Porcelain Porn

Bisto vs Losol - even i sometimes get caught out.

2012-01-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

These similar wash sets caught my eye whilst browsing The-saleroom website. One is by Bisto, the other is Losol ware (by Keeling & Co - a contemporary factory of Bishop & Stonier). Both fetched £75 at auction. I'll let you guess which is which... perhaps a search through previous blog posts on this site will help identify the Bisto pattern.

What this illustrates most to me as how easy it can be to misattribute pieces to one factory or another. That's why knowing marks and patterns can help so much. Luckily for Bisto collectors, they were usually very good at marking their wares. It also shows us how styles and fashions were completely pervasive among the best brands of their day.

my home town

2012-01-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.jacobsandhunt.com/jan.84.jpg Coming up for auction soon is this little vase depicting a football player from my home town team, Portsmouth. Why am I showing you this? Is it by Bishop & Stonier or one of the other associated partnerships? No, well, not really. It's actually by the Grays pottery. This factory has two connections with Bishop & Stonier: the first is that they often bought B&S blanks which were then decorated with their own designs. You can, on occasion, find Grays pieces which have their own factory mark applied over a Bisto mark. The second connection between the two factories is that George Buttle, a designer for Grays, also worked at the Bishop & Stonier company as Art Director. This piece of Grays pottery is known to be designed by Buttle in 1911.

Lastly, the subject of this vase gives me a very loose excuse to link to a youtube clip of the wonderful Adele singing Hometown Glory

Beautiful Jugs, and not a silicone implant in sight!

2011-12-28T03:39:00.000-08:00

You will know how on occasion I like to show you some of the different pattern designs that Powell Bishop & Stonier used on the same mould shapes; how in using different patterns and surface treatments they could re-invent a shape and extent it's longevity, especially useful if there was a large stock of blank pieces in storage. Well, here are some examples of jugs and their accompanying wash sets dating from around the mid 1880s.

One of mine

tragically undersold on Ebay and I MISSED IT! DOH!!

Sold at auction in 2006 for £450

found for sale in Hungerford

Making Connections

2011-12-28T03:25:00.000-08:00

Here are two jugs that will look familiar to regular visitors to this blog. They belong to a Dutch collector called Bart who has graciously agreed that I can share pics with you. The image, designed by Louis Rhead, is a contentious one as neither I, nor Bart, are sure if it indicates that Rhead worked as a designer for Bishop & Stonier, whether the image was licensed for use by them, or even whether the image was used by the retailer (in this case, the jug is marked as being retailed by Goodyer) who perhaps applied them to B&S blanks. The tall, thin jug is a regular shape used by Bishop & Stonier and can be found with other coloured examples of this Pre-Raphaelite maiden, dragons, holly hock flowers, rainbow ware stripes and no doubt, several other patterns that I have yet to come across. The shape of the smaller jug seems familiar, but I don't have any in my collection, nor in my store of photos from my internet browsing. I can't be sure then if it was a design that was sold by Bishop & Stonier, or whether it was commissioned specially for Goodyers. But at the end of the day, it's academic, and what is most interesting to me is that this one designed was re-used in various colourways and on different body shapes. It is possible that it appears on plates, vases and bowls too. IF you have one, PLEASE get in touch!

A proper brew

2011-12-06T14:04:00.001-08:00

There is nothing in life that a good brew can't put right! And what better way to enjoy my Earl Grey (yes, i'm a heathen, i take it with milk), than in an Abbey patterned mug by Bishop & Stonier. There are many precious antiques out there, but i think they're so much more satisfying to collect when you can actually use them as well.

Time for Teddy bears

2011-11-28T15:16:00.001-08:00

It may be a chilly late November outside, but Bonhams auction house is selling three picnic sets all kitted out with Bisto china. take a look and plan ahead to next Summer.

all one needs now is an Alfa Romeo, a long winding road, a luxurious cashmere blanket and a bottle of fizz.

Late Entry!

2011-11-28T15:11:00.001-08:00

Oh how i wish i'd seen this a bit earlier!!!! This stunning tea set by Powell Bishop & Stonier is being sold at Gildings auction house in Market Harbourer (they have been on Bargain Hunt many times so may be familiar to you). I have 'borrowed' their pic with no malice intent, but to show you this wonderful item and direct you to their catalogue. The estimate seems like a come and buy me, but it's hard to tell about condition without having seen it.

Bows

2011-11-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

In this festive season, I got to thinking about ribbons and bows (as you do), and thought i'd share these pics of jugs with moulded ribbon decoration. Very kitsch and smultzy perhaps, but of their period. I've also seen a version with a pink ribbon.

it's all a load of Bull*

2011-11-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

I've already blogged images of the Turkey plates and fish plates produced by Bishop & Stonier, but I don't think i've ever seen this wonderful design of a bull. So, if you're not all that keen on turkey for Christmas, how about serving up your roast beef on this corker! You'll have to be quick as the ebay auction ends soon and is already over £70. I think this is a rare and wonderful thing.

Unusual subject and Unusual mark

2011-08-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

This piece came to my attention some time ago and i've been meaning to share it with you. It's highly unusual for two reasons; the first is the mark of Powell & Bishop in this oval format. I have never seen this mark before and it's not listed in any of the pottery factory mark books I own or even Goddens; the second reason is the plate's subject matter: the matyrdom of Thomas Thomkins, a Protestant, at the hands of Catholic Bishop Bonner. What a peculiar thing and I suspect, really quite rare.

sweet as nectar

2011-08-15T14:21:00.001-07:00

not one of mine, but this Powell & Bishop dish and cover is simply divine. The motifs of bees would suggest that it's for honey, but how? I suppose you could be raw honey comb inside, but anything liquid would not be contained under a dome like this. I would therefore suggest that this would have been part of a table setting which continued the motifs of bees on other pieces, so in this example, they are just decorative and not indicative of its function. So, perhaps it's for butter, muffins, or cheese? It's hard to tell as i don't have its dimensions and to be perfectly honest, i can't remember where i got the picture from (probably an auction catalogue from somewhere) . If you've got a suggestion... answers on a postcard please.

Wilton wash set - SNAP IT UP AMERICA!

2011-08-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

AMERICA, I am so jealous! This wonderful jug and bowl wash set, in a pattern called Wilton, has come up for sale on Ebay, but sadly it is not available to UK bidders. I can only suggest that if you are a Bisto collector, snap it up because apart from a couple of minor condition issues, it's a stunning piece. I have in my collection a couple of jugs of this shape, and a wash basin in the same rectangular trough shape, but not a set and nothing in this pattern. I'm not normally a fan of the 'cloud' type of gilding but i really love this design. In spite of not being able to bid, I shall be following this auction with interest to see how much it sells for. If the winning bidder happens to follow this blog, please do send me a pic of this piece when you receive it as I'd love to see how you end up displaying it, or even using it????? I'm GREEEEEEEEEENNNNN

more Aztec ware

2011-08-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

A lady called Gail has contacted me with pics of her Bisto Aztec ware vase and she has kindly said that i can post her pics on the blog to show you. If any other collectors out there want me to post this Powell Bishop & Stonier related pics, do get in touch.

Christies

2011-07-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

Coming soon at Christies in London, a pair of fabulous Bishop & Stonier vases fitted out as a lamps. The low end of the estimate is £500, so unfortunately i'm out of the running. But what a wonderful buy for who ever bags them!

like buses

2011-07-14T14:32:00.001-07:00

Just like buses it seems, when you never thought you'd see one, low and behold two come along one after the other. Only recently I blogged my joy at having finally found a dome shaped cheese dish and cover - even though i had to make do with a "mixed marriage" of an unrelated top and bottom. Then, it just so happened that i was viewing an upcoming sale at my local auctioneers, Nesbits of Southsea, when i spied a complete set. My heart missed a beat and jumped into my throat. Ok, ok, so a bit melodramatic. I was delighted at my good luck find and decided that the I MUST be the owner of the Precious. I discussed with my partner how much I should be willing to pay to secure the winning bid, but then found out to my consternation that the cheese dome was only one part of a 'lot'. It came with a very large Portugese jardiniere which I didn't have high hopes for and which really doesn't fit with my other collecting interests. However, on further investigation, it turns out that the jardiniere is also rather special - being made by the Vista Alegre factory, a quality firm . Whilst i shan't be keeping it, i'll enjoy it while it's here.

p.s It's HUGE! and VERY HEAVY!!

Palawan and other Far East influences

2011-07-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

Palawan, an island of the Philippines was the pattern name chosen for pics 3&4. One gets the feeling that although there are clear eastern influences in the choice of birds, flora, fauna, fans etc, the pattern name is often arbitrary. 'Tokio', 'Mandalay', 'Peking', 'Miako', 'Paragon' (pic 2) 'Mikado' (pic 1), are just a few of the pattern names used by Powell Bishop & Stonier and later partnerships for their oriental inspired wares. As the West was gripped by Aesthetic Movement fever in the 1870/80s, more and more home grown versions of Eastern designs flooded the market. The wealthy could afford the "real" thing, ie Japanese Arita porcelain and laquered furniture etc. The less well-to-do had to make-do with Staffordshire pottery versions.

