Friday, 21 March 2014

St Clements Pottery

11:08
The history of St. Clement Pottery is a long one, dating back to the mid 1700s when it was established by Jacques Chambrette, owner of another faience factory in nearby Luneville. With the St. Clement factory, his goal was to produce prestigious wares for a higher-end segment of the market. He did, in fact, achieve this goal as the St. Clement factory was a favored supplier for Marie Antoinette. Interestingly, between 1864-1876, the famous French glassmaker--Emile Galle and his father produced their wares in the workshop at St. Clement. Over the years, the factory went through several owners, including Keller & Guerin who purchased it in 1892 and expanded the company considerably. In 1922, the Fenal family acquired the pottery and held it through 4 generations.
majolica greyhound


This wonderful majolica greyhound pitcher carries embossed marks of both Keller & Guerin and St. Clement as well as a green stamp and the number 507.


Older animal pieces carry 3-digit numbers or 3-digit with a slash and a 4th number as does this piece. The newer reproductions are almost always 4-digit numbers. Also the new pieces have a very glassy glaze. This piece has a glossy glaze but not "glassy" and it is clearly an older, original piece, with the green stamp dating it to the 1920s, 1930s.
Created to hold the controversial spirit Absinthe
- a very strong anise-flavored spirit, derived from botanicals. It was bottled at a high level of alcohol but was meant to be diluted with water prior to consumption. The beverage originated in Switzerland but became extremely popular in France in the late 19th /early 20th century, particularly among artists and writers including Hemingway, Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Toulouse Lautrec and Baudelaire. Absinthe was portrayed as a dangerous, addictive, psychoactive drug and by 1915 was banned in the U.S. and most of Europe including France. However, the psychoactive properties associated with absinthe were greatly exaggerated and later studies found it to be no more addictive or dangerous than any other alcoholic beverage. Consequently, a revival of absinthe began in the 1990s and today there are approximately 200 brands of the beverage being produced in 12 countries.

A St. Clements Marmalade Server
Friday, 21 February 2014

Essex Crystal and Enamels

11:57
Enamels
By the middle of the 19th century, any respectable Victorian gentleman could be seen wearing a silk or linen handkerchief, known as a scarf, passed once or twice around the neck, outside the shirt collar and tied with a bow at the front. More often than not this was held down with a scarf pin. These scarf pins might have been mounted with small portrait miniatures in enamels,or cameos and in some cases precious stones, pearls or glass. Generally set within a gold mount of varying standard, pins were decorated with a variety of subjects ranging from depictions of dogs to foxes masks, horses and portraits.
The most celebrated artist of the period was William Essex (1784- 1869). Essex found fame and relative fortune in his ability as a copyist in enamels after artists such as Reynolds, Lawrence, Wilkie and of course, Sir Edwin Landseer. In 1839 he was appointed miniature painter and painter in enamels to Queen Victoria, and from 1841 to Albert, Prince Consort. He exhibited over 100 times at the Royal Academy from 1818 until 1862, when he retired to Brighton at the age of seventy eight.
Not only was Essex technically superb, he was also responsible for a number of improvements in the art of enameling. He kept these improvements a closely guarded secret until, after the death of his son in 1852, he passed them on to a former pupil, William Bailey Ford (1832-1922).
Ford was Essex’s most gifted pupil and is recorded as having worked at the Osnaburgh studio from about 1852. After the death of his master ten years later, Ford continued the tradition drawing heavily on the studio pattern cards, so that some of the enamels are exactly the same as the Essex originals, but painted up to thirty years after the originals.
Ford also exhibited at The Royal Academy in London from 1859-1895, and like Essex enjoyed Royal patronage being commissioned to paint enamel miniatures of Edward VII in 1902.

