very geometric and not at all Art Nouveau, making it a fine example of Jugendstil.
In the same theme is this remarkable vase. English pottery, it was made at Bretby, circa 1910. White having some Nouveau elements in its form (the handles have eyes!), it also has a geometry to it that shows the Jugendstil influence – as well as the definite ‘Arts & Crafts’ idea of showing the raw materials & craftsmanship. In this case, it is deceptive, as the ‘copper’ finish is a glaze – and the ‘gemstones’ are also glazed pottery, made separately and attached!
Another interesting off-shoot looks to the Celtic world for inspiration. The Celtic Knot patterns, found on carvings and metalworks from 1st millenium BC European artifacts were well known in Britain, where the style flourished particularly in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. As part of the Arts & Crafts movement, these ancient designs were sometimes referred to by craftsmen, and the beaker below is one such piece.
Made at the Art Pottery works of Brannam in Barnstaple, it is decorated with two bands of pale clay in raised slip trails skillfully arranged into ‘Celtic’ knotwork, framing an amusing verse neatly incised through the green glaze in a method we call ‘sgrafitto’:
” Be aisy
If ye cant be aisy
Be as aisy as ye can”
This information is Brannam delightfully easy to describe, as they clearly inscribed it all on the base – ‘Brannam / Barnstaple / 1903’. It is also initialed ‘FB’ for the potter, Frederick Braddon, who quite possibly used the traditional potter’s method of drawing with clay slip – a cow’s horn with the tip cut off, allowing the pale slip inside to be applied in a controlled line.
It’s a wonderfully organic result, like the tendrils of a vine growing across the surface.
It therefore fits the definition of ‘Art Nouveau’ – in an Arts & Crafts / Art Pottery manner!
February 17th, 2022.
Welcome to a ‘Fresh Stock’ update – these items are fresh to our stock , and fresh to this website.
Today it’s a selection of fine English furniture. The bookcase is the key piece, and yes, the contents below will be a ‘Fresh Stock’ in the very near future!
This George III bookcase is particularly pleasing in its simplicity, featuring an understated curved pediment without the usual moulding – and the unusual addition of moulding in the form of ‘Maltese Crosses’ to the fold-down flap of the Secretaire drawer. The interior is in satinwood, and has an extra-wide central ‘pigeon hole’ suitable for a laptop or tablet.
The pair of chairs are also Georgian mahogany, and rare as they have their original green horse-hair seat covers.
There’s a useful small Sutherland Table, with an unusual gallery placed between the legs.
You’ll also find scattering of Georgian porcelain, and some hard to find ‘dumps’ – glassworks doorstops.
Remember, for the furniture, we have delivery options up the East Coast or to Adelaide, ask for a quote.
Fresh Stock
Here’s the latest for you!
February 16th, 2022.
Today we have some items relating to our fascination with Ancient Egypt.
Since Napoleon marched in and took over Egypt 1798 (and then the English kicking him out a few years later) the splendors of Egypt have captured the imagination of Western Cultures, inspiring them to create pieces in the same style – ‘Egyptomania’.
There’s a wall hanging depicting Osiris sewn onto Egyptian linen, a typical souvenir for a WWI ANZAC soldier to bring back from his adventures, either stationed in Egypt or passing through on troop ships – it would squash into a backpack easily.
There are some interesting watercolours from the 1910’s-20’s, when Egypt became fascinating all over again after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in late 1922. The papers & magazines were full of photos of the Ancient Egyptian treasures emerging from the Valley of the Kings, and ‘Egyptomania’ took hold. From this time is a small brass box, the lid presenting a good facsimile of the incredible scene from the back of King Tut’s tomb.
From Egypt comes a pair of bronze ‘temple’ bookends, mounted on Egyptian banded alabaster. From around 1900, there are some English pottery vessels with Egyptian figures as their decoration, made at Doulton, Lambeth.
To round it off, we have also attached some of the genuine Ancient Egyptian artifacts we have in stock, at the end of this page. And for those interested, we have something extremely special coming to Moorabool shortly; a small selection of supremely rare Ancient Egyptian artifacts, including a New Kingdom limestone head of a nobleman, nearly life-size, and a Royal ‘shabti’ figure from an important cache of Royal artifacts from the Valley of the Kings…. it would have emerged from the fabled ‘1st cache’ of Deir el Bahri, 1881. More on that soon!
The small box in today’s Fresh Stock is a detailed product made in the aftermath of the discovery & opening of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt in late 1922; the various elements of decoration have taken inspiration from the many photographs published over the next few years as the incredible contents of the chambers were brought to the surface, revealing to the world the dazzling splendors of New Kingdom Egypt.