If you are at all interested in the wonderful designs of the Aesthetic period you simply must try to get to London to the V&A where they have an exhibition called the Cult of Beauty. That's were i'll be heading very soon.

Chinztastic

2011-06-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

I was delighted with this pair of vases that I purchased a few months ago - deco period Bisto chintz. The undoubted masters of Chintz ware of this period was Royal Winton, but Bisto were making a good attempt at it too and I think they now sit very well with the current trend for all things vintage and floral.

Domes-day

2011-06-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Back in 2009, I posted some picture of Cheese covers in the form of wedges and I said that I had yet to find a dome shaped one from the Powell Bishop & Stonier factories. Well, the wait is over! here are my two latest finds, joined together for the time being in a mixed marriage. The dome is Oriental Ivory, decorated with high Victorian motifs of Acanthus leaves, laurels and a Greek Key band. The base plate is a white earthenware body, decorated with a cross-reeded pattern and a gothic text motto: "MAY GOOD DIGESTION WAIT ON APPETITE", a quote from Shakespeare's Macbeth.

OMG! you must be having a laugh

2011-06-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

saw this today and nearly fell off my chair laughing! You wouldn't pay that kind of money for a Moorcroft cup and saucer or hand painted Minton come to that. It's nice to know that Bisto is on the Up, but i think it's got a way to go yet before I'd consider paying that kind of price for a transferprinted cup&saucer.

Princess Beatrice Millinery

2011-05-11T02:53:00.000-07:00

the horror and wonder!

Dog breath

2011-01-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

There's nothing worse than waking up in the morning next to the One that your love, going in for a kiss and then having to screw your nose up at their morning Dog Breath! If that is the case in your household, what better present than one of these fab Bishop & Stonier toothbrush holder/soap dish combinations.

if only i were an American...

2011-01-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

i don't often bother to look at auctions being held outside of the UK because a) the cost of postage of goods usually outways the intrinsic value of the item purchase b) the risks of sending ceramics in the post has been brought home to me on too many occasions. But when i saw this ebay listing for a sale in the USA, i thought i'd give it some deserved publicity. This set is stunning and i envy the winning bidder. This is definitely a lot for a serious Bisto collector and I would be seriously disappointed for the seller if it goes for anything under $200 (my estimate would be $250-350). Also in the US, this time at Sothebys a part dinner service in the Pembroke pattern. You get a lot of pieces for your money in this auction, but even so, I'm keen to see if this auction reaches its estimate of USD 1000 - 1500 If it does, it would be a good result in a depressed market and a positive sign that Victorian Staffordshire ceramics are back on the 'Up'. I've read in several places of late, that Victoriana is coming back with a BANG as Antiques buyers are looking for real quality of make and design and are no longer put off by pattern and ornamentation. And if there's one thing the Victorian's did well, it's ornamentation.

Landscapes

2010-11-14T14:57:00.000-08:00

This tray is currently being sold on Ebay and I am reminded to show you some pictures of other pieces by Powell Bishop & Stonier partnerships that are decorated with handpainted landscape scenes. They were primarily Scottish and Lake district scenes, often labelled on the reverse (like this one of Loch Katrine near Stirling), but there were sometimes made up, generic looking landscapes like the vase below which had a more European feel.

the big fish that was never mine

2010-11-14T14:46:00.000-08:00

if anyone has seen my twitter page over the last month, they will have read that I have had a major case of annoyed jealousy, mainly directed at my twin brother. I went round to visit him a while back and saw on entering his house, tucked behind his front door and containing umbrellas, a beautiful piece of Studio pottery. I recognised the style immediately and picked it up with a lump in my throat. The mark underneath was for the emminent potter, Hans Coper who famously worked with Dame Lucie Rie. I was gobsmacked. My brother had picked it up in a charity shop I had to put on my most serious face when i advised him that it could be worth thousands. After sending pictures and emails to several auction houses, he's now consigned it to a web-based auction and it is up for sale at the end of November in their contemporary ceramics sale. Take a look for yourself to see the details. The only thing i can add is "the jammy bugger" and "don't forget my cut".

technophobe joins the human race

2010-10-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

i'm on Twitter! you can follow me, if you've got nothing better to do, @bistoboy1

FOR SALE - HONG KONG

2010-09-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

A lovely lady called Anne has been in touch to say that she is wanting to sell her Hong Kong patterned teaset and I said that I would publicise it for her. The set consists of : tea pot, cream jug, sugar pot, 8 tea cups, 12 saucers, 11 dessert plates and 2 other serving plates. So quite a sizeable amount for your money. If any one is interested in purchasing this set from Anne, you can get intouch with her via me, and will pass on your details. If i weren't a bit strapped for cash at the moment, I'd be biting her arm off to get them myself, so I envy who ever gets them.

Before & After

2010-09-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have added several pieces to my collection over the last few weeks, and strangely enough a couple of them presented an opportunity to discuss the manufacturing processes that go into making a 'before and after'. My first example is a traditional looking jug by the Livesley Powell & Co partnership from the 1860s. The jug on the left shows what the jug looks like with two processes complete: a puce botanical transfer print and green enamel highlighting the raised moulding of oak leaves. When I first saw this jug for sale, I naturally assumed that was the final design, but on inspection of the jug on the right, one can see that another two processes have been added on top to further enhance the design: coloured enamels filling in the transfer print and a copper lustre applied over the green colour of the oak leaves. Now, I suppose one could argue that both are indeed two similar, but in themselves, complete renderings of the designs. It may be that LP&Co did release the jug on the left as a finished product. But my hunch is that it left the factory before all the intended processes were complete, perhaps with a light-fingered decorator.

This next example shows the plain white wares of an aesthetic teaset, and then on the right, complete with its transfer printed design. Curiously and perhaps understandly, the seller of the plain set thought they were from the Art Deco period - probably due to their angular form. It was obvious to me, however, because I already had the transfer printed set, that this was made around 30 years prior to the Art Deco movement's beginnings. What is apparent from the white set is that they have been well used, for despite having no chips or cracks, most of the pieces are tea stained. The transfer set is as clean as a whistle and would undoubtedly have sat in someone's cabinet for much of its life, unused, but much admired (as it is today in my collection).

Friday 13th - could i really be this lucky?

2010-08-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

One of the most unusual pieces to join my collection has been this Aesthetic Movement trough which Mr Postie delivered today. It is decorated with a transfer print of what looks like a cross between brambles and apple blossom and then handcoloured with enamels. The handle and framework pieces are moulded to resemble lengths of bamboo - this was a very typical feature of this period and you will find many examples from factories like Worcester, Brown Moore & Westhead and Minton all using the same ideas. The shape is trough-like and would probably have sat on a dining table with nuts, fruit or sweat meats. I love it, and even better, it came through the post in fabulous condition. Let's hope the curse of Friday 13th doesn't strike and jinx it for me.

This teapot was another fairly recent acquisiton. It's unusual in its lack of colour, and the sepia toned transfer printing is not something I have seen on any other B&S pieces. The image is pre-raphaelite in style with a beautiful lady smelling a lily.

Despite not yet finding a satisfactory way of displaying all the comports / tazzas in my collection, I couldn't resist this Conwy patterned piece of Oriental Ivory, by Powell Bishop & Stonier. The shape is nothing new to me as i have several pieces with eagle talon and chain relief form. I do find the pattern extremely attractive though and very typically Victorian of the 1880s period. In a way i guess it's a bit kitsch and schmultzy (if that's a word?), but i like the twee-ness of the sugary colours and sacharine landscape image. I just need to bake some cup cakes to put on it now.

Deco divine

2010-08-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

One of my best buys of recent weeks was this great Art Deco set (there are more plates, cups, saucers) with the Bisto backstamp from the early 1930s. The design is handpainted with fun squiggly lines and blobby leaves. It's not my usual taste, but for only two pounds at a car boot sale i couldn't resist.

Clifton Suspension Bridge

2010-08-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is a great example of tourist wares produced by Bishop & Stonier (the most famous is their London series). Transfer printed on their green earthenware body, is an image of the Clifton Suspension Bridge at Bristol. Designed by Isambard Brunel, the bridge was complete in 1864, five years after Brunel himself had died. This piece dates from around 15-20years after the bridge's completion and celebrates on of the most beautiful (IMO) bridge structures in the UK. I'm a big fan of the city of Bristol and love the view of the bridge over the gorge.

great sadness

2010-08-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

There have thankfully only been a couple of occasions where my Bisto buying purchases haven't quite gone to plan. To date, my ebay and auction purchases have usually gone without a hitch, but in recent months I have had the misfortune of receiving several items in many bits and pieces. On such tragedy was the above pink bowl, decorated witha shagreen (shark skin) type pattern. Whilst the seller had done a reasonable job of wrapping bubble wrap and paper etc, the box just didn't stand up to the rigors of the Royal Mail postal system. One has to wonder whether FRAGILE tape on parcels isn't just red rags to a bull as it seems to have little effect on whether parcels are treated with care whilst travelling to their destination. I made an attempt to glue the pieces (those i could find) back together, but my restoration skills are extremely lacking. I made an excellent first join which was almost seamless, but as i worked my way around the bowl,the gaps got bigger and bigger and became impossible to get it properly lined up - resulting in one final piece of the puzzle that just wouldn't lie flush with the rest. Sadly, i think i shall have to give up on this one and look for another. Thankfully, the seller had already refunded my money before my botched cosmetic surgery job.

the way to cheer me up

2010-08-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Gosh! has it really be over three months since i last put anything on my blog? Shame on me.