Another famous artist in this field is John William Bailey (active 1860-1910). It would appear that Bailey also worked in Essex’s studio from about 1864, however by the mid 1890’s,
the quality of Bailey’s work seems to have deteriorated both in preparation and execution.
Miniature Enamels at Maison Dogminiature enamels at Maison Dog

from a selection at Maison Dog
Reverse Intaglios
For many centuries, dogs, as well as horses, birds and other images have been portrayed in art.  And for the last hundred years, these subjects have been immortalized on enamels as well as on crystals through a process called “reverse intaglio”. 
            This technique is said to have begun in Europe, and the crystal process has been attributed to a Belgian artist named Emile Marius Pradier.  Some of Pradier’s early pieces were signed, which makes them particularly appealing.  Such was the beginning of a treasured art form which evolved into incredible works of art in miniature. 
            Around 1860, Thomas Cooke began making crystals for Lambeth and Company in England.  The crystals gained immediate favor, and as their popularity increased, Cooke trained a student to assist him.  This student - Thomas Bean - later trained his own son and subsequently his grandson in the crystal making process. 
            Crystal carving and painting has always been a family enterprise and is one of the few art forms of modern times to develop in secrecy, being passed on from one generation to the next.  Yet today, with very few artisans possessing either the knowledge or the ability to produce crystals, the process of reverse intaglio is considered to be one of the highest art forms. The popularity of these “little beauties” soared as the twentieth century began and they remained quite fashionable until the early 1930’s.
Not all carved crystals are created equally though.  There are cheap imitations of the technique produced at times.  The best way to distinguish a fine crystal is to view it with a jewelers loupe or other ten power magnifier - especially from the side.  One the very good crystals, you will notice the depth of the carving and the phenomenal detail - and you may also see that the crystal has slight chips which have appeared over time.  If the crystal is in its original mounting, the age can be assessed from the background - the earliest were done on gold foil.  As the art form developed, the backgrounds used differed.  The foil was replaced by etched mother of pearl, and this was succeeded by plain mother of pearl. 
            At one time, crystals were wrongfully attributed to William Essex, an artist well known  for his miniature enamel work.  Although he had no connection to the reverse intaglio process, many people commonly refer to Essex crystals even today.  As alluded to earlier, there are only a handful of current artists who are considered to be masters of the craft. 
            The precise physical process of the reverse carved intaglio crystal is a long and tedious one.  Rock crystal mined in Brazil and Madagascar is cut with diamond saws and then ground to the perfect cabochon.  This procedure could take as many as twenty different grades of polish, and the entire process is done by hand.  Once the stone is shaped, the design is drawn on the reverse side of the crystal with water color.  The image is then etched into the piece of stone with a scribe pencil. 
            The engraving begins with handmade soft steel tools.  As many as 250 of these tools may be used to execute this process.  The crystal is carved with a paste made from a combination of oil and diamond dust.  When the image has been completed to the artist’s satisfaction, he begins painting the crystal.  Just as in the carving phase, the painting is done in reverse.  Sometimes the brushes that are used have only a single hair. 
            The quality of a fine estate crystal far outweighs the setting.  However, the early Victorian mountings are generally as much a work of art as the crystal itself.  These mountings are usually of 18kt. or 22kt. gold, and totally hand crafted.  Estate pieces can range in price anywhere from $300.00 to $30,000 for a spectacular example.  Naturally, the rarity, the size and the quality of the art, as well as the setting and the age of these little beauties must be taken into account when determining the price. We hope this small bit of information can introduce a whole new dimension to the collector and make you want to add a “little beauty” to your life.

reverse 
intaglio at maison dog




Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Victorian Bulldog Inkwell

03:32
Look who came home with me today….

victorian bulldog inkwell


victorian bulldog inkwell



victorian bulldog inkwell


victorian bulldog inkwell

A gorgeous carved wooden bulldog inkwell with leather and felt collar. He can hold your ink pen in his mouth, loyal dog that he is. His head lifts up to reveal the inkwell, though the glass liner is missing, and at present the hinge is broken.
These boys are very hard to come by, getting very rare now! I have two at Maison Dog, so if you want to buy him click on the link to take you directly to the store.
Woof

Movember

07:33
Edie, my dog, as a Staffie, is unable to get a good moustache going on. Not like a Schnauzer, or even a Westie. She wanted to do her bit for Movember so I made her a (tasteful) collar.
Maybe it should be tackier.

Anyone want to donate to Edie on Movember's behalf?

Donate at

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/8683989


http://uk.movember.com/mospace/8683989

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/8683989

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/8683989

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/8683989


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