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Fresh to Moorabool – Tudor & Georgian Silver, English Enamels, Fine Furniture + More!

18th Century English Enamel Boxes @ Moorabool Antiques, Geelong

Welcome to our latest ‘Fresh Stock’ release. There’s a fine group from across the wide variety we stock, including more Sterling Silver, some terrific glass, useful furniture, and more. Featured also is a collection of Georgian Enamels.

Tudor Silver!

A fascinating piece of Sterling Silver has a story to tell.

1809 Silver Label with Mary Tudor & Phillip of Spain sixpence, dated 1554
1809 Silver Label with Mary Tudor & Phillip of Spain sixpence, dated 1554

It’s Scottish Sterling Silver from the Georgian era, made in Edinburgh in 1809. That alone makes it an item of interest.
However, the base of the bowl is a flat disk: coin-like, in fact….. and when you look closely, the heads of a King & Queen are visible, along with the date ‘1554’. This is a ‘Coin Spoon’. Incorporating coins as bowls in spoons is common in the later 19th century, when they often used obsolete Georgian currency. The silver of the coin, of course, is literally ‘Sterling’ – guaranteed by the Crown to be consistently 92.5%, or .925 parts silver. This meant the entire creation could be assayed as ‘Sterling’ correctly.

Phillip of Spain & Mary Tudor, shortly after their wedding in 1554.
source: Wikipedia, original in Bedford Collection, Woburn Abbey

Any coin collector must by now be recoiling in horror! This is a rare coin, a commemorative for the marriage of Mary Tudor to Phillip II of Spain.
This is the Mary known to us as ‘Bloody Mary’….. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and strongly Catholic. When her young half-brother, King Edward VI, died aged 15 in 1553, and the removal of the inconvenient Lady Jane Grey from the throne, she ascended the throne as Mary I. The marriage to Phillip II of Spain – her cousin – was her attempt to secure the throne for the Catholic cause; unfortunately the crisis which her father had created by breaking away from the Catholic world meant this was no simple task. Ruling with an iron fist, she had religious opponents killed. Her reign was short, lasting just 4 years until her death in 1558. Waiting patiently in the wings was the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth I, whose long reign was to lay the foundations for the mighty British Empire that followed in the next few centuries.

In good condition, one might bring over £2,000 today; this example….. probably not!

Georgian Enamels

We have a fine group of these small treasures – the rarest being a ‘cameo’ decorated example, circa 1795. This is directly imitating the Wedgwood jasperware examples of the period, and is the only example of this type we have seen.

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Fresh to Stock – Georgian Silver & Furniture, Artworks, plus more…

Welcome to another Fresh Stock release at Moorabool.com

There’s some splendid Georgian items fresh to stock at Moorabool. While you will see a lot released already – there’s more to come over the next week. Check back regularly!

Georgian Furniture, Ceramics & Glass in Geelong

You’ll notice a new ‘Gallery’ link has been added to the home page – the Georgian Gallery, as seen to the right. This will give you quick access to Furniture, Glass, Silver & Ceramics from the Georgian period.


A collection of Georgian Shell pattern Sterling Silver is exceptional in quality & weight, fine examples of the best tableware money could buy in the early 19th century.

Georgian Sterling Silver, 1809
Georgian Sterling Silver, London 1809
Georgian Silver Fiddle Shell Spoons at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong
Georgian Silver Spoons, London 1809

Portrait Miniatures

Samuel-Betts-Miniature-Artist's Signature Piece
Samuel-Betts-Miniature-Artist’s Signature Piece at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong

We have a fascinating group of Portrait Miniatures, including a new discovery – a ‘Signature Piece’ of an artist who is known to have produced oil miniatures, but has not previously been identified.

While we don’t know the sitter, we have the name of the artist – Mr Betts – and the place – Shipston-on-Stour – and the date, 1847. The literature only records paper-cut profiles, and the miniaturist scholar McKechnie wrote in 1978 “…..Mr Betts ‘engages in every instance to give an acknowledged beautifully Coloured Miniature Profile, highly finished for 5s.’ No examples are known to me.”

More recently, on the fantastic online resource for Portraits fans, http://www.profilesofthepast.org.uk, it states “With so few works to compare, assessing Betts’ stylistic attributes can only be tentative”. This is because no examples of his oil-miniature work were known – until now!

English Transfer Printed Pottery

There’s a fine selection of English Transfer Printed Pottery from the mid-19th century, including some examples apparently not previously identified in the literature.

More Fresh Stock

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The mysterious Mr Betts – a miniature artist ‘signature piece’ discovered.

Samuel-Betts-Miniature-Artist's Signature Piece
Samuel Betts Artist oil miniature 1847
Samuel Betts Artist oil miniature 1847 at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong

The miniature portrait-painter of the 18th & 19th centuries was the equivalent of the portrait photographer today. His skills provided a memory of a person by re-creating their likeness – the personalities that smile or scowl from their frames to this day are testimonial to their skills.

