It’s always rewarding to discover something that has not been identified before. In the British Ceramics world, this is possible even in Australia….
This curious figure turned up in Melbourne recently, and is obviously a depiction of Dr Syntax, a creation of the British writer William Combe which led to a series of books describing his bumbling catastrophical travels. They were illustrated by the contemporary illustrator Rowlandson, beginning in 1812 with ‘The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque’. From the illustrations in these books, the Derby factory created a series of humorous small-scale figures. Moorabool had one example a few years ago.
left: the figure in front of an illustration from an 1820’s Dr Syntax publication . –> see more
These are well documented by the late Bradbury in his definitive work ‘Derby Figures’. The problem is, some figures had not been recorded in Britain, and these are referred to in the publication as ‘Unknown to the Author’.
We’ve found two of these ‘Unknown’ figures in the past in Australia: could this be the third?
A look through the list finds items G11-24 are all Dr Syntax, and three are listed as ‘unknown to author’. Of these the only likely candidate is No. 13: ‘Dr Syntax Crossing a Lake’.
Looking at our figure, we believe it is a perfect candidate for the missing No. 13, as he steps off a rocky shore into a lake – apparently too distracted by the picturesque surroundings to notice!
What a month….. we’re sorry to have been ‘away’ for the past 6 weeks, and no doubt the ‘C’-crisis is a glaringly obvious reason, as the world is paralysed by the hidden menace of the virus pandemic.
But the real reason is the other ‘C’: Cancer. John Rosenberg, founder of the firm back in the 1950’s, was taken to Hospital quite unwell in late March, and cancer was found. He has undergone major surgery – the result is that the doctors were satisfied they got it all. This is a great relief to us all.
Needless to say, this ensured our attention was no longer on our ‘Fresh Stock’ updates – and the timing with the required shop closure due to covid-19 was remarkable. John is now back home and is recovering well – but is of course itching to get back to the shop!
John recovering back at home this week.
We have just instigated our ‘Recovery’ plan, representing both our post-Covid and John’s new reality, both of which require ‘social distancing’….. so we now have an Appointments booking service on our website. When you are thinking of visiting Moorabool, simply pop into our web page and with a few clicks you can find a time, weekdays 10-4, plus a few hours on a Saturday. This will allow us to comply with the strict requirements for businesses to stay social-distancing aware. John also has his own appointment page, with a Wednesday afternoon time-slot for anyone who would like to catch up. He’ll be up in the Lorraine Rosenberg Reference Library, a great place to experience his passion for ceramics…. so many tales to tell!
Our ‘Fresh Stock Tuesdays’ were constant weekly tasks for the past 6 years…. and while we are most certainly not ceasing the release of fresh stock, it’s time for a change to this method. We will shortly have ‘Something Fresh’ to share….
A young John Rosenberg, back in the 1950’s when he joined the Dealers Association.
We were of course heading into our 2020 Fair time, to open May 1st in the Malvern Town Hall. This is postponed until the same time next year, but was to be a special occasion for Moorabool: a young John Rosenberg joined the Victorian Antique Dealers Association (now the AAADA) in 1958, the year they held their first Fair in the Malvern Town Hall. It had been born the previous year, and young John was asked to join by a local ‘founding member’. He was able to exhibit in the 1959 Malvern Fair for the first time – and continued to do so for the next 59 years straight! 2019 would have been the 60th Melbourne Dealers Fair Moorabool had exhibited in, but was cancelled. This year, 2020, was then to be the 60th….. now we look forward to making 2021 that milestone!
The late Lorraine Rosenberg, pictured at the Dealers Fair in the Malvern Town Hall, some time in the 1960’s.
We had great plans…. our stand was going to ‘pop’, with a unique design celebrating 60 years, and some stunning Fresh pieces sourced just for the occasion. Instead, these will be released as part of our ‘SOMETHING FRESH’ over the next few months.
We hope you’re all keeping well, and that our website has been a source of consolation in these peculiar times….
Best wishes & stay safe, from Paul Rosenberg, John Rosenberg, & all @ Moorabool…. …. still very much in business !
