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.
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.
Ming barbed-rim dish, 1622-40Ming blue has a ‘wet’ characteristic, and burns black when thick An excellent example of the Ming Dynasty cobalt blue pooling into a ‘heap’ or ‘pile’, causing it to erupt through the glaze and burn black in the kiln.Jiajing period mark ‘Made during the Great Ming’
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.
Chinese Hardwood furniture, beautifully made pieces that are very useful for both collectors and decorators.
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!
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.
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.
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….
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!
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…
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.
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.
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, with their firstborn child, the Princess Royal, born November 1840. See them here >>
Staffordshire Pottery Princess Royal on a Goat c. 1865Staffordshire Figure – Queen Victoria & Child c.1855
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 >>
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.
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!
Often mis-labelled a ‘Toby Jug’, this is an early version of a comical jug that becomes popular in the latter 19th century, sometimes identified as ‘Puck’. We believe this head jug is a distinctive character, and as it belongs to the period of the French Revolution, his identity must be found in that timespan. His appearance matches that of Georges Jacques Danton (17591794), an important public figure of the late 18th century in France, and the perfect candidate for a slightly humorous head mug like this.
Contemporary French depictions of Denton give you a good idea of his appearance:
Is this Georges Jacques Danton? French Faience jug, c. 1795
Danton was President of the Committee of Public Safety, a part of the Revolutionary Government whose purpose was to protect it’s seat of power. As such, he was able to achieve dictatorial power for the committee; however, he soon found himself in trouble as the whole scheme got away from him. He be came noted for his corruption, and mocked by the general population. The infamous ‘Reign of Terror’ was fatal for him; beginning in 1793, preemptive executions of anyone suspected of being an enemy of the government took place, directed by the sinister Robespierre. Danton became a moderate, disgusted by the slaughter, and tried to calm things down. However, this very action led to his arrest and trial on April 3rd, 1794.
Hauled before the Revolutionary Tribunal with several other political moderates, he put up such a fight that it was feared he would sway the tribunal with his rhetoric. However, the decision had already been made. The acused were denied the right to have witnesses appear on their behalf, and then two days later the verdict was passed in the absence of the accused, who had been removed from the courtroom to prevent unrest among the trial’s observers. Their execution was scheduled for the same day.
Danton’s Execution, with his head fulfilling his last wish, 1794
Dragged to the guillotine with several others, he was executed.
“I leave it all in a frightful welter,” he said;
“not a man of them has an idea of government.
Robespierre will follow me; he is dragged down by me. Ah, better be a poor fisherman than meddle with the government of men!”
The reference to a poor fisherman’ was probably a reference to Saint Peter, as Danton had reconciled to Catholicism. His last words to the crowd were, “My only regret is that I am going before that rat Robespierre.”
Danton’s true last words, however, were addressed to his executioner:
“Don’t forget to show my head to the people – it’s well worth seeing” !
Danton’s Last Words
Events went as Danton foresaw. The committees presently came to quarrel with the intense opinions of Robespierre. Just three months after Danton’s execution, The Reign of Terror was ended when Robespierre was himself executed. His assent to the execution of Danton had deprived him of the single great force that might have supported him against the Revolutionary committee.
This remarkable head mug dates to this period of political upheaval. He wears the red, white & blue around his neck, in the high collared fashion of the time.
How ironic that his last words were lived out in clay, with an enterprising potter making a mug of his head, for all to see and remember the remarkable Danton, the moderate who tried, and failed to tame the Revolution.
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
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?
Bradbury: left , ‘Unknown’, right, ‘Freeth’ – and our marked piece is the link between.
‘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’s mark on the chamberstick, c. 1790
The name ‘Rosewood’ brought up all kinds of imaginative scenes in my young mind – imagine, a rose bush so large you could make furniture from its trunk! What a sight!
Reality is much simpler; Rosewood is a tropical hardwood timber, named so as the sweet smell when cut was said to resemble the scent of roses. The original timber used by the English cabinetmakers of the 18th & 19th century came from Brazil – Brazilian Rosewood, Dalbergia Nigra. This tree grows to a reasonable size, and the cabinet makers were able to use decent logs for solid furniture construction, as well as achieve wide segments of veneer by slicing the widest logs. The resulting timber is a superb dark, dense grain with lighter patches – known as ‘figuring’ – giving a great contrasting effect.