This source is evident when we examine the seated figure being attended to by a female on the lid, with sun-disk above literally reaching down to anoint the couple with hands depicted on the ends of the sun-rays. This is very close to the back decoration of the golden throne from the tomb.
It is an image of matrimonial affection, as it represents his wife Ankhesnamun in a scene of ‘domestic bliss’. A closer examination reveals she has an oil vessel in her left hand, and is therefore rubbing scented oil onto his shoulders. Another sweet detail is evident on the original, but too small to repeat on this box lid; she wears a foot-bangle on her right foot, and the Pharaoh one on his left; these are the symbols of matrimonial bonding, as-in the wedding ring in today’s cultures.
To the right of the queen is a tall stand supporting an elaborate set of ceremonial adornments – a large circular headdress, and two broad collars. This sets the scene – at the end of the day, the royal couple taking a moment, having taken off their heavy headdress & collars, just sitting back and relaxing in their palace room…..
The hieroglyphics on our box, while accurately copied as individuals, have been simplified for aesthetics, and yet can still be deciphered by the trained eye; to the left are the two royal ‘cartouche’ names for the couple, . The elaborate pillars to either side, and the petal-border to the base and complex layered upper border all reflect the overall design seen on the throne.
It’s a well planned piece of ‘Egyptomania’, created to meet the demand for the exotic splendor of Ancient Egyptian stimulated by Howard Carter’s incredible discovery in 1922.
Enjoy!
February 11th, 2022.
Welcome to our ‘Fresh Stock’ update – these items are fresh to our stock , and fresh to this website. With Valentines day just around the corner, we hope you love our latest additions…
Today, some fine 18th century enamels, elaborate flower encrusted marvels, and even some Sterling Silver teddybears……. these fun pieces were made right at the start of the ‘Teddy’ era, when Teddy Roosevelt was President of the USA – and a popular cartoon showed him refusing to shoot a bear cub on a shoot, labelling him ‘a big teddy-bear’…. from this, the first of our much-loved toys were made, and these rare silver pieces followed the trend.
Remember, we post world-wide at the most reasonable rates – ask for a quote.
Fresh Stock
Here’s the latest for you!
January 22nd, 2022.
Welcome to our ‘Fresh Stock’ update – these items are fresh to our stock , and fresh to this website.
Today it’s time for some Fresh Staffordshire!
We enjoy our Staffordshire for the stories they tell. This was their purpose – to represent an individual, a famous character, or an event. The equivalent of Facebook & Instagram in the 19th century!
This is an interesting theatrical group – based on a pop song of the time: Jenny Jones. That’s her, slicing up a bit of cheese & bread for her sailor, Edward Morgon, who has returned after 20 years sailing the world to his hometown, and his love.
The last verse says it all:
I parted a lad from the vale of my fathers, And left Jenny Jones then a cockit young lass : But now I'm return'd a storm-beaten old mariner, JENNY—from JONES, into MORGAN shall pass, And we'll live on our cheese and our ale in contentment, And long through our dear native vallies will rove ; For indeed in our hearts we both love that Llangollen, And sweet Jenny Morgan, with truth will I love.
You’ll recognize these two characters: Napoleon, instantly recognizable in his costume, with his arm characteristically tucked into his waistcoat. He was a surprisingly popular figure amongst the English, who would have had recent memories of the turmoil he caused across Europe. The appeal was as a ‘Villain’ figure, alongside the various Highwaymen, Murderers, and Politicians that were made in large quantities. This particular representation of Napoleon is a scarce one, as he is depicted with a friendly Eagle – representing ‘Empire’, as-in the Roman Empire (with its Eagle symbol) has been re-created by Napoleon….
With ambitions like that, the figure of the Duke of Wellington was necessary to keep him in check at the other end of the cottage mantel piece – although this figure shows him in his political capacity, some years after ‘The War’.
Lastly, this curiously tall figure is ‘one with the lot’ – there’s dancing highlanders, a charming lion lurking beneath the red-brick bridge that forms the base, who has recently been ‘cuddling’ a deer (‘he’s just sleeping, kids!”) – and an eagle perched on top for good measure! The purpose of the whole piece is to give the impression to anyone peering through a cottage window that the house had a clock – and was therefore well off – although looking closer, you’ll notice it’s painted on!
You’ll find these listed in the ‘Fresh Stock’ below. There’s also good number of other Staffordshire figures to browse below, along with a fair few interesting pottery pieces.
Enjoy.
Remember, we post world-wide at the most reasonable rates – ask for a quote.
