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April Fresh Stock: Lambeth Stoneware, Bronze bust, Georgian Engravings…

Large cast bronze Orientalist female bust, from a pair by Louis Hottot (1834-1905) known as 'Ottoman Couple",
Large cast bronze ‘Orientalist ‘Ottoman’ female bust, by Louis Hottot (1834-1905)

Welcome to our latest Stock Release.
You’ll find some special pieces, the most dramatic being a life-size bronze bust of a very exotic lady: this is a large cast bronze bust of an exotic beauty, from a pair by Louis Hottot (1834-1905) known as the ‘Ottoman Couple”. This is a dramatic 20th century version with excellent surface colouring, rather beautiful in real-life.

Doulton Lambeth Pottery
A Collection of Doulton Lambeth Pottery at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong

There’s some great Sterling Silver, a small but select collection of Doulton Lambeth Stoneware vases, and more Victorian Glass.

Lastly, there is a fine pair of 18th century circular engravings, or ‘Tondo’, with original colouring. These were published in London in 1787, engraved in London by Royal Academian Francesco Bartolozzi, after originals by his good friend & fellow Royal Academian, Giovanni Battisia Cipriani. Housed in turned wood & gesso period frames, they would make an elegant addition to someone’s wall……

Enjoy!

FRESH STOCK to MOORABOOL….

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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 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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Fresh Stock – Variety…

There’s an influx of interesting Fresh pieces to browse, released today.
We’ll have a lot more going on over the next few weeks, so keep an eye on our ’Latest’ gallery.

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Asian Special – Chinese Ceramics

Welcome to our 2022 Special Gallery of Fresh Chinese items.

We’ve always stocked a good selection of Chinese items, and at present, we have a large number of items to share.

Of particular note below are the Ming Dynasty blue & white pieces. Part of a collection we are selling, the highlight is perhaps the Jiajing period dish, 500 years old and complete with a mark. This 4-character mark misses the important part – the name of the Emperor during the period it was made – but is also found on a very similar example in the British Museum. They have linked it to an example that has the complete mark, revealing it to be made in the time of Emperor Jiajing, who reigned 1522-66.


We have some quality Chinese Hardwood furniture to offer. A pair of cabinets make excellent display cases for any collector of Asian Antiques, and are available as a single or the pair. The long low table has handy compartments beneath, and is an excellent shallow size for small spaces, such as a hallway.

Below are some lovely examples of the Tang & Ming dynasty pottery models. These items were buried as offerings, to ensure the deceased had a life of luxury in the afterlife. They are accurate models of everyday items, and allow us to vividly imagine everyday life in their time: in this respect, they indeed meet their purpose by bringing the past to life!


Monotone Chinese ceramics are beautiful in their simplicity, relying on the colour and form rather than decoration.


Blue and White porcelains have been the most popular Chinese Ceramics in Europe since the Ming Dynasty, and the same aesthetic is still popular today. The following examples are all Ming, dating from 500-


Vast amounts of Chinese Porcelain was made purely as Export Wares in China, with England, Europe, and America as the main destination. The shapes reflect this, as they are usually European rather than traditional Chinese.


Chinese Art

Works on paper – or ‘pith’, the thinly-shaved core of a fast-growing tropical plant – are beautiful, rare survivors. The larger pieces are on linen, and were intended as ‘scrolls’, to be brought out and displayed when needed. The large example with the multi-figures is a family tree, an ‘Ancestor Scroll’ set in the interior of their house.


More Chinese Items

Looking for more Chinese Art & Antiques? We have a large number of quality Chinese pieces entering stock – see them all together in this gallery.

More being catalogued to add, drop back for more!

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Father’s Day 2022

Black Forest Carved Bear
Father's Day

For Australia & New Zealand, it’s Fathers Day on the 4th September.
Time to find something unique for the ‘Father Bear‘!

101 Father’s Day Ideas

We have a huge number of potential presents – to make things a little easier, here’s a selection of pieces he may like, chosen by our expert present-giver….

Antiquities

Ancient Objects are always popular with fathers, and we have a large selection of interesting items – from Indian Arrowheads to Chinese pottery Sheep, thousands of years old!

Fossils

Really, really old! How about a Dinosaur Tooth? These are our oldest items – and also some of the cheapest!

Maps

Travel the world…. perfect for an office or study wall.

Tankards

A pint or two…. these tankards are definitely on-theme, and some would even be usable! We’d advise the ceramic examples only as ‘usable’, as the older pewter examples do contain a certain amount of lead…

Bargains!

Just after an extra little something? Here’s a selection ‘under $100’. We can also help with extra-low postage, send us a message before you pay, and let us be exact on the cost.

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Fresh Stock! Blue + White, Staffordshire, Chinese….

Victorian Staffordshire Figures

Welcome to our June 20th Fresh Stock.
Today, there’s a fine selection to browse, mostly pottery but with a few pieces of porcelain, and some Asian Antiques.