Rosewood, Dalbergia Nigra, freshly cut, from Brazil.
The D. Nigra trees were once easily accessible, but as the European demand for the timber grew, the source-trees were logged out. Another source was found for another similar ‘Rosewood’, in the same family but from south-east India: Dalbergia Latifolia. This has a more uniform & tighter appearance to the figuring in the grain.
Brazilian Rosewood – D. nigra – in a plantation, 40 years old
Many other members of the family Dalbergia were found around the globe, with the list of woods known as ‘Rosewood’ lengthening to 20 species, distributed from the Amazon, through central America & into Mexico, right across South-East Asia, India, and Madagascar. In Africa, several different species with similar appearance were also found and exploited. In China, the local species Dalbergia odorifera was always a prized wood for furniture, known as ‘Chinese Rosewood’ or Huanghuali, sometimes shortened to Huali.
Huge numbers were used for furniture by the Europeans, who prized it for the dark luxury it created. The Regency period pieces, with inlaid pearlshell cut-outs, transforms it into the equivalent of a semi-precious stone.
Mother-Of-Pearl inlaid into Rosewood, a favourite of the Regency period in England.
With Europe’s demand, supply became scarcer, and taste moved on: by the later 19th century, Rosewood becomes a rarity in furniture making. However, with the globalisation of the timber trade in the latter 20th century, particularly the insatiable appetite for exotic woods for plywood veneer, substitutes were found – and they too were logged massively. Right across South America, and South-East Asia, and India, substitute dark-grained woods were extensively harvested. With the rise of China in the 21st century, ‘Rosewood’ was in huge of demand, and so UNESCO was forced to step in due to the over-exploitation of the various species. In the 2010’s, over 300 different species labelled ‘Rosewood’ were protected by legislation, slowing down the surge, but also creating a black market for illegal logging. It is hopeful that carefully managed plantation-grown trees will mean a sustainable future for this lovely timber is possible.
Rosewood tea caddy with original interior, c.1835
How pleasing it is to look at these superb Antique pieces – from a different age, when there was a plentiful supply of this beautiful timber – and craftsmen knew how to skilfully turn it into quality items that have survived into the present.
We’re used to ‘rip-offs’, where popular brand shoes & sunglasses are copied & sold for a fraction the price. An interesting Medieval drinking mug just in at Moorabool is proof it has been going on forever!
This interesting Medieval drinking mug recently came in to stock at Moorabool . It has all the characteristics of an English Medieval piece, well-known from the archaeological excavations of Medieval Kilns in North Yorkshire & Somerset, refuse in places like London and York. There are often thousands of stoneware shards found – and the occasional complete example – and this volume is due to their extremely robust nature. Known as ‘Stoneware’, it is a very high-fired ceramic which for all intents & purposes turns to a stone-like substance in the kiln. It doesn’t decay or even stain easily, and can only be destroyed by physical means such as shattering against something harder. As the refuse heaps most broken household discards ended up on contained much softer rubbish, these pieces often appear with just the initial damage they received that caused them to be thrown away – with the broken edge still sharp. Even when a piece has been in the Thames river for 500 years, tossing in the current, it can still have good shape – although any glaze is softer, and often worn away. I spent my spare time in my London days down on the banks of the Thames, picking up these amazing shards from so long ago, and have a prized collection here in our Reference Collection at Moorabool.
German Rhenish Stoneware shards, 16th-17th century, Reference Collection of Moorabool Antiques, Geelong
Close-up of the lead glaze, note the green spots.
But there is something odd about this English piece of pottery, which nagged at me to have a second look: it actually looks more German, like the Rhinish stonewares of Raeren and Sieburg which were imported into Medieval England in vast quantities. So what makes it English?
The body is the main indicator, and secondly, the glaze that sits on it. The body is a light pinkish colour, burning brown in places. This is sometimes found in the ‘Border Wares’ of Northern Yorkshire, or the Somerset potteries to the west, and combined with a mottled yellow glaze with green spotting, it conforms to documented English Medieval types.
The decoration is perhaps a little fancier than most examples, achieved by dipping it in a tub of tinted lead-glaze, with just the top half done in the yellow, the base carefully painted in a clear glaze, which brings out the iron-rich red hue of the clay.