Fresh Stock
Here’s the latest for you!
Fresh to Moorabool are a series of scenic plates.
Dating to the earlier 19th century, they are stunning examples of quality china-painting, worthy of a ‘fine-art’ title.
The first is a ‘dessert service’ – not that it would be used for food! It is particularly flamboyant, with scenes of Paris (and one of the port of Marseilles) within flower wreaths, with panels of flowers on a green ground enhanced with raised gilt flowers…. evoking the luxury of the Royal French factory, Sevres. Clearly, this was made for someone to take a piece of France home with them – in a way, a superior souvenir! It features large hand-painted scenes to the base of each, including: The Pantheon, Versailles, The Gardens of Versailles, Palais Royal, Porte Saint-Denis, and a view of the harbour at Marseilles.
They are each titled with the identity of the view to the back, and are also all nicely marked – which is a terrific feature of Paris Porcelain of this period. The artists usually marked their products, especially those who had the better quality output. The idea seems to have been ‘advertising’ – a clear name and address stamped & fired onto the back allowed an Englishman, for example, to trace their source to the workshop – in order to buy his own souvenir of Paris!
At this period (late 18th – 19th century_ there were more ‘decorating studios’ than manufacturers of porcelain in Paris, decorating blank porcelain with their own patterns. The porcelain therefore is not necessarily the defining factor in identification of a piece. Thankfully, they made it simple for us with their marks.
This service is the product of Jean-Pierre Feuillet, the son of a pastry chef to the the Prince de Condé. He learnt to paint in Chantilly, at a school funded by the Prince. He must have really appreciated his father’s pastries, as when Jean-Pierre showed ambition to open a decorating studio in Paris, he did so under the Prince’s protection, in 1814. This establishment on the Rue de la Paix became renown for the highest quality decoration, a ‘supplier to the aristocracy’. As such, his styles were the absolute latest, featuring all the Neo-Classical lavishness of the Restoration period. Each piece is usually hand-marked ‘Feuillet’. He took on a partner, Boyer, who continued at the same address after Feuillet’s death in 1834, mantained the creation of fine quality porcelains, and proudly marked marked ‘Boyer, successor to Feuillet’.
Alongside this service is the following scenic plate with a rich ‘Empire’ gilt border.
This magnificent plate is the product of Edouard Honoré, a familiar name in the Empire period porcelains of Paris. His Uncle François was in partnership with the Dagoty brothers, and had produced some of the most stunning high quality Paris products of the earlier 19th century. In 1820 they parted, and Edouard Honoré seems to have set up his own studio & showroom on Petite Rue Neuve Saint-Gilles. His Uncle, François Honoré, had actually begun his business there in 1807, partnering with an earlier studio which he took over. When François Honoré and Dagoty parted in 1820, their studio and salesroom at 4 Boulevard Poissonière was superior to Saint-Gilles, and Edouard Honoré was established there by 1824. Uncle François remained in the background as a silent partner. This plate has the mark for this latter half of the 1820’s, with the Boulevard Poissonière address – but is interesting in that it doesn’t appear exactly in any of the reference books, being almost the mark referring the ‘Ancienne Maison Dagoty’, but leaving out that reference to the previous proprietor of the address, and being set as a straight line text rather than the curved version of the before mentioned.
(ref. de Guillebon, ‘ Paris Porcelain’ 1972 , p332 #74 for the closest variation, as mentioned)
The scene is, like the Feuillet plates mentioned above, inscribed on the back. However, there’s a rather odd problem!
The title to the back reads ‘Kelso dans le Ronburgshire’ – so we’re looking for a town called Kelso, in Ronburgshire. Sounds almost German – but a quick search reveals there is only one Kelso that is appropriate, and it is in the Scottish borderlands! And therefore, the ‘Ronburgshire’ is meant to be ‘Roxburghshire’, ie the Shire of Roxburgh, Scotland. This spelling is found in German language texts of the time, perhaps giving a clue to the origin of the scene depicted on the plate.
As with the Feuillet service, the scenes depicted were copied from books of engravings. Sometimes the original can be found – nothing definite for theses examples yet. However, a German publication would be a great place to start researching this beautiful depiction of Kelso. The bridge over the River Tweed depicted was constructed around 1800, and the towers are that of the ruined 12th century Kelso Abbey.
English scenes like this are not common in Paris products of this period – no doubt, it was also part of a magnificent large service, each plate depicting a British scene. A perfect souvenir for a homesick Scot in Paris in the 1820’s!
Visit the page for the pieces mentioned in this article by clicking on their image below.