We’ll leave you with a ‘Fresh’ photo- this is a wonderfully wild ‘ShiShi’ , the Japanese version of the the Chinese Buddhist lion-dog, or ‘Foo’ dog. He’s a censor, his head lifting off to take the incense – with the smoke coming out his mouth, nostrils, ears, and between the spines down his back! Meiji period, earlier 19th century. Coming to Moorabool stock shortly!
A Japanese porcelain ‘ShiShi’ censor, Meiji period, earlier 19th century – coming soon!
Amongst the early English Oak in this week’s ‘Premium’ furniture release are some ‘Bible Boxes’. These are simple products, the side planks merely overlapping and secured with a peg or nail- no fancy dovetail joins. As their name suggests, they were the perfect place to keep your large leather-clad Bible safe from being destroyed by rodents…. but also useful for anything else that might need storing, being kept safe by a basic lock & key from larger pests!
They acted as a bit of a hold-all, a way of instantly cleaning up by opening the flap & stashing items out of sight.
You could use them for your leather gloves, the linen & lace, deeds & letters – written on animal-skin velum – the every-day clutter of life, and all very tasty to rodents….
If we were to bring the concept into the modern age, the every-day life clutter I struggle with would be: iphone, ipad, various chargers for devices, gadgets, the manuals for the gadgets… the 21st clutter of life which always looks unsightly on display. We have a 17th century solution to a 21st century problem!
One particularly nice example just in is the Walnut one with Scotch thistle carving….. in itself an unusual design which must have had a significance to the original owner (usual designs are scrolls, diamonds, or foliage). Inside is a visual delight with a historical twist.
Early 19th century woodblock printed wallpaper offcuts used as lining – rare survivors!
The interiors were lined with woodblock printed paper sheets in the 17th century, as shown by extremely rare survivors. This would have become worn and tatty, and been refreshed, which is what has happened to our example – but the paper used is most fascinating, and allows us to date this refreshing to the mid 1830’s – most probably 1832!
The sides have a series of colourful wallpaper scraps pasted on – remarkable patterns which are probably rare survivors of the period, late Georgian designs. In the base is the fascinating piece of English history – a poster printed for the ‘TAUNTON Reform Festival’ , THE GRAND PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT TO BE GIVEN AT TAUNTON on WEDNESDAY the 18th JULY 1832′.
What follows is the ‘Order of Procession’ , grouped by their trades – and what a fascinating list of long forgotten skills it is.
The Tailors
The Gardners, Agriculturists, Shepherd & Shepherdess
The Cordwainers
The Maltsters and Brewers
The Stonemasons, Bricklayers, Tilers and Plasterers
The Blacksmiths
The Whitesmiths, and Tinmen
The Sawyers
The Carpenters and Joiners
The Cabinet Makers
The Painters, Glaziers and Plumbers
(at the end)The Basket Makers and Weavers…. and so on..;.
I’m not sure what a ‘Throwster’ was – and the ‘Whitesmith’ had me puzzled, but being combined with the Tinmen gave the answer – a Whitesmith worked with metals and a file, finishing off items that other metalmen made… and assumably was usually covered in a fine layer of his whitish filings…
Taunton was a mill town, full of wool & silk mills. The Reform Society was a ‘grass roots’ organisation of the working classes, hence the pride in their trades demonstrated in this document. They sought for a chance of better treatment from the Government of the time, asking for such things as regulated working hours and welfare for those in need. Through peaceful rallies and organised marches such as the one outlined to take place here, they were able to show a strong and pressing voice for ‘Reform’ – and of course the occasional strike and riot helped as well. The year after this procession for example, the 1833 ‘Factory Act’ was passed – intended for the textile factories at first, this meant:
No children under 9 to be employed
just 48 hours for those aged 9 to 13, and only 12 hours a day
Children under 13 to receive 2 hours schooling each day
A small step towards a complete change in society, which soon led to such modern concepts as health & safety, and a gradual reduction in the use of child labour…. 60 years later, in 1891 the minimum age for working in a factory was raised to…. 11! I’m going to keep this fact in store for next time my children complain about doing their household chores….
Isn’t it amazing the discussions a simple item like a ‘Bible Box’ can result in!