Well, to put that right, i have been avidly adding to my collection over the last few months and here is just a sample of things i have been buying. The greatest of BIG BIG thanks goes to the lovely people at Victoriana, Southsea, for getting the first items for me - a putto pillared comport and fluted dish in the Lawrence pattern by P.B&S I had passed by the shop a few weeks ago during my lunch break and saw these great items in the window. It's fairly unusual for them to have china in stock as they mainly deal in glorious antique and repro funiture. I felt sure that i could go back the next week and it would still be there for me (after i'd managed to convince my hubby that i really NEEDED them and that he should stump up the cash for me). However, a crippling viral thingamee saw me off work for almost a whole week and when i got a chance to go back to the shop, i found that it had already been reserved for another customer. In desperation, I almost pleaded with the owner to sell it to me instead. She told me that she was the one who had recommended the pieces to her other customer as he tended to buy what ever she suggested (the perfect kind of customer!) but that she would speak to him again and explain my situation - manic Bishop & Stonier collector, very very poorly, needed cheering up, would he possibly resist buying on this occasion so that he could make my day? Well, her charm worked a trick and he graciously gave up the rights to the comport and dish. I was delighted. Finally, i have a cherub / putto comport that is complete.

my latest acquisition

2010-04-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

bought from an auction house in Manchester and expertly shipped to me by Mailboxes etc, a truly delightful teaset for 4. This P&B pattern is quite restrained in its colour scheme but because of that is eminently classic and useable even today. The only sadness i had was that the tray does not fit in my new Ikea cabinets. Doh!

Heroes

2010-04-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Heroes, no not the sci-fi tv series (much as i adore it), but Heroes of the historic kind. These three graduated jugs, made of a jasperware type of earthenware, were produced by the Livesley Powell & Co company and commemorate some of the heroes/luminaries of the day. Sadly, that was the only description I could get from the auction listing! Who the heroes are is anyone's guess but i wouldn't be surprised to see Nelson on one of them, even 60 years after his heroics at Trafalgar.

to it's full potential

2010-04-29T15:48:00.001-07:00

A while ago now, the 1990s phenomenon that is IKEA, opened a store in Southampton, just down the road from us here in Portmouth, Hampshire. I've tended to go off their products after having loved them with a passion back in the late 90s and now tend to buy vintage/antique furniture and decor. But i had found that my 1950s Herbert Gibbs display cabinet just wasn't up to the job of showing off my Bisto collection to it's best. I felt it needed to be shown off with just light and glass around it, so i persuaded my hubby to take me to Ikea to purchase some of their Detolf units - a bargain price of under £40 each. I think they look great and i'll be going back to buy more some time soon.

a long silence..........

2010-04-29T15:43:00.001-07:00

you may have wondered why there has been SUCH a long silence on this blog. The dustballs have really been rolling haven't they. Well, i have been rather busy with all sorts of ceramic interests, not least, setting up my own stall in an antiques centre. I am dealing in all sorts of ceramics, glass, treen etc, but mainly focussing on vintage (1950s/60s/70s) types of collectibles and studio pottery. However, i put on my stall anything that generally takes my fancy. So far, so good and people seem to like my taste. Never fear though, i shan't be selling off ANY of my Bishop & Stonier collection!!!!

Livesley Powell mystery object

2010-04-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

A gentleman named Terry has contacted me regarding this mystery object. It was made by the Livesley Powell partnership in the pattern, Delhi. It is a curious object and between us we can't decide what it was for. Terry thought it was a teapot stand and I'm more inclined to think it's some kind of strainer (strawberries or asparagus perhaps?). Anyhow, whatever it is, Terry has asked that I publicise the fact that he would like to sell it - and if you can tell us what it is, we'd both be grateful!

to make an offer on this thingy-me-whatsit, you can contact the owner direct at tbozzie@blueyonder.co.uk

Sothebys

2009-10-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

This service by the Livesley Powell & Co factory, sold at Sothebys a few years ago for £2000. i'll be keeping an eye out in my local charity shops for that one then. It looks to be a brown transfer ware pattern, and i'm wondering if it went to an American buyer as brown transfer ware has a much larger collectors following on the other side of the pond than in the UK. My personal preference is Blue & White, or even Purple & White.

Oh me, oh my!

2009-10-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

This little fairing, apparently by Powell & Bishop, recently sold on Ebay for a whopping £104. No wonder she was blown over!

The Balmoral influence

2009-10-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, took great pleasure in the Scottish countryside. Their influence on popular culture and fashions of the day saw a major rise in the popularity of all things Scottish. Tartan patterns, Mauchlin ware, heather and thistle motifs, even Scotty Dogs were all in vogue during second half of the 19th century. Edwin Landseer encapsulated the nation's love of Caledonia in his majestic painting of a stag in a picture called, the "Monarch of the Glen", 1851.

Powell Bishop & Stonier were not alone in drawing on the Scottish influence and produced wares which used the images of the kilted Scottish piper, highland cattle, Scottish landscapes of mountains and lochs. They used transfer prints in the main, but their factory artists also handpainted some scenes - perhaps not as finely as Royal Worcester, but beautiful nonetheless.

Round, like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel

2009-10-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

talk about Psychadelic! This ivory and cobalt blue spiral design teaset is enough to give you a headache. They look like they should be from the Art Deco period but in fact, are late Victorian.

another teapot - divided opinions

2009-10-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

I recently bought this teapot on ebay and it has divided opinions in my household. I like it ( of course I do, it's BISTO) but my husband and also my twin brother think it's ugly. In fact, said brother, even went so far as to say that it looked like something you'd buy from the back of a Sunday paper magazine, like Franklin Mint! The cheeky bugger!!

what do you all think?

Pomona ware

2009-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

In the 1920s, Bishop & Stonier started a new line of wares under the name of Aztec Ware. These wares were notable for their bright, lustrous colours and resembled the work of Clarice Cliff and Susie Cooper. There was even a new mark designed for this range that didn't include the Caduceus wand or the chinaman under a parasol. Similar to the new Aztec ware range, was Bisto's Pomonaware which mixed sponge printed backgrounds in bright colours, handcoloured transfer print fruits and sometimes, lustre glazes. They are very similar to Aztec ware pots, but the main difference as far as i can tell, is that the fruit prints are much smaller.

The Great British Cuppa

2009-10-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

The most recent additions to my collection are two similar, but quite different teapots. The first is a miniature example, in a very pretty blue and white transfer print design and manufactured for Harrods circa 1910. I should imagine that it was once part of a complete miniature tea service, perhaps intended for use by children, but more often than not kept as cabinet pieces. The quality of this piece shines through and it is clear why Harrods was keen to stock Bisto wares.

The next teapot, again a globe shape but full size, is about 20 years younger than the blue and white and was made in the 1930s. The stippled brown background and transfer print fruits (hand coloured) are similar to others of the period made by Bishop & Stonier. I don't personally feel its the most attractive of designs, but was keen to add to my collection nevertheless.

the origin of species

2009-10-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

Two temple jars, the same shape (no. 3) and the same pattern (fujiyama) but different colour variation (sadly no lid for the one one on the left).

It's only by buying similar items like this that you get an idea of the development of a design and how subtle changes were made to keep it fresh.

Paisley

2009-10-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

The above teapot is NOT by Bisto, but is in fact, by the Wade Heath factory. It is decorated in a paisley design which co-incidentally is exactly the same as a Bisto ginger jar that i have recently added to my collection (below). Rather intriguingly, I also found this design on a condiment set by Avonware so i would imagine that the transfer design was from a pattern book that was circulated to various pottery manufacturers

The 1920s blue ginger jar on the right was added to my collection some time ago and i mused on its asian influence with hints at paisley designs. Well, I have now added a more obvious example of Paisley pattern to my shelves (LEFT) . The transfer print is wrapped around the design in tessalating sections, matching up like wallpaper (some areas are more successful than others). Sadly I don't have the lid for my new ginger jar, so I'll be keeping an eye open for it, along with other examples of Paisley designs.

To Goodwood and beyond!

2009-08-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

August Bank Holiday (31st August 2009) will be a morning spent at Goodwood - not for horseracing, but an antiques & collectables fair run by Arun Fairs. If you're there, please do leave some Powell Bishop & Stonier for me won't you.