There were a large number of them in the Georgian & Victorian eras, some famous and therefore expensive, others unknown and inexpensive. It seems a large number were not signed on the front: however, just occasionally there is an inscription on the back of the work.

A piece purchased recently here in Geelong was just an anonymous gent of the earlier 19th century – until we took the backing off. A large inscription in cursive pinwork met our eye, reading:

Samuel-Betts-Miniature-Artist's Signature Piece at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong
Samuel Betts portrait miniature – the inscription on this Artist’s ‘Signature Piece’ at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong

“This likeness taken
by Mr Betts Artist
of Shipston-on-Stour
aug 1847
Died Oct 8th 1856
Aged 97 years”

There’s a portion missing – very faintly visible is the trace of an initial and a surname, which unfortunately seems to have been written on the copper fastenings and has not survived. However, it’s the artist in this case that is extremely interesting.

ProfilesOfThePast
ProfilesOfThePast.org.uk

There’s a go-to source for all who love portrait miniatures: the massive online resource of ‘profilesofthepast.org.uk‘. This is a superb study site funded by the UK’s ‘National Lottery Heritage Fund’, and for a decade has been accumulating work on miniature artists. They build on the various works on the subject published in the 20th century – but with the wonder of the internet, are able to update further discoveries / research, with the active encouragement for visitors to upload their own miniatures.

I’ve gone ahead and uploaded this example, as it can now stand as a ‘signature piece’ – meaning other unidentified portrait miniatures could potentially be linked to the mysterious Mr Samuel Betts by comparing them to this piece.

We’re always amazed at what turns up in Geelong!

NOTE: THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD

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Fresh Stock: Early Oak, Pewter, & some Fine Porcelain

Early Oak

Another week and we have a lovely range of fresh stock ready of your viewing pleasure.
It’s dominated by Early pieces – 17th & 18th century Oak Furniture, Pewter, Glass & Ceramics.

English Oak refectory table, 17th century
English Oak refectory table, 17th century
17th century Oak Dresser
17th century Oak Dresser
  • Dutch Onion Bottle
  • English Oak refectory table, 17th century
  • Oak Gateleg Table
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Fresh Stock – Asian Antiques

Asian Antiques at Moorabool Antiques

In this week’s Fresh Stock we have a great variety of Asian items, including Chinese, Japanese and Burmese – metalwares, pottery, ceramics, and several choice pieces of Cloisonné – quite hard to discern the origin sometimes, but we have both Chinese and Japanese for you to enjoy.

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Fresh Stock -3rd March

Webb Aesthetic gilt crane detail from a Vase at Moorabool Antiques

This week we have a lovely variety of Victorian Class & Ceramics.

Webb Butterfly on a vase at MOORABOOL ANTIQUES
A Webb Butterfly…

The stunning Aesthetic ivory-toned vase is a fine example of the ‘Japanesque’ taste that was the height of fashion in the 1870’s, and although unmarked, the quality leads us to attribute it to Webb. A butterfly to the back supports this – it was a favourite detail by their artists.


The Moore Brothers is a dramatic example, bearing an interesting variation of the mark that dates it to the first decade of production.

Among the boxes is a work-box with a large pin cushion to the lid. We have catalogued it as ‘Colonial’, as it is a British – type box – but the woods are remarkable – and unidentified – suggesting it may be from India, Sri Lanka, or somewhere similar.

In other news…. the NEW WEBSITE is almost ready – still a few kinks to iron out, but at last, it’s coming together and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Enjoy!

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Fresh Stock – Plates, plates and more plates!

For our last week in February we have plates, plates and more plates!

Plus a few other pieces thrown in for variety.

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Fresh Stock February 2023

It’s been awhile, but we’re still here working hard! Our new look and layout website is still under construction and coming soon.

But in the mean time we have a great selection on fresh items added to our website.

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Selection of Fresh Stock just released.

Welcome to another ‘Fresh Stock’ release from Moorabool.

There’s a large number of pieces being posted onto Moorabool.com, with some super rare pieces appearing in these last weeks of 2022.

Prices are ‘tempting’….. with plenty under $50, and under $100.

Here’s a selection of 18th & 19th century ‘FRESH’ pieces.

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Fresh Stock – Christmas is nigh!

Moorabool's Christmas, 2022

With Christmas approaching fast, Moorabool is ready to help with Presents. On this website, you’ll find over 10,000 interesting items to consider….


We have been providing one-off gifts for over 60 years!

From a totally ‘useless’ but amazing Dinosaur Tooth, 99 million years old and costing just $45

.

…to a set of 4 hard-to-find Champagne Flutes, hand-cut quality ‘crystal’ from around 1900, with a spare!

Fruit Lithograph Prints 1851

8 for $280!

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!

Gift Vouchers

If you know your Gift Recipient likes our stock, but are unsure of what to choose…. let them choose.
We offer Gift Vouchers in $100 and $200 amounts.

Simply use the button below to purchase at any time. We will then email you the voucher for you to pass on or print.
Custom amounts are also possible, email us for details.

FRESH to STOCK items