‘Alabaster’ has always been the term used by us Antique dealers to describe any translucent, whitish stone…. but have we been mis-labeling it? Sometimes, different industries have different terms for the same thing; I remember arguing with a floor-tile salesman, who insisted that with tiles, ‘ceramic’ was not the same as ‘porcelain’, something I still cannot get my head around, as porcelain is surely a variety of ceramic! It seems we have the same issue with ‘Alabaster’. The term is used by geologists to describe just one type of mineral – Gypsum. This is a soft material, ie you can scratch it with your fingernail – great for quickly carving. You may well be surrounded by it right now, as it is the main ingredient in plasterboard walls! Antique dealers (and archaeologists) are a little more liberal in our allocation of the definition – we include Calcite in ‘Alabaster’. This is a much harder material – sometimes called ‘Onyx-marble’, a further confusion as Onyx is a completely different mineral! Generally, if it is a fine whitish opaque stone – that lets the light through – we call it ‘Alabaster’.
Both of these ‘Alabasters’ (Calcite and Gypsum) have the same basis: the element Calcium, which has often come from the shells of dead marine organisms. You’ll also find it forming where ground-water pools – or where it drips in caves, forming stalagmites / stalactites.
And of course, add a little pressure & heat, and you have Marble. This much tougher Calcium-based rock is the most familiar to us, being the most luxurious building material available since ancient times.
This brings us to today’s story; the Indian ‘Alabasters’. These are whitish carved stone items from India.
The 17th century Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is perhaps the most fabulous example of the Indian stonework – although the craftsmen who worked on it were brought in from all over Asia, and it owes a lot to the Persian – Moghal influence – but with a good infusion of Indian Hindu elements. The petra-dura panels of decoration is particularly stunning, with semiprecious stones sourced from as far as China (Crystal) Tibet (Turquoise) and Afghanistan (Lapis). It was constructed to be ‘the most beautiful tomb in the world’ for the wife of the Moghal emperor Shah Jahan, and he was himself buried there on his death in 1666. A modern estimate for the cost at the time would translate to $1.2 billion Australian Dollars! By the 19th century, it was in a state of disrepair – and during the British occupation and the subsequent 1857 rebellion, panels of inlaid work were prised out by British soldiers…
In the late 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon embarked on a restoration project of the monument, and it rapidly became a tourist attraction on its completion in 1908. Nearby towns who hosted the visitors discovered a demand for ‘souvenirs’ – and the British restoration effort had no doubt attracted a good core of cunning craftsmen, who were able to create lovely small souvenirs for the visitors. They’re hard to date accurately, as they were probably made for a long period of time – so a piece with a date is always helpful. This example has one such inscription to the back:
“Given to my Mother by Lady Kimble, 1914” – not long after the completion of restoration of the Taj Mahal in 1908.
But are they Alabaster? We have to say no, not in the official definition of the word; they are the same material as the Taj Mahal, and therefore a fine white marble which is translucent when cut thin…. and because of that, they are lovely objects worthy of the semiprecious stone title ‘Alabaster’!
So they are almost alabaster, but have been left to cook a little longer!
Us Rosenbergs always joked about having Scandinavian Royal blood – my Grandfather came from Sweden, and in the heart of Copenhagen there’s ‘Rosenborg Castle’, full of wonderful treasures such as the Crown Jewels and lots of Meissen porcelain. On visiting a few years ago, my father John enquired if family members got free entry; no humour was detected in reply!
Perhaps the closest we will get was found in Geelong recently, a small silver case of Swedish silver, with a series of Swedish inscriptions that pinpoint it to the Swedish royal family!
The engraved clues begin with a 5-pointed coronet crown, an arm with sword beneath, then the date 10/8/1941, with an the inscription beneath the arms reading “fran syrelse kamrater i Usala lans Jaktvardsforening” – roughly ‘From the Comrades of the Upsala Hunting Guard Association’.
The title ‘Count of Wisborg’ is an interesting one. Wisborg (or Visborg) is a town on Gotland, off the coast of Sweden. In 1892 , Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Gotland and second in line to the Swedish throne, married against the wishes of the King – a shocking thing in the European Royal Circles of the period. He lost his claim to the throne, and all other titles – but was given the title ‘Count of Wisborg’, created just for him by his uncle Adolfe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Since this first awarding, it has been awarded three other times, all to the male-line descendants of Princes of Sweden who had married without permission from the King.