Getting very excited about a big event happening in just under two weeks... i'm getting hitched! and going to Venice for a weeks honeymoon. But never fear, I shan't be coming home with any dreadful Murano glass souvenir tat.

one more for the shelf

2009-08-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

a deco vase with cranes and flower design, handcoloured with enamels.

by comparison

2009-08-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

after falling flat on face with a misattribution of a Brown Westhead Moore & Co comport to Powell & Bishop i set about trying to find any other of their wares that bore a resemblance to dear old P&B. Whilst i'll admit, these two vases are not similar in many ways, the similar shapes are quite obviously both classically inspired. The greco-roman influence is clear with their scrolling handles, but the puce transfer print on Oriental Ivory body of the P&B vase above is more English in it's influence than the formal swags and acanthus border of the B W M & Co version.

apologies for the very pixelly pic - the original was very small indeed.

Cheesey wotsits

2009-08-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

The shape of the cheese dish above will be familiar to most people - a big horizontal wedge to accomodate a large hunk of the stinky stuff. But recently up for auction was the splendid example below: under the Oriental Ivory label and with handpainted transfer decoration, this upright wedge is quite unusual. Another shape of cheese dish that you find is a dome shape, but I have yet to see a (Powell) Bishop & Stonier version.

even MORE Fuji Yama!

2009-08-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

Bought this vase last week to add to my Fuji Yama patterned wares. Here are some examples of the different colourway treatments.

learn to trust the label

2009-08-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I bought the tureen below and pondered whether there should've been a lid with it, despite the label when I bought it saying "without lid". Well, above is the proof that yes it should have a lid as the shape is exactly the same, but with a different transfer pattern - this time from a series of London views.

testing the knowledge

2009-08-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

I picked up this comport at an antiques/collectables fair in Midhurst last weekend and was drawn to it from across the room like a moth to a flame as I thought it could be by Powell Bishop & Stonier. The stall was being run by two sweet little old ladies who didn't seem to know much about any of their stock, but were very cheery and smiley nonetheless and were having a gay old time of it, chatting away and chewing on their packed lunch tuna sandwiches. Sadly, one didn't have to look too hard to spot that the comport had been severely damaged and stuck back together again with some very bad restoration, but at only £3 i wondered if it was worth taking a risk. I turned it over hoping to see a clear factory mark, but all i got was a diamond registration and some painted pattern numbers. No sign of an impressed caduceus or even a triangle mark so commonly found on the factory's pieces. The style, pattern and colour however screamed at me that it just MUST be by them(?)

I must admit, i am not 100% convinced - mainly because they were usually so prolific with their factory marks, but also because the screw/bolt that goes through the top plate and into the pedestal looks a bit crude. All the other compotes/tazzas i have by the factory are moulded in one piece or with the plate cemented onto a pedestal. This has been a marker point; I think i am now confident enough in my knowledge to take a stab at identifying unmarked pieces. It's a very tricky business and one which i'm sure most collectors will face at some point in their collecting careers. When do you start to trust your instincts and all your knowledge gained so far and make a judgment call? It could be that i will get egg on my face with this one. Do take a look and let me know what you think.

one way of checking would be to see if the diamond registration throws up any designs registered for that date. Sadly i don't have any books that would give me info as to who registered it, but i can tell you from checking on the potteries website that it was registered on 15h February 1870. So, it could only be by the Powell & Bishop partnership which ran for only a short period and not a later partnership.

invaluable

2009-08-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

just had to share this great victorian tea for two set with you that sold at auction some time ago (i've been trawling the invaluable.com site for info about auction prices etc but sadly you have to be a fully paid up member to get that kind of info).

raspberries versus strawberries

2009-08-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

After watching Valentine Warner's "What to eat now" programme on tv tonight, i was reminded to post pics of this great piece of Victoriana. Valentine was trying to convince his audience that raspberries are far superior fruit to strawberries and he made a delicious looking tart to prove his point ( i was very hungry afterwards). Well, this handled dish was advertised as a 'strawberry dish'. Quite how one can be sure of that i do not know, but i would imagine that if the description is correct, one would pick up strawberries from the sides and then deposit the stalks in the small circular recesses.

a right royal flush

2009-08-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

Bishop & Stonier (BISTO) were not averse to a bit of novelty in their designs and these sandwich plates demonstrate a rather stylish sense of humour. Perhaps they envisaged a game of whist followed by tea and cucumber sarnies. marked for 1929

bag a bargain

2009-07-21T14:53:00.001-07:00

I have been sent notification of an upcoming auction (Sat 25th July) at Lloyd Cameron's in Warrington: Lloyd Cameron and Partners Antiques Auction Sat 25 July Lot 66 - White Star Line / Titanic - a print depicting the SS Titanic signed personally by Millvina Dean who was the last survivor of the Titanic disaster and, at just nine weeks old, was the youngest individual to come through the sinking alive, and a blue and white dish with White Star Line logo, the backstamp Stonier & Co Lt, Liverpool, Bisto England with impressed marks

The lot is only estimated at £60-80 which seems like a real "come and buy me" estimate; i blogged a while ago about a Bisto White Star line dish that sold for around £300 on ebay, so to my mind there's plenty of room to push the upper limit of this estimate.

www.lloydcameron.co.uk

Tureens

2009-07-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

Tureens act as both a key functional and aesthetic centre piece to a dinner service. They vary tremendously in shape, volume, decoration and the type of clay used to make them. Ironstone is heavy and durable, perfect for utilitarian/domestic wares which had a lot of use. Earthenware is not so durable and is more porous - particularly if left unglazed. The pieces in a collection that are stained from use with liquids, are invariably earthenware bodies which have been effected by the contents stored in them. For this reason, the best tureens are ironstone or bone china - although bone china doesn't always stand up to the rigours of big ladles and lots of hot heavy veg so is more prone to chips and cracks.

an Art Deco period BISTO example.

a simple and elegant example with a gilded greek key border motif and foliate finial.

a blue and white pattern called Saxony

the classic Willow pattern is still very popular with collectors

french style chinoisirie

Edwardian tastes favoured small sprigs of flowers around the border and more muted colours than the Victorians before them. To today's tastes, it can appear a bit boring and bland and may be found in a many a grandma's kitchen cupboard.

where form and surface decoration just don't match - the combination of geometric patterns and more fluid nouveau body shapes is really unsatisfactory here.

if you can find a tureen with its original ladle in an undamaged state, then you're VERY lucky. Even better is if you find the stand/dish to go with it too!

honfleur pattern

very simple - perhaps even meant for use in a hotel or on board a cruise liner?

ironstone examples, including a tealeaf pattern design - very widely collected in the USA

sunflower design

a very rare shape of a tureen on a pedestal base - presumably so that it was more easily accessible on a crowded dinner table.

khan pattern in flow blue - this example shows how the tureen shaped blends into other familiar forms, for example the casserole dish.

Going Green

2009-07-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

the P.B&S factory brought out a green body clay type of ware which was often used with such successful marriage of colour and design as shown in all of these examples. Roses and songbirds were a popular theme and chocolate-boxy compositions like the one below are typical of the late Victorian period.

Truly WOW

2009-07-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

found this will surfing - a truly WOW fantastic pedestal dish. it almost looks like some kind of leaf perched on three stalks of asparagus. very baroque and very OTT.

first class veg

2009-07-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Newly added to the Powell & Bishop (P&B) part of my collection is this great vegetable dish. It was sold with the label, "missing lid - as seen", but I wonder if there ever was one? certainly, there appears to be no wear to the glaze around the rim, there is also no ledge for a typical lid to rest on, and with a lid it would be a very substantially sized piece of table ware - more of a tureen. My thought was that it was a vegetable serving dish but i'm not sure if there was such a thing, without a lid? Anyhoo, it's in a pattern called Trentham which leaves and butterflies and a little dragonfly under one handle. Below is a close up a handle - dotted with gilding and in a half heart shape. Gorgeous.

The boyf gets in on the act

2009-06-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

My other half is getting in on the Fat Lava act and came home from a Charity shopping trip with this little pot. I thought i'd take the pic in front of a line of books - just a subtle reminder of where his true collecting interests lie (just in case he feels the desire to wander again)

my dear lady disdain, are you yet living?

2009-06-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

my dear blog readers, i feel i have been neglecting you; you probably thought i was dead. well, i'm sorry to disappoint, but i'm alive and kicking and have been busy collecting pots - sadly not all Powell Bishop & Stonier. But anyway, here is my latest Bisto addition: a chinoiserie design ginger jar, sans lid sadly, but i still love it.

truly bizarre

2009-06-07T01:06:00.000-07:00

while having a mooch around t'internet this morning, i happened accross this page. How very bizarre. a chinese educational website which has a snippett from my blog entry about Louis Rhead. Fabulous!

ironstone v. earthenware ... the debate continues

2009-05-23T14:42:00.001-07:00

Now, the cranberry red coffee pot you've seen before. But I have been delighted to add the turquoise version on the right to my collection this week. I hadn't done the measuring up when i bought it on Ebay, but had assumed it to be the same model as the red one. However, of course you can see from the pictures it is slightly smaller, leading me to the conclusion that one is perhaps a coffee pot and the other a teapot? Even though the turquoise version is smaller, it feels quite large for a tea pot; the height is quite deceptive when thinking about the volume of water it could hold as it is not very wide.

