Steve's History of Things 7 - The Pottery Detective

 

Sometimes, an item comes into your possession that requires a real bit of detective work. Such was the case with this vase, which was part of a mixed lot. The first step in identification is to turn the thing over and have a look at the base. Here, you will usually find some sort of makers mark which will lead you straight to the source. This one had nothing bar an impressed number (L101) which, I'm guessing, is the mould number, and the number 401 hand painted in gold. Not a lot to go on.

The next thing to try is a Google image search, and here you have to be creative with your search terms. 'Vase' on it's own is too vague, so what else can we say about it? It has two handles, which narrows it down a bit. Probably antique (the style is Art Nouveau from the late 19th-early 20^th century) and it could be described as an urn vase or a bud vase, although at 21cm tall it's a bit big for the latter. Let's settle on 'antique double handled art nouveau ceramic floral urn vase'.

That threw up quite a few similar examples. The graduation of shading from ochre to cream seems to be particularly favoured by Austrian ceramics manufacturers. So, if we add Austrian into our search term... and substitute porcelain for ceramic (see 6 Chodov Porcelain). There are plenty of lookalikes. Those marked Royal Wettina, designed by Robert Henke in particular. I notice that a number of these items on sale do not show any base marks, but without them I would not claim that this vase of mine is Royal Wettina, merely in the style of Robert Henke.

It has also given me a good guideline for pricing and £25 seems fair (£22.50 to you, as a reader of this blog – use the coupon below).

Happy antiques hunting,

Steve

Steve's History in association with Steve's Vintage Collectables

10% Off all this item, exclusively for readers of this blog. Use this link

 https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SVCwithEtsy?coupon=SVCBLOG

Previous posts in Steve's History of Things

	1 Introduction
	2 Five Good Reasons to Buy EPNS
	3 Fieldings Musical Tankards
	4 Jasperware
	5 Blood Pressure Monitors
	6 Chodov Porcelain

Steve's History of Things - Introduction

 

Steve's History of Things In association with Steve's Vintage Collectables

For many years I have been writing about natural history. Since moving back to the old market town of Cockermouth in Cumbria, I have developed an interest in the past. Initially my interest lay in scientific instruments and discoveries (John Dalton, who is known for his discoveries of atomic theory and colour blindness, was born In Eaglesfield, a village just down the road). Since then it has expanded somewhat. My habit of buying interesting items was somewhat incompatible with living in a bachelor pad, and so I launched Steve's Vintage Collectables. Now I can buy stuff, live with it for a bit, and pass it on. This way, I can surround myself with ever changing interesting things.

From the logo, you can see that I have added Antique, Retro and Future to Vintage but, what's the difference? Let's start with Antique, as that is easier to define. It is pretty well universally acknowledged to mean an object over 100 years old. This barometer, for instance, made in the late 1800s by James Hicks of London is definitely an antique.

#Vintage is more difficult to define. Old, but too young to be called antique. I use it for items 65-100 years old (1922-1957). This sphygnomanometer (an old fashioned instrument for measuring blood pressure) probably just about falls into this range. It may possibly have been made in the early 1960s.

Retro is even more vague. It simply refers to things people like to collect from a bygone era, and has more to do with style than age. I use the term 'retro' on its own for things of the 1960s, 70s and 80s and 'vintage retro' for collectables from the 1920s to the 1950s. Anything after the 80s is too modern for me, but then again I'm bordering on vintage myself. This model Harrods delivery van candle is a collectable item from the 1980s which I would describe as retro. Etsy's automatic labelling defines it as 'Vintage Retro from the 1980s'. As I say, apart from Antique, the terms are not set in stone.

Occasionally, I buy a job lot at auction. The sphygnomanometer (which I wanted) came with a presentation German wine bottle from 1982 (which I didn't). What to do with it? I'd recently created a solar patio light from a vintage barometer case, for my sister's birthday, which I was rather proud of. I wondered if I could do something similar with the bottle. I'm still working on the light distribution, but here is the work in progress. I shall sign and date it SPD #2 '22. For who knows what will become collectable in the future? One thing is for certain: anything signed and dated by the creator of the piece stands a chance!

This has been by way of an introduction. Future posts are likely to be more specific, dealing with periods of history linked to specific items. I hope that you enjoy them and find them as interesting as I do. Researching the history of things has been truly fascinating.

All the best,

Steve

For these, and more curiosities, visit Steve's Vintage Collectables

Follow me on Steve's Nature Plus