Blue & White

There’s a terrific group of printed English earthenware – at first, we thought it was a single service, the shapes and the patterns are so similar! One part is Ridgway’s ‘India Temple’ pattern, circa 1820. The other is Minton earthenware, and printed in blue with their ‘Chinese Marine’ pattern.

A selection of Ridgway’s ‘India Temple’ and Minton’s ‘Chinese Marine’, 1820’s & 30’s, mixed together & very similar in moulding & pattern.

Earlier blue + white includes some interesting creamware plates, maker unknown, and some Liverpool ‘Pearlware’ plates. They make an interesting contrast: the Creamware lives up to its name, with the body having a distinct yellow tinge: the Pearlware, on the other hand, has had cobalt blue added to the lead glaze, which has the optical effect of making a pale colour look whiter. Where it pools along the footrim, there is a distinct blue tone, the required feature for classification as ‘Pearlware’.

Creamwares (top) and pearlwares (bottom) – favorite bodies for the Chinoiserie products in England in the latter 18th century.

Staffordshire Figures

We have some fresh Staffordshire to share with you, just before Paul gives his presentation on the subject at Valentine’s, Bendigo. Queen Victoria is very well represented – as a mother – and there’s a number of earlier 19th century figures as well.

Victoria & Albert Staffordshire Figures
Victoria & Albert, with their firstborn child, the Princess Royal, born November 1840.
See them here >>
Staffordshire Pottery Princess Royal on a Goat c. 1865
Staffordshire Pottery Princess Royal on a Goat c. 1865
Staffordshire Figure - Queen Victoria & Child c.1855
Staffordshire Figure – Queen Victoria & Child c.1855
Dudson Staffordshire CHildren Riding Goats 1845

What’s the story of the goats?

When Queen Victoria ascended the British throne in 1837, she received a fine pair of Tibetan goats as a present from the Shah of Persia. From these, a ‘Royal Goatherd’ was bred at Windsor. By the time the children were born, the goats were used to tow a miniature carriage just big enough for them to drive – and this caught the public’s imagination. These figures of children riding goats were obviously a talking point about the young royals and their childhood at Windsor. 

This pair featuring in today’s Fresh Stock are fun – but different to the single example above in one important detail: they only have a single feather in their cap. The ‘Princess Royal’ above is identified by the three feathers in her hat, as in the ‘Prince of Wales’ symbol of three feathers.

Having single feathers may indicate thee are just what they appear to be – children riding goats! See this pair here >>

  • Early Staffordshire Figure Charity Children
  • Early English Staffordshire Pottery Figure Fire
  • Early Staffordshire Figure Hope & Anchor
  • Early Staffordshire figure - child with parrot c.1800
  • Staffordshire Figure - Piping shepherd with sheep
  • Early Staffordhsire figure - cupid as a pastry seller - c.1810

Asian Ceramics

There are some splendid fresh pieces of Chinese porcelain, mostly the ‘Nonya’ or Straights Chinese type – plus some other Asian items. There’s a superb collection of Ming and Kanxi just being prepared, expect it in the next few ‘Fresh Stock’ posts.

Botanical Illustrations

There’s a Fresh-to-stock group of superbly detailed watercolours, botanical studies for an unknown book. They would look wonderful framed & up on a wall as a group – ask for a price for the lot!

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Happy 2022!

Another year has turned over- we would like to thank you for the support in 2021, and in 2022 we have so much more to enjoy. It’s an exciting time for Moorabool, with a number of projects all coming together – including a brand-new website.

We paused this over Christmas so it would not disrupt the necessary online shopping – but it’s full steam ahead now. You’ll start to notice some differences over the next little while.

Have you seen our display stands? We have a range of nice hand-made Chinese stands, all natural wood.

There’s also a scattering of Fresh items in the ‘Latest’ page, take a look here.

Fox head stirrup cup, early 19th century
Fox head stirrup cup, early 19th century

Have have a Safe & Prosperous New Year!

from Paul & Glenys Rosenberg,

Mathew Bugg

Moorabool Antiques, January 1st 2022

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A Scottish Lord’s stunning coffee pot & a Missing Mark found – OSP discoveries

This remarkable piece of design is Old Sheffield Plate- the laboriously-constructed technique used before silver plating was invented.

Roberts, Cadman & Co Old Sheffield Plate coffee pot c.1805
Roberts, Cadman & Co Old Sheffield Plate coffee pot c.1805


The simple form and lack of fussy details is a style more usually associated with the Art Deco period a century later- but here it is, in the early 19th century.
This is the essence of what Art Deco later copied to great effect.
Chronologically, in the evolution of the coffee pot, if you look at the earlier 18th century pieces and then the mid-19th century examples that came later, you can see what a special example this is, with its simple elegance.