All supositions aside, they are both very lovely examples of Aesthetic Movement period design - heavily influenced by Japanese designs of birds on branches combined with more Western classical border motifs. What caught me off guard even more than the height discrepancy was the difference in materials. The seller hadn't mentioned what the turquoise pot was made from - i assumed it to be earthenware like its counterpart. But no, it is in fact made from Ironstone. This is not the first time I've come across the Powell Bishop & Stonier factory using the same moulds with different raw materials (see a previous blog posting about a jug and bowl set in a Celtic Revival style).

What is most apparent about the two types of ceramic body is that Ironstone, whist heavier and harder, is more suited to intricate moulding as it gives a much crisper result. Take a look at these close ups to see what I mean - the fineness of the moulded design is better achieved in Ironstone than in Earthenware, which tends to give a much softer result. The factory produced a lot of Ironstone wares for the export market - mainly plain wares, or in a simple gilt tea leaf pattern - but they seemed to discontinue with it from the 1880s onwards in favour of earthenware and then finer bone china. The tough ironstone wares were perhaps particularly suited to export as they would've survived the long sea journey more safely than earthenware ceramics.

Classical Elegance by Livesley Powell & co

2009-05-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of the classical elegance of Mid 19th century design in the shape of a jug by the Livesley Powell & Co partnership. The combination of turquoise, gilt and a gorgeous cranberry red work wonderfully well together.

A fine lay

2009-05-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

On doing a bit of internet surfing, i came across this wonderful set of egg cups and a stand. Marked as "BEST P&B", dating this piece to the late 1860s into the 1870s, it is decorated with a purplish transfer print design in typical Victorian fashion. The fact that this piece has survived with only minor blemishes is a marvel as their utilitarian purpose would mean that they were possibly used quite frequently.

Latest Acquisition

2009-05-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest acquistion, filling a rather beautiful spot in my Bisto vase collection. It was mainly the colour that drew me to this pot I am rather happy with it. It's a great example of how Bishop & Stonier combined different techniques on one piece, in this instance: gilded areas, handpainted enamels and a stippled effect background. I'm unsure how this blue background was achieve, but it is a feature of several pieces in my collection. From what i know of 1920s/30s decorative ceramics, a couple of popular techniques were sponging the colour on and spray painting! Perhaps this is one or t'other. On close inspection, i don't think anyone, however passionate about Bisto wares, could argue that it was a fine work of art, but it's decorative appeal outways the few errors made by a paintress's unsteady hand.

When is a biscuit not a biscuit? When it's a Jaffa cake.

2009-05-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

firstly, my apologies for such a small image - it was 'borrowed' - but i hope you get the idea. This is a biscuit barrel by Bishop & Stonier and would date from the early C20th. I have never seen such a thing by this company but it reminds me a lot of others from companies like Wiltshire & Robinson's Carlton Ware who readily used new materials like Chrome, silver plating and nickel plating for utilitarian wares such as canisters and biscuit barrels. This technique brought a bit of glamour to cheaper wares and imitated the look of real silver - no respectable middle class family would've been without one! On the subject of biscuits, did you know that in the UK, there is a higher tax on Biscuits than there is on cakes - something to do with perishability. bizarre.

Tiles R Us

2009-05-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

I recently saw this wonderful tile, handpainted with a classical scene - perhaps Diana and cupid? On the back is the mark of BISTO (Bishop & Stonier) and it rather took me by surprise as i had no idea that they had produced tiles... or had they? Well, i'm going to reserve judgement about whether the factory did produce decorative tiles on any scale until i've come across more examples. My hunch is that like a dish i've just blogged about, the tile was possibly bought as a blank and decorated by someone unconnected with the factory to show off their artistic prowess. That's not to say that the factory didn't have competant artists who could've painted this tile, I just wonder if there was a market for it? Printed tiles, yes, but handpainted? That would take a lot of man hours and be costly to produce. Anyone got any more info on this, or perhaps a Bisto tile of your own in a cabinet? Do get in touch.

added 16.08.09 found these two transfer printed tiles on ebay and thought i'd share them. So it appears that the company did produce tiles in quantity.

top of the pots

2009-05-05T14:43:00.001-07:00

A beautiful pair of vases with handcoloured, aesthetic transfer print designs sold on ebay this week for a fantastic $145 (£96). At almost £50 a pot i'd say that was a quite a good price for two small pieces - but as the experts always tell you on the Antiques Roadshow, pairs always sell better than single pots. Condition on these two was also very good and i'm sure who ever secured the winning bid on these will be delighted - they have very good taste!

PreRaphealite Stunner

2009-05-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

This stunning dish recently came up for sale and sold for its maiden bid of £69.99 which to my mind has to be the bargain of the year. It's handpainted onto a basic charger type dish which has three looped feet to either stand it on a flat surface or, if you're feeling brave/reckless, hang it from a wall, perhaps with ribbon. Datewise it would be around the 1885-1900 point and was probably bought as a blank piece from Bisto to be decorated either at home by a talented amateur or perhaps by an art student at one of the great art schools of the day, maybe even in Burslem. This piece is so of its time and very accomplished. Notice in the background flower and foliate design, the motif of pomegranites and sunflowers, which is picked up on the woman's brooch. The William Morris and Arts & Crafts movement influence is clear as is the pre Raphaelite romantic vision. The colours are quite subdued but their restraint is very appealing.

Antiques Roadshow - Bath, 23rd April 2009

2009-04-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day out in Bath! Today, my better-half and I took ourselves off to Bath and another Antiques Roadshow valuation day. With all good intentions I set my alarm for 7am, hoping to leave by 7.30am, but we only just got out of Portsmouth at around 8.15am and straight into the rush hour traffic. Still, once we were onto the M27 it was quite a smooth journey along the A36 to wonderful Georgian Bath under a cloudless blue sky. So far we have been exceptionally lucky with the weather during our AR visits. After a minor mishap on arriving at the city - i mistakenly thought the roadshow was being held at the Bath Pump Rooms, but no, it was at the Assembly Rooms which was a bit of a climb up a hill - we joined the queue for the reception desk. People snaked around the building, all waiting for their first glimpse of the joys inside. The sun was beginning to beat quite hard by the time we actually got inside the building and my balding pate was glad of the respite undercover. All in all, it took just over 2 hours to get to the reception desk, the longest we've had to queue at a roadshow so far. But gladly, the individual queues to see specialists inside, weren't as bad as they could have been. It seemed that every major hitter expert from the show was there: Rupert Maas (art), Lars Tharp (ceramics), Eric Knowles (ceramics & glass), Hillary Kay (miscellaneous), David Battie (ceramics & orientalist works), Paul Atterbury (miscellaneous), Geoffrey Munn (jewellery), Christopher Payne (furniture)... Maybe it was because they live fairly local and all opted for Bath because it was easy to get to, or it was because they had anticipated great finds coming from the city's wealthy inhabitants? What ever the reason for the great turn out, it was fantastic to see them all there in the flesh - i had goose bumps and a massive grin when we were told to go and see David Battie at the ceramics table to show him what we'd brought along. My partner and I had in fact, taken along not just ceramics, but also some Chinese hand painted scenes on very fine paper and wood (which looks sheeny like silk). They weren't worth a fortune (£10 each), but were a good result for a £5 for-the-lot investment.

As for the ceramics, I took along a small hard-paste porcelain cup that I was curious about; it is not by any of the Powell Bishop and Stonier factories, but was made around 1810-20ish and possibly by Masons or Mayhew according to Mr Battie. As for my Bisto collection, I took along my India patterned vases, my framed Ogdens cigarette card of a Bisto pot and some bowls. One of which, he commented looked like the designs of Charles Voysey. If you search for an earlier post on this blog, I mentioned that it reminded me of the work of 'the four' - that is, Rennie Mackintosh and his group from the Glasgow school - there are similarities indeed with their work. With his suggestion in mind, I have contacted a society who study/celebrate Voysey's work with the hope that they may have some info as to whether he did any ceramics design. Who knows, he may have sent designs to Bishop & Stonier?

Credit Crunch? what Credit Crunch?

2009-04-10T00:52:00.000-07:00

A retailer in the USA has been trying to sell this lidded jar by PB&S and retailed by Hendersons on Ebay. From the dimensions given, it's a pretty large piece and I have no idea what its intended use was, perhaps biscuits?. The 'buy it now' price is over a $1000us - could it be that the seller should stick to their guns and when the economy looks a little brighter, some eager collector may just dig deep in their pockets, or are they in cloud cuckoo land like Mr Brown thinking we can all spend our way out of this recession?