English Stoneware with lead glaze, 14th-15th century
The Germans didn’t utilize lead glazes in this manner, but instead developed the beautiful lustrous salt-glaze, achieved by throwing a salty water solution into a super-hot firing kiln; this salt (sodium chloride) vaporizes and reacts with the steam produced to form a new compound – hydrogen chloride – which forms a bond with any silica in the clay body of the pots. Any Iron – which causes the reddish-brown colour of the clay – is a bonus, as it acts as a ‘flux’ to speed up the process, and also gives the rich brown colour to the result. This was the method all the 15th-17th century pots imported from Germany to England were finished in, making identifying shards from excavations in England simpler to identify. In the mid 17th century, the Salt Glaze technology comes to London, and then elsewhere including Yorkshire, and it becomes a little more difficult to define origin.
Sieburg Stoneware example, 14th-15th century
Our example is therefore a Medieval ‘hybrid’. The shape is German, with a ‘thumbed’ base very much like the imported German pieces of the 14th-15th century . This was the usual method of finishing the base of the wheel-turned German stoneware mugs, and serves a function: it raises the base of the pot off the surface it sits on, meaning it is less likely to shatter the main body if placed down carelessly. The main pot was thrown on a wheel, and then a small loop of clay added to the base using the thumb & forefinger, creating a ruffled spreading foot we call ‘thumbed’.
The odd, ‘thumbed’ base on our example
While most English Medieval pottery has a simple flat base, there are examples of English Border Wares imitating this method of thumbing – but they are looking on it more as a decorative element, not as a functional structure. These pieces have had a thumb involved, but it has merely pushed in a groove multiple times around the foot, causing it to spread the clay in a pie-crust pattern, entirely from the outside. The German method pushes ‘out’, and the English method pushes ‘in’. Our example is a surprisingly accurate replica of the German ‘push-out’ idea, on an English pot.
Left: Sieburg German Stoneware, 14th-15th century Right: English, 14th-15th century
Museum of London , Kingston-type with ‘thumbed’ foot.
Searching through the literature on English Medieval Pottery, there are multiple examples of the before mentioned push-in thumbing, but finding a push-out was very difficult; eventually, I tracked down an example in the collection of the Museum of London. In Pierce & Vince ‘Surrey Whitewares’ (p72) this ‘small round drinking jug’ is described as ‘…without parallel…in excavated pottery from London’. In shape it resembles the Kingston-type small rounded forms, but differs from it in detail. It appears to have been made as a copy of 14th-century German drinking jugs …. pronounced throwing marks can be seen around the body, and the base is thumbed in a manner that recalls the suggested German prototypes’.
It’s great to find another attribution for a German source for the design, and the unparalleled classification makes it an extreme rarity.
German & Donyatt mugs, excavated in Taunton, Somersett, 14th-15th century
The Donyatt-excavated ‘thumbed’ base shard (4/43) in the site report, and the foot of our mug.
A further example is interesting, coming from the Somerset town of Donyatt. In the definitive book ‘Excavations in the Donyatt Potteries’, there is an example illustrated next to a German one, with the notes explaining they were found together in the same refuse heap,in the Somerset town of Taunton in the 1977 excavations of ‘Kennedy’s Yard’. As it is a line drawing, we cannot compare the surface detailing, but it bears a close resemblance to our example. We are familiar with Donyatt wares from the 18th-19th century, when they were prolific producers of slip-glaze & ornately decorated curios like money boxes, often inscribed & dated. Comparing the glazes to examples in our Reference Collection in Geelong shows a close similarity in materials – the clay is lower-fired in our 19th century money box examples, but contains the iron-red staining evident in the Medieval mug. The glaze is referred to in the literature as ‘Amber glaze with copper green flecking’ – copper oxide was splashed through the glaze, and is recorded in the medieval period, becoming very common later, giving the green highlights to the distinct slip glaze that developed. And under the heading ‘Thumbed bases’, it states ‘Thumbed bases, so typical a feature in medieval pottery are found in both 14th- and 16th century Donyatt jugs’. When looking at the referenced archaeological shards from the kiln sites. we find a host of the ‘push-in’ thumb decoration to the feet of vessels – but only one single ‘out-pushing’ example that would raise the vessel on a rippled base – as seen in our example, and the German products. This shard exhibits ‘patchy amber to green glaze’ – like our example- and is apparently a very scarce type of foot at Donyatt.
left & right: a pair of Dynott money boxes, slip glaze, dated 1869 – of. type made from the 17th century onward – center the English mug, showing how the clay, slip & glaze all compare favorably with Donyatt Pottery.