There’s a crest on the side of the coffee pot – and it’s alway fun to find the original owner. Who were they? What did they do? and where did they use this remarkable piece?

The ‘Fetterlock’ crest.
The Grierson’s crest in ‘Fairburn’s Crests’ (1911 edition)

The curious stirup-like symbol has the motto “HOC SECURIOR” , meaning ‘safer by this’. It is actually a middle-ages ‘Fetterlock’, used to lock a horse against a post or tree. Several families were awarded the use of this in their heraldic crests, but only one conforms to the motto – the Griersons of Dumfriesshire. A quick browse through ‘Fairburn’s Crests ‘ confirms this to be the crest of the Grierson Clan of Scotland.

They have a long & proud part to play in Scottish history, closely associated with the powerful Douglas clan. They supported James IV, and suffered the same fate as him at the battle of Flodden in 1513. They were a ‘Jacobite’ clan: 200 years later, they supported James VI of Scotland, receiving a knightship in 1608. After the accession of James VII of Scotland (James II of England), the current clan leader, Robert Grierson, was made the Baronet of Lag. During the ‘Glorious Revolution’, they opposed the Prodestant William & Mary’s claim on the throne.

Roberts Cadman & Co ‘beehive’ version, 1805, note the same handle, base & spout, but with a ‘fruit’ knop and ribbed body.

When we examine this colourful history of the Grierson clan, we can narrow down the owner of this elegant coffee pot: Sir Robert Grierson, 5th Baronet of Lag, 1733- 1839. In his 106 years he saw a lot of changes – and after his initial military service, drew his entitled government ‘half-pay’ for the next 76 years!

His 1839 obituary in The Times is fascinating, declaring he was was “…fond of excercise in the open air, excelled in all sporting and athletic arts, and perhaps trod the moors consecutively for a longer period than any other man of rank and fortune that ever existed. His constitution was remarkably sound and vigorous; to sickness he was a stranger; never was confined to bed a single day, and only a few hours preceding his death talked of taking his usual carriage drive.”

He “…mingled little in public business, took no prominnent share in politics, avoided revelry and ostentation, managed with discretion the affairs of his estate, was of easy access, and lived beloved and respected by all, near or at a distance, whether of his own or inferior rank, down to the humblest of his tradesmen and servants…”.

So this very simple no-frills form of coffee pot was the perfect choice to be used by this no-frills Scottish country gentleman, on those chilly mornings in the impressive stone towerhouse he inhabited…… Rockhall, a 16th century tower house near Dumfries, which is now a superb Bed & Breakfast!

Rockhall, home of Sir Robert Grierson of Lag in 1805

It’s interesting to see the shape illustrated in the definitive book on Old Sheffield Plate by Bradbury, where a series of ridges cause it to become a ‘beehive’. Our example is a more refined version, and we can positively attribute it to the same firm, Roberts, Cadman & Co of Sheffield.

The group of coffee pots in today’s ‘Fresh Stock’ illustrate the change in fashion towards the end of the 18th century. Anyone familiar with Sterling Silver versions will see it’s exactly the same evolution; the Rococo angular forms giving way to the streamlined Classical forms at the turn of the 18th century. The 1805 Roberts Cadman & Co example is surely the most elegant design to appear – if we continued into the 19th century, before long the Regency and Victorian periods re-visited elaborate scrollwork and cumbersome decoration, and it isn’t until the end of the century that these pure forms are re-visited.

Another interesting Old Sheffield Plate example to be offered in this ‘Fresh Stock’ is a wine coaster, pierced with undulating panels in the Neo-Classical ‘Adams’ style. It has a most interesting hallmark, very much in the manner of a Sterling Silver hallmark, but lacking the lion of Sterling Standard. A look through Bradbury shows up part of the mark in his ‘Unknown Marks’ section – but our mark has an extra clue: the initials of the maker, ‘HF’, and a ‘G’. When we look back a few pages, we find this combination of marks attributed to H. Freeth of Upper Priory, Sheffield, a ‘Plater’. So this fascinating piece is ‘documentary’, as it ties together the unknown maker with a known maker. Bradbury published his book in 1912, and it was re-printed as the most reliable source on the subject in 1968; time for another update?

‘Telescopic’ Chamberstick

The ‘chambersticks’ are interesting. The Chamberstick was a candle holder with a drip-pan and attached snuffer, suitable for taking to your chamber from the parlour when you retired for the night. One example we have bears a makers mark – not common – which shows it to be the work of the esteemed Mathew Boulton himself, the industrialist genius responsible for the massive expansion of Sheffield in the later 18th century and instigator of the whole Sheffield Plate industry.

The other is a rare ‘telescopic’ version, which allowed you to raise the candle up higher when it burnt down.

Mathew Boulton’s mark on the chamberstick, c. 1790
Mathew Boulton chamber stick, c. 1790
Mathew Boulton’s mark on the chamberstick, c. 1790