Home to roost

2009-04-10T00:28:00.000-07:00

Conway patterned dish

Just lately, there has been a slew of beautiful Bisto pieces for sale on Ebay, and sadly i have missed out on all of them for one reason or another. On checking on the feedback of the winning bidders, it seems none of them has a history of buying Bishop & Stonier pieces so either they're new Bisto collectors, or they simply bought the pieces because they liked them for what they were and not who made them. I can't argue with that now, can I? But I am starting to get a bit anxious and tetchy that I'm being out bid on more and more auction delights. It could simply be a sign of global economics and my Pound isn't worth what it used to be, or, there truly are more and more Bisto buyers out there of late. Is my proseletysing finally paying off? Indeed, are my chickens coming home to roost? Will all my blogging and shouting about Bisto actually mean that I end up sleeping in a Bisto-less bed because I've been priced out of the market by the Bisto-Collecting-Monsters that I have created - made irrelevant and killed off by my own Bisto kids? AAaarrrggghh

1930s Bisto teapot a beautiful miniatre vase from the Edwardian period

A handpainted plate from a set of similar plates with views, this one being Derwentwater.

Athena patterned two-handled cup (possibly a chocolate cup) and saucer.

West German Pottery vs Kilrush

2009-04-06T02:32:00.000-07:00

Well, the plot thickens! On flicking through the April 2009 edition of the BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine I found a most intriguing development to the WGP vs Kilrush question. In their readers letters section, a Mr Gordon Morley had sent in a query about a vase in his collection, numbered on the base 105/24. The expert, Will Farmer, told him in reply that it was by E. S. Keramik, a Post War German piece, and valued around £30-40. If i hadn't only just posted a blog entry about a very similar pot, i wouldn't have paid much attention. But the vase from the magazine is clearly by the same designer and company as the Kilrush jug i mentioned only the other day. Now, how do i know that the jug was by Kilrush and not E.S.Keramik? Well, it was sold on Ebay recently and the seller said that it had a stamp underneath that said it was by Kilrush. So, Mr Farmer, we have an impass it seems. Unless, one or other of these factories imported each other's work and sold it as their own? Does anyone have any more light to shed on this mystery?

Dare I wander from the path of righteousness?

2009-04-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Regular visitors to my blog will know that i have recently been tempted by the Dark Side, that is, to start a collection of pottery that is not by Bishop & Stonier et al. I admit to having picked up the odd piece of pottery here and there that just takes my fancy, from various factories, but until now i have resisted the temptation of starting a secondary collection of ceramics - mainly due to the fact that there are so many great potteries and ceramic artists works out there that i like. Well, after mistaking a piece of Kilrush ceramic for West German Pottery, I decided to investigate the pottery further. Wouldn't you know it, there really is very little on the net about it and only a handful of pieces for sale on sites like Ebay. But here for your consideration are a few pieces by Kilrush which I'm sure you will agree, do bear a striking similarity to the wares coming out of contemporary West German factories. I must say, i like the simplicity and colours of these pots far more than the WGP though.

This is such a stylish piece - i love it.

what do you call a gathering of dragons?

2009-03-30T01:53:00.000-07:00

Here is my collection of Bisto ware that have decorated with Dragons. This led me to thinking what one might call a group of Dragons: a pride, a party, a swarm, a school, a herd? I have heard the term, "a nest of dragons", but that suggests the place a mother hatches her young, but doesn't really work in this situation. Maybe there is no word for a group of them, perhaps they've always been regarded as solitary creatures. No matter, they look fabulous grouped together here.

being drawn to the Dark Side

2009-03-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

i recently mentioned how i'd found the pottery and glass forum, via Mark Hill's blog. Well, from what i can gather, most, if not all of its regular contributers are mad keen on West German Pottery (WGP) and rate it highly as a collectible that is going places (particularly in terms of value). Mark Hill has written on the subject and there has been an exhibition to showcase the out put of West German pottery manufacturers - predominantly of the 50s, 60s, 70s. Well, i swore to myself that i would not be drawn in any further than the one WGP vase i already owned. But i'm afraid i have succumbed. Above is my collection of 4 WGP pieces, but i "promise", that's it now... no more... ...... ............ ........ err....

things that go bump in the night

2009-03-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have a number of candlesticks and chambersticks in my collection and was happy this week to be able to add another pair to my shelves. This set of Oriental Ivory, Aesthetic movement candlesticks was made in the 1880s. They have a strange confection of aesthetic period motifs transfer printed and hand enamelled on the surface. Here also are a few close-ups of the insects and flowers depicted on them. I have to admit, of all the animal kingdom, insects are my least favourite, and mosquitos alongside wasps have to be the most loathsome creatures made by God (he must've been having an "off" day).

spreading my ceramic wings

2009-03-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

I've been away from my blog for a few days and surfing around various pottery and collectors' sites. After visiting Mark Hill's blog, i found a link to the amazing pottery and glass forum. Some of you may have already found it and will have been chatting on there for ages, but for newbies like me it has been a revelation... Yes, i REALLY am, not the only ceramics geek/freak in the village! Another link for you is the blog of one collector/dealer in Reading. His specialism is Mid 20th century design (so a bit late for any Bisto collectors) and he looks really cool! http://mid20c.blogspot.com/ .

Emsworth Auction

2009-03-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my partner and I visited the Emsworth Church Path Auction which is run by friends of ours, the delightfully eccentric Hilary and Michael. Whilst there, I made an unsuccessful bid on a W H Earp landscape painting - my maximum bid was £42 which on later internet research proved to be well under its deserved price. I had heard of the artist, but wasn't sure enough about it's profitability to make any more of a concerted effort to win it. I also hadn't bargained on someone else in the room also taking a shine to it as most of the other "art" in the auction was raising pretty paltry sums of money. Anyhow, the better man/woman won and I left empty handed. However, also whilst there, I spied a truly fantastic wash bowl by MASONS which had a huge green dragon and enameled black and orange border decoration. It reminded me of some wash sets I'd seen at the equally fantastic Stansted House near Rowlands Castle (Hampshire). If this lot hadn't been quite so disastrously damaged and poorly re-assembled, I may not have been able to stop my bidding hand from rising. On returning home and after a surf on the internet, I came across the above plate by Bishop & Stonier for sale in the USA in an auction of other Blue & White china. This stunning Dragon plate would look amazing displayed on a wall or as the centre piece to a Bisto collection and strangely, I think it would work better as a single piece and not as part of a set.

BISTO AZTEC WARE

2009-03-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

Many thanks are owed to a gentleman and his daughter, called Lesley and Leslie respectively, who sent me pictures of two pieces of Aztec ware that they have at home. This range dates from the 1920s and was produced in a few colour variations and some with lustre glazes (as evidenced here). So, here for your delectation are the two Lesley/Leslie's pots. If anyone reading has other examples that you'd like to share with me and other readers of this blog, please do get in touch.

What exactly DID happen in 1883?????

2009-03-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

You may recall, a few months ago I was reeling from the fact that I missed out on a fantastic armourial, handpainted bowl that was being sold on Ebay. I have a tazza which had obviously been painted by the same artist, to commemorate the same occasion, but the price just went too high for my budget at that time. Well, another piece from the same commision (?), or at least, by the same artist, came up for sale so I dug a little deeper to secure it for my own collection. This fabulous plate, handpainted on an oriental ivory blank, has a crest, monogram (or joining of two initials) and a family motto, "Virtute non armis fido" which means something like "I trust in Virtue not arms". Well, on doing a bit of internet googling, ie. Wikipedia, I found that this is the family motto of Lord Gray de Wilton. Whether there is a connection to this historic family i can't say for sure. From what I can tell, 1882/83 was the year when one Earl died and another was created - so it could have been a commission for this event. Alternatively, it may be a commemorative piece for a wedding? What i find most intriguing on this piece, is the handpainted musical notes, A, and F, on the back which surely refer to someone's initials? Anyone got any thoughts on the matter, please do get in touch! particularly if you know something of the de Gray family.

take a look...

2009-02-18T01:57:00.000-08:00

Mark Hill is an Antiques Roadshow and Millers Guide expert who recently gave me some advice on which books to buy for helping attribute studio pottery marks. As well as publishing his own books, about West German pottery (Fat Lava) and modern art glass, he has a blog of his own. Do pay him a visit! p.s i just love that he's put a link to the Scissor Sisters on his site, "just because".

Deco Chinoiserie

2009-02-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

Chinoiserie designs - that is, designs which use 'Chinese' / oriental themes have been popular for many centuries in the West. The trend has come and gone over the years and here is an example of an Art Deco period chinoiserie design. Bishop & Stonier did a number of designs on a black background at this time and it shows off the other really pretty colours in the pattern. This jug has just joined my collection and is wonderful for floral displays because of the wide neck. It would have originally have been part of a wash set, so if you happen to have a matching bowl at home, do get in touch! The hand coloured enamels are really very charming and are infact exactly the same pallette as a vase in my collection which I blogged a few years ago. On ebay this week is a bowl from the same period and same pattern, but a different colour palette. The shape of this bowl seems to crop up a lot at this time, with similar pieces produced by many different factories - i personally have seen shapes similar by Carter Stabler Adams (early Poole), Rialto ware, Hancocks, Cauldon to name a few.