Prince Oscar Bernadotte 1859-1953
Prince Oscar’s marriage in 1888 caused shock in the Royal family, and a document was drawn up to ensure the remaining 3 princes didn’t follow suite – the comment was the King had lost one son and didn’t want to ‘lose’ any more…. this had the opposite effect on the population, who were quite taken by the prince who gave up everything for love. He actually headed over to England to be married, and tied the knot in a church in Bournemouth!
His wife Ebba was of noble birth – and had been a Lady-in-waiting to the Crown Princess, Victoria – but was just not titled enough to marry the second-in-line to the throne. Fortunately, Oscar had the full support of his mother, and on their wedding day, with his mother present, they were given the title of ‘Prince and Princess Bernadotte’. This comes down through the subsequent generations as their family name. Four years later, in the court of Luxembourg, they received the title ‘Count and Countess of Wisborg’.
Oscar & Ebba, Prince & Princess Bernadotte.
They lived a quiet life in Stockholm, away from the court, taking great interest in improving the lot of the poor. Both were religious and involved in numerous charity organisations. Oscar had served in the Navy, attaining the rank of Vice Admiral – achieving a voyage around the world and several trips to America. Later, he was involved in the YMCA of Sweden, and chaired the ‘Friends of Mission to the Laps’ for several years. They had five children, and enjoyed holidaying in summer on the island of Gotland: this was also the place their ‘countship’ originated, Wisby being the name of a ruined fortress nearby. Here, they stayed at ‘Villa Fridhem’, an interesting swiss-style building erected in 1860-61 for Princess Eugenie. She left it to Oscar in 1889, and in 1927 he gave it to the YMCA.
Back to our silver box; the inscription states it was dedicated in Upsala – which we take as being present day Uppsala, not far north of Stockholm. What the Upsala Hunting Guard Association was, I could not find out – or what they were hunting – but he was a military man, and this was in the middle of World War Two.
Sweden in 1941 was of course neutral; they had built up their own military as they nervously eyed-off both Russia and Germany heading towards war in the Baltic, and when hostilities inevitably broke out, managed to keep both at arms length. August 1941 was a particularly concerning time, as Germany had just invaded Russia with great success – using iron ore purchased from Sweden to build up their military – and in turn causing the union of the ‘Allies’ of England, USA and Russia, in the fight against Germany. Sweden allowed German troop trains through their country on their way to the front with Russia in Finland. Fast-forward a few years and Sweden was allowing the Allies to send troops and supplies through their territory to beat Germany into submission; ‘neutrality’ with careful concessions got them through the war.
Somewhere in the middle of this, the 82-year old Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, had an event in Upsala, along with 5 companions; as a souvenir, they had silver cases with everyone’s signatures carefully inscribed on them. As the Count’s is the first on the list, could we say this was his?
The inscriptions are beautifully done, no doubt from a calling-card bearing the originals. The skill of the engraver is very evident, and brings to mind the ease at which this person could have forged such signatures. This opens up a world of possibilities, when we consider the other aspect of Sweden’s neutrality; Spycraft! As the neutral territory between Germany and Allied countries, all sorts of interactions took place via Sweden – leading to a need for forged ‘official’ documents, useful in crossing borders. An engraver of skill such as the person who did these signatures would have been well placed and in demand…
I wonder who this interesting piece of Swedish silver was presented to… and how did it make its way to Australia? perhaps like Grandpa Rosenberg, it came with the influx of people looking for a new life in this new land of promise…
Yes, these pieces are so radioactive they glow! With the help of a ‘black light’ Ultraviolet torch, these innocent yellow pieces with the whitish ‘Vaseline’ finish really put on a show. But no need to be alarmed – the radiation they emit is a tiny fraction of a percent of our everyday experience, where the sky, the ground, and the items we interact with emit some degree of radiation. It’s just that these ‘Uranium Glass’ pieces are so pretty!
Antique Uranium Glass, normal light & UV light
As a result, they’re well collected.
Originally, Uranium was a curious mineral, often a bi-product of metal mining and with no real use. Glass blowers found it gave a tint to glass, inventing a use for it – of course, the fluorescent nature under UV light was still hidden until this modern age.
Vase/Candlestick, american 20thC.