Our case for this being a 14th-15th century Donyatt Pottery jug/mug is strong!
Having a drink at a public house seems an impossible luxury for any Melbourne people in the present covid-crazy world – we’re hoping it will be a reality by Christmas…
Our lineup of early drinking mugs, fresh to moorabool.com (except for the far left example….)
Meanwhile, we have a great little illustration of how you would have swilled your brew 600 years ago…. and for the first time on moorabool.com, you will be able to ‘virtually’ turn the illustrations around in your hand!
Did you find the secret to viewing the above image?
These are ‘spins’, a method of presenting 360º views of items via your browser. You’ll find that you can also expand the image to cover your entire screen – or zoom in to view details close-up on any of the views. It’s great fun on a touch device such as a phone or tablet – use your finger to spin the item, then double-tap to zoom! On a computer, it’s similar but you’ll use a mouse to indicate which direction you wish to ‘spin’. Each spin takes some time to set up, but we’re gradually introducing more & more ‘spins’ for your viewing pleasure – small items are easiest, we have yet to try a bookcase !
Click the smaller image above to load that spin in the space above.
Our latest Stock Release includes these drinking vessels, 13th-16th centuries.
Having this collection of incredibly early drinking vessels is possible due to the nature of their construction: high-fired ‘stoneware’ is a clay that has been taken up to a very high temperature, over 1,000ºc. This literally turns it into a stone-like substance, and the result was a very durable object. If damaged ( the handle is the weakest part), it would survive being thrown into the rubbish heap – or in places like London and Amsterdam, into the nearest waterway. The canals of Amsterdam are a terrific source for these early pottery pieces, as is the Thames in London, constantly throwing up interesting pieces for the mudlarkers.
left: German Raeren stonewares and other imported ceramics recovered from the Pottergate fire deposit dated to 1507 (Cellar H), Norwich, excavated in the 1970’s.
The 1507 fires in Norwich destroyed a good half of the houses in the flourishing city, but the hardy stonewares were still well preserved in the rubble when excavated 470 years later.
These stoneware examples were imports from Raeren, Germany. Note the top left example – it is the original model for the rare English copy we currently have in stock. See the blog post on this Medieval English Rarity here >>
Dating these pieces is possible due to archaeological excavations, with dates of occupation layers being scientifically identified – but there is a much older and more fun way also. The Dutch artists of the 16th-18th century loved to show the lively state of the peasants, drinking and dancing in what appears to be an endless party. Inside taverns or out in the town square, the Dutch genre paintings show endless examples of people drinking from these mugs, and by dating the painting, we can date the vessels shown in almost photographical detail within them.
Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1562-1638) is one such artist, and we are excited to have a possible unsigned work by him. We purchased it because of the ceramics, which were peeping out from beneath a thick layer of old dark varnish: the image that emerged after careful conservation is remarkable, and of high quality – but unsigned. This is not unusual for Brueghel, with many of his accepted works not having a signature – or often just some small initials hidden somewhere in the scene, like a piece of paper on the wall! We’ve looked and looked, but nothing appears – so the next step is to put it before the Pieter Brueghel the Younger experts in Europe for a verdict. One point very much in its favour is that while it has a few similar elements, compared to the established Brueghel works, it is a completely fresh composition. While there are many 18th-20th century copies of his well-known works, there is no original for this one to be copied from, supporting the originality of this painting. Stay tuned for more on this one!
(There will be an in-depth analysis posted on this blog in the near future)
A Victorian favorite The Victorians loved the romance of the countryside. This was the period when the majority of people came to live in the ‘urban sprawl’ of the large cities like London, and the countryside became a distant place of idyllic beauty. Artists were constantly using this nostalgia for a flower-filled country life as their inspiration, and country cottage watercolours became best-sellers.
We have three nice works fresh in, including some colourful & well-priced works by William Affleck (1869-1943).
The very respected Birket Foster was in great demand, and the story is told of the race from the station to his studio by competing dealers when he had work to sell!
Such paintings were in great demand in the late 20th century, but have slumped since. Foster’s works have surpassed $200,000, with his larger works averaging $20-50,000. While a little sun-touched, our example is a well priced example of his work. Let the race begin…..
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Use the ‘Compare Products’ below to keep track of items of interest.
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