BBC Homes and Antiques Magazine - hurray for technology!

2009-02-11T15:01:00.000-08:00

I have been an absolute devotee of the BBC's Homes & Antiques magazine for several years now and have a huge pile of back issues by my bed for some bedtime flicking. Infact, it's the only magazine that once it enters my flat, it never leaves again - unlike others such as House & Garden which gets recycled after a few weeks. I occasionally visit the website, but hadn't paid much attention to it, assuming it was just a brief summary site of the printed magazine. What I hadn't discovered until this evening, was that you can search back issues and Antiques Roadshow programmes for valuations of your chosen subject or maker. On searching for Stonier I found that in 1990 someone had taken their mothers collection of Oriental inspired plates by non other than Powell Bishop & Stonier to be valued. Whilst I was mightily miffed that I was NOT the first person to take PB&S along to a roadshow, and that actually someone had beaten me to the line in getting a piece filmed :-( , i was still thrilled to see that there was some credit given to this fab factory.

On the subject of the Antiques Roadshow, I can happily say that I had a dream come true moment on Sunday and appeared in the background as Hilary Kay was being asked about her "What would you save in the event of a fire?" interview. Did you spot me?

Pomegranates - (Punica granatum)

2009-02-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

The image of the Pomegranate has a long history in art and design so it's no surprise that Powell Bishop & Stonier would use it in some of their own transfer designs. The popularity of the fruit in artistic circles waxed and wained, but it would be fair to say that at the time this plate was made, it was on the "up". As mentioned in a blog posting a couple of days ago, Moorcroft used the fruit on his pottery, also, William Morris incorporated the fruit in several of his wallpaper and fabric designs and impressionist painters such as Paul Cezanne used it in Still Life studies.

The symbolism of the fruit is varied, but in general it is seen as a symbol of fertility and goodness because of its many seeds - it has held religious connotations in Medievil art and can be found in various depictions of the Madonna & Child. The design of this particular Oriental Ivory plate (below) appears quite traditional in form and layout - a central motif with a foliate border which contains some of the same elements as the middle image. What interests me, however, is how we can see at this period, transfer designs are becoming more and more stylised, almost "graphic" in their qualities - linear. Although this design is a long way off some of the deco fruit and flowers pieces some 35-45 years later, it shows the beginnings of a style that uses 'motif' to represent an idea - in this case, Oriental nature.

learning curve that hit a brick wall

2009-02-10T13:24:00.000-08:00

I have recently bought this beautiful studio pottery bowl at a local antiques&collectables fair and no doubt, the keen eyed among you will realise that no, it's not by BISTO (this is becoming a bit of a theme for this blog of late - my apologies if you're a die hard Bishop & Stonier fan and are becoming bored with my forays into more modern territory!). I fell in love with the bowl's shape and texture which reminded me of the work of Hans Coper and Lucie Rie. I say, "reminded", but i have never seen one in the flesh so to speak, only in pictures. But this piece just spoke to me. After purchasing a guide to British Studio Potters Marks and systematically devouring every page, i'm afraid to say that i'm still none the wiser as to who made this bowl. I have drawn up a short list of names where the marks given in the book have some similarity to that on the base of the bowl, but i must admit, i find it difficult to work out from mark books what part of the mark design is raised, incised, impressed etc. Also, on the bowl itself, what bit is part of the mark itself and what ridges of clay are just displaced clay around the potter's seal. So, here it is - perhaps like on previous occasions i could trouble someone to help me out with the attribution. Many thanks.

Pattern

2009-02-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like me, you will hold you hand up and say, "my name is Joe Bloggs, and I am addicted to pattern". Strange that I should say that because looking through my wardrobe of mainly plain blues, greys and laterly purples, you would more likely have thought me rather conservative and 'safe' in my design choices. But in my defence, I work for a highstreet fashion chain where the options for suitable uniform are limited to plain colours, basic stripes and muted checks. By the time i get home and slob out, it's more likely i'll slip on a comfortable pair of jogging bottoms than a fancy paisley number, so pattern has been restricted to other areas of my life - wallpaper, cushions, curtains, ceramics. I have just added another ginger jar to my collection and thought i'd share with you the fabulous oriental inspired design. I use the word "oriental" advisedly because it conjures up images of a vast land mass with a myriad of cultures all jostling for attention. Most often for Western ceramic design, Oriental has meant coming from or inspired by China and Japan - most notably with Blue & White pottery & porcelain. But the Indian subcontinent too has had an impact on Western design as cultures and colonial powers clashed and then merged. Asia's influence has identifiably been felt in textiles design - Paisley type patterns were made hugely popular in the late 19th / early 20th century because of retailers like Liberty's. Although this is not a Paisley design, there is something of that trend in this piece which incorporates fruits like pomegranates, leaves and flowers (Moorcroft collectors will know how popular these motifs were at that time). Added to the printed design are the vibrant, Asian influenced colours. These colours can be found on a variety of other BISTO designs and their combination on this piece is particularly pleasing.

More Fuji Yama

2009-02-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

Arrived this week was another Fuji Yama patterned Flow Blue vase. As you'll know, i'm a complete-ist and like having groups of things, in this case, all the shapes produced with the same pattern. I was reminded of a comment my partner made about a section of his book collection: Barnett Freedman illustrated covers, he said that "two is a pair, three is a collection". So, it looks like i may need to find one more!

Kensington P.B

2009-02-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

There are various ways in which I search for Powell Bishop & Stonier items on the internet, and particularly on internet auction sights. One way is with the letters "p&b" in the pottery and porcelain section. There are usually several other things that come up alongside Powell & Bishop when doing this kind of search: Quimper, Limoges, Pinder Bourne, and Price Kensington Bros pottery which is sometimes marked as K.P.B. To add to the confusion, Powell Bishop & Stonier produced wares with a pattern they called "Kensington" so you need to sift through quite a bit to find the ones you want. When I was thinking about this confusion and cogitating a blog posting on the subject, i checked the picture files saved on my computer and found several with the pattern name of "Kensington", but bizarrely they're not the same. In short, i don't know how/why i've saved them with the same pattern name, when they are clearly not the same patterns. Perhaps this was how they were described on the sites i took the pics from. To have different patterns using the same name is not unheard of across different manufacturers - as mentioned previously, "NANKIN" was used as a pattern name by several potteries. But to hear of one factory using a pattern name over and over, except with actually different patterns would be very odd. Any ideas? Maybe it's simply a slip up in my admininstration!

HELP NEEDED! Celadon ?

2009-02-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this is another non-PB&S collection piece that has snuck its way onto my shelves and into a blog posting. The thing is, I need some help with identifying this one and after the success i had with my Dianne Cross vase (thanks Archimandrill), i thought i'd put this one "out there" to see if anyone can help!? It may just be modern-ish, or even an attempt at fakery, but my hope is that this is more than it appears to be. It is very simple in form and colour - kind of a light grey - but that may actually be an indication of its true identification. I'm hoping it will turn out to be a piece of old (very old?) Chinese Celadon ware. Certainly, the crackling of the glaze is typical of Celadon wares, and although unusual because it's grey and not green, the colour is within the realms of possibility for Celadon. The shape, is very simple and striking, like much of early Chinese ceramics - bit it's quite tall, so i don't know if it's just TOO tall to be the genuine article. There are no markings or indication of date. There is a small chip at the base rim, which bizarrely, has been glazed over rather than the potter throwing the pot away. In fact, the glaze is so thick towards the bottom of the vessel that you can't even feel the chip because the glaze pools to fill it. The base is glazed within the circle of the bottom wheel rim. The crackles are not uniform in colour, some are quite dark, and on close inspection you can see small bubbles in areas of the glaze. All this info is given because i'm hoping it will help someone identify this piece for me and put my mind out of it's ignorant misery! Where is David Battie when you need him? ( or Lars Tharp - he's a wizard of the Oriental stuff too).

Ru Ware? i wish....Guan ware? who knows, "i know nutting"

Good Golli Miss Molly

2009-01-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

Every time i've been into a Waterstones bookstore recently, it has been with the hope of seeing that a new Millers guide to Ceramics has been published - the last was in 2006 so a new one is over due. They are edited by the highly respected and qualified John Sandon (of Antiques roadshow fame - son of Henry). As yet, there is still no updated guide so I have had to content myself with buying other antique-y type books such as the Antiques Roadshow price guide, but sadly, Bishop & Stonier (and the other factory partnerships) hardly ever get a mention; when they do, it's usually just one small paragraph which always seems to focus on their 20th century nurserywares. Obviously, there is a huge collecting market for nursery ware and any self-respecting collector in this field would, i'm sure, have at least one Bisto piece in their collection. Recently I was contacted by someone who had found a Bisto nursery mug with an illustration from Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwog by Florence Bertha Upton (i had previously shown on this blog a teapot with illustrations of the same story). Sadly, the condition of his mug wasn't great, but the theme is very collectible - if a little non-PC nowadays (just ask Carol Thatcher!). Although nurseryware isn't my passion, i too have one piece in my collection and i thought i'd show you some other examples.