There’s an ancient Roman instance of Uranium in glass, with some mosaic tiles in a Bay of Naples Villa having 1% Uranium Oxide. During the Middle Ages, it appears in German glass as a tinting agent, and continued up into the Victorian era, particularly in the Bohemian works of Franz Xaver Riedel, who named his product after his daughter Anna – hence ‘Annagrün’ (Anna yellow-green) and ‘Annagelb’ (Anna yellow)! This pioneering commercial effort lasted 1830-48, by which time many other European glassmakers were copying the method.
France and England were prolific in the late 19th century, and America came to love their radioactive wares.
George Davidson & Co ‘Richelieu’ pattern, circa 1890
Then came the Atomic Bomb, and the Cold War; suddenly the Uranium was the ‘hottest’ commodity on the planet, and a strategic resource; the US confiscated all supplies as they pushed on with their nuclear ambition.
These days, there’s plenty of Uranium around – but putting it in your glassware isn’t really done!
A fascinating and most probably unique creation is also the most modern item in stock at Moorabool – dating to the 1960’s, it is an Australian Pottery ‘Medieval’ chess set, by David & Hermia Boyd, members of the remarkably artistic Boyd family.
Medieval Chess set by David & Hermia, 1960’s
David & Hermia Boyd Chess set board
David Boyd (1924-2011) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria, the third son of Merric and Doris Boyd. He met Hermia when she was decorating pots for his brother Guy Boyd in his Sydney studio. Married in 1948, they headed over to London in 1950, where they potted & painted for the next 5 years. After returning to Australia for a few years, they were off to Europe again in 1961, where they lived & worked in Rome and London, returning to Australia in 1975. It was probably during this trip they created the chess set, perhaps as a personal piece or a special commission. Certainly, it was not a commercial production and appears to have been only on the market once before, at Christie’s, Melbourne, in the 1980’s.
British Museum – Lewis Chessmen, 12th century
The board has wonderful mottled glazes, giving it an ancient feel, and is made up of four ’tiles’; these have firing fissures and cracks, and are mounted on a wooden backing with beading edge, all finished with a limewash. This work is probably by the hand of David, and is reminiscent of his other ‘Medieval’ sgraffito wares.
The set is very reminiscent of the ‘Lewis Chessmen’, a part set of 12th century Norwegian game pieces made from Walrus Ivory, discovered in the Outer Hebrides in 1831. Some of these would have been on show in the British Museum in the 1960’s when David & Hermia were in London.
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The pieces are all individual creations, and are probably the work of Hermia. It may just be my imagination, but one of the knights appears to have disguised initials…. ‘H / B’.
Qing Dynasty lacquer Buddha & stand, by Du Hua of Foochow.
Foochow (Fuzhou) is the capital of Fujian provenance, and as one of the five Chinese ‘treaty’ ports, has been completely open to Western merchants since 1842. As a result, local craftsmen flourished and the city became well known for its high quality exports of lacquerware (脫胎漆器), paper umbrellas, carved cork pictures, and horn combs. Du Hua was a master lacquer maker, operating in the late Qing Dynasty. The pieces are finely carved from wood, then coated with multiple layers of lacquer. This is made from the sap of the beautiful ‘Rus’ tree – highly toxic and a relative of ivy!
In the world of fine porcelains, several firms vie for the title of ‘finest’. The Royally funded Sevres works of France are definitely finalists, but perhaps a controversial decision would see them beaten by a small private enterprise based in the unlikely town of Swansea, and its close cousin Nantgarw nearby. Set up in the Napoleonic years, their products were intended to compete directly with the expensive French imports – and some would say the Welsh products were superior. The Francophiles prefer to ignore this short-lived upstart, but the products speak for themselves, with a magical soft-paste product that is beautifully translucent and can be very finely potted & moulded.
Swansea lasted 1814-17, while Nantgarw made small quantities 1818-23. Their demise was not brought about by lack of business, but rather the overwhelming technological difficulties involved in creating such delicate soft-paste porcelain. Up to 80% of some kiln firings would slump into worthless lumps, meaning a lot of time and money wasted. Both firms failed financially, leaving their wonderful & rare porcelains as a testimony to their greatness.
The cup & saucer illustrated here is a tiny little Nantgarw piece currently in stock.
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They were illustrated by the contemporary illustrator Rowlandson, beginning in 1812 with ‘The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque’. From the illustrations in these books, the Derby factory created a series of humorous small-scale figures. Moorabool had one example a few years ago.