Little Red Riding Hood - one of my favourite nursery stories - see my other blog for my own art work based on this tale.

A Zebra alphabet plate illustrating the letter "Z" - i would dearly love to see the whole set, presuming they did one for every letter.

This is the house that Jack built....

Relief moulded jug

2009-01-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to a man named David who sent me a pic of a jug in his collection. The marks underneath say Bishop and have the Oriental Ivory chinaman under a parasol. If you too have pics that you'd like to share, please do send them to me - i'd love to see them. Thanks David.

Intruder alert! Intruder alert!

2009-01-15T12:25:00.001-08:00

" What's this?!?" I hear you gasp, "has he gone insane? They're not by P.B&S or BISTO. How DARE he pollute this sacred blog with non-collection pottery!" Yes, yes, dear reader. I am fully aware that the ceramics in this blog posting are not by any of the factory incarnations from my collection. I just thought I would digress for 5 minutes to show you some of the other ceramics that pass through this household. Some have remained here for years, other move on after only a few days - bought from flea markets, car boot sales and charity shops, then sold on ebay - hopefully for profit. Some reflect my own taste, others are purely commercial decisions about what I think will sell well. Some are mistakes. The first pot, this striking bottle type vase/pot is very modernist 1980s in feel and colour a vivid Yves Klein type blue with small dashes of copper. I was struck by the sheer audacity of the design - so simple in form and colour, yet delicate in it's little touches. It has a very clear potter's seal mark on the bottom, but without the right reference books i'm at a loss to know who it is by. If anyone out there knows, PLEASE do get in touch (looks like a lower case dc or could be a capital "R" the other way up). I love it so much that I'm not sure I will sell this one on for a while.

This next pot is likewise striking in it's form - crisp ridges where it has been handthrown. It is very heavy like a kind of stoneware. The glaze is a fantastic green with smokey patches; i'm not that familiar with studio pottery techniques but i think it may be something like Raku pottery? Again, if you are a person that knows, do get in touch. There is not makers mark, but i looks oriental in style to me and I have no idea of its age.

This jolly vase is a glossy example of continental art pottery from the early part of the 20th century. The applied marigold design is wonderful against the mottled blue background and reminds me of the motifs of William Morris and from even earlier, Elizabethan tapestries.

A handthrown, cylindrical vase with painted leaf/wheat pattern. The style is rough and ready, with no attempt to smooth out the ribbed texture. It is signed underneath with the monogram GC or CG and dated for 1958. My initial thoughts were that the grass type pattern reminded me of Glyn Colledge 's work for Denby, but i'm not a Denby collector so have no idea if this could actually be by him. My hunch is probably not as the work i have seen by him, tends to be more polished.

Along the same lines as the rough and ready vase above, this bowl was purchased from a Portsmouth artist, Gillian Walsh. She studied art&design at Portsmouth University (graduating around 2000) and whilst there experimented with smoked fired pottery. This bowl uses the smoke firing technique to highlight areas of impressed texture made by imbedding Walnuts, pistachios and other various nuts into the clay. The husks burn away to reveal the amazing indentations.

The character jug on the left comes from the Sidmouth pottery and shows the face of a pirate with a most amazing moustache. The small Toby jug on the right is commonly referred to as the snuff taker.

This quirky litte goose caught my eye in a charity shop for 50p. The naive design and striped back reminded me of the animals created by David Sharpe from the Rye potteries.

Although I know very little about studio pottery, I do know what I like, and this includes some West German pottery known as "Fat Lava" because of the lava type glazes. This piece, model number 523, by Scheurich was found in a local charity shop. I love the shape and graphic horizontal lines.

Finally, this plate (one of a pair) was at the bottom of a mixed lot of pottery bought at a local auction. Both plates have cracks and a few nibbles at the edges, but that just adds to their charm for me. They are handpainted and I think they're Chinese, possibly Kangxi in period? Again, if what I've just written should be accompanied by a large "DOH!", do let me know - my knowledge of oriental ceramics is so lacking (in my defence, the subject is SO vast!) that I would love someone to point me in the right direction.

So, there you have it, a household that isn't only Bisto Barmey but just ceramics barmey in general.

Blind Man's Bluff

2009-01-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, so most of these pics will already have appeared on my blog at some time or other. But there are now enough of them to show how Bishop & Stonier used the same moulds over and over again; they simply decorated them in different ways to suit trends and fashions of the day. Hence the title of this blog posting - objects that are so different to the eye, yet so similar to the hands.

Corinthian column candlesticks: one in flow blue on white background, the other pink on Oriental Ivory.

These simple jardinieres show the variety of surface print design used by Bishop & Stonier.

Fruit bowls - very basic in their shape, but with endless possibilities for surface design.

Ginger Jars have been popular storage vessels for centuries, but their decorative appeal is also widely appreciated.

Simple, slimline ovoid vases. They are too small necked to be used as flower vases, so the decoration is very important to their display appeal.

Tall, conical shaped vases are given very different design treatments during the Art Deco period. Dragon handled vases were very popular and produced by several companies, most notably Burleigh. The majolica, relief moulded design suits the design theme really well. The second jug relies on stylistic art deco interpretation of a Pre-Raphaelite idea.

Large ewer type jugs (originally from wash stand sets) with swirling ribbed bodies are given different transfer printed treatments. Firstly, two colour variations of the Cyprus pattern. Then an odd mix of aesthetic botanical flower prints and woodgrain/marbling type patterns on one vessel. The jury is out on that one!

Very oriental in shape, these two lidded jars/vases are both given oriental printed designs. The first, with an intensely full dragon and cloud pattern in Blue & White; the second, a hand coloured enamels version of the Fuji Yama pattern.

This list of how favourite shapes were used repeatedly, could go on and on. If you have any other variations on the shapes i've just presented, i'd love to hear from you!

White Star Line 2nd Class Delft pattern

2009-01-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

Sold on Ebay today - this small dish, made by Bisto in the Delft pattern (in flow blue) and brokered to the White Star Line by Stonier & Co of Liverpool: it sold for a very healthy £335 This pattern china was used by 2nd class passengers on ships such as Titanic and Olympic. Demand for White Star line pottery and porcelain is so great that copies now abound on internet auction sites - some quite open about the fact that they are facsimiles, others less honest. This dish is the genuine article however, and the bidders were out in force. Sadly, i don't think the fact it was made by Bisto was the main reason for the bidding frenzy, but simply that White Star line has a truly major collectors market. That said, Bisto wares for White Star line don't seem to come up for sale as often as some other manufacturers wares that were bought by the company. So, there is some rarity in their coming to the market.

ironstone vs earthenware

2009-01-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

This is an example of Oriental Ivory ware, but it uses a completely different design aesthetic for inspiration than anything from the Far East. It's a jug and bowl set in a Celtic Revival style and is made of earthenware. Sadly, the first set is not in my own collection,but the following two examples are!

I've had three days off work (two days off and one lieu day owing from working my butt off over the Christmas/Sale period) and today we took ourselves off to Lewes. The plan had originally been to go to the massive antiques fair at Ardingly, but I got my dates wrong. Today was a "Trade" only day and we didn't want to take the risk of getting there only to be turned away at the gates. So, we decided to play safe and head to one of our favourite antiques hunting haunts. The weather was clear and sunny, but OMG was it cold! The last time we visited, I came away with lots of PB&S goodies. Things weren't looking so good this time (there were a couple of things i'd seen previously, but are labelled far to expensively) until in the last 5mins before everything shut up shop, i happened upon the above jug & bowl set. I immediately recognised it as by Powell Bishop & Stonier because it is the same pattern as my very first jug from the company. This, however, is rather different in that it is ironstone (not Oriental Ivory type earthenware) and a simple colour combination of Pink on White with gilded highlights. Sadly, the condition is atrocious, but i just had to have it so that the whole day wasn't wasted! I've done something that i would NEVER normally recommend; i had a go at touching up the rubbed gilded areas. eeek. I have some liquid gold leaf at home for other craft projects and thought that because it's condition was SO bad, it couldn't hurt to have a go at some minor restoration. Although i am pleased with my efforts, it's not to professional standards, and the fact there is still a huge crack and chip rather detracts from my newly painted gold bands.

For comparison, here is the new addition jug in pink&white with gilding on ironstone body, against the ivory bodied earthenware jug i bought 3 years ago with it's cobalt blue, orange and gilding.

Santa has delivered!

2008-12-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas day and Santa has dropped a gorgeous gift down my chimney - a stunning BISTO bowl which combines a grey wood-grain printed pattern with a border of red, white and blue birds on branches and stylised trees. This pattern is so of it's time, around 1910-20ish. The border design reminds me of work coming out of the Glasgow school of art at this time; designers like Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret and Francis Macdonald, Herbert McNair etc who were perhaps a few years earlier when at the height of their powers as "The Four", but who's influence continued to inspire artists until the Art Deco period of the late 20s and 30s. The motif of Budgerigars (budgies) was very popular at this time in art and design.