Ct109 may 2013 740154

MAY - JUNE 2013

EDITION 109

trader A u s t r a l a s i a ’s l e a d i n g a n t i q u e s a n d c o l l e c t a b l e s m a g a z i n e DUNBAR RELICS Identifying tokens from one of the worst colonial disasters in Australia

FOLK ART Marvels of design created for a functional purpose are now highly collectable

STARS OF SILVERSMITHING Special feature on artists working with local materials to create distinctly Australian jewellery

TIPS FOR COLLECTORS ON HANDLING POTENTIAL HAZARDS Revealing the hidden risks

Graham Lancaster Auctions

FORTHCOMING AUCTIONS

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Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th July 2013 (Onsite- Dianella Perth WA) ‘The Moore Family Museum’

Ph: 0418 730 904 Fax: 07 4613 1111

Friday 16th August 2013 (Panthers Sports Club, Penrith NSW) Quality Bottles & Stoneware

Email: info@gdlauctions.com

View Catalogue & Photos One Month Prior to Each Sale at www.gdlauctions.com.au

Saturday 5th October 2013 (Kelly Park, Werribee VIC) ‘The Towe Collection’ of Antique Bottles

WE AUCTION We are Australia’s leading auction house for: ◆ Australiana, pottery and carnival glass ◆ Advertising signs, tins and pub mirrors ◆ Antique bottles and stoneware Sold $6,650

Sold $3,950

We conduct both ‘In House’ auctions and ‘On Site’ sales We will travel anywhere in Australia for major collections For professional and confidential service and the very best results

Contact Graham: 0418 730 904

WE BUY

Sold $4,300

We are always interested in buying or consigning entire collections or quality individual items We are especially interested in

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Contact Graham: 0418 730 904 Sold $13,500 Sold $19,400

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CollectablesTrader

Collecting today has never been more exciting as enthusiasts are able to draw on an ever-increasing field of collecting directions. Historical events, for example, have impacted on the movement of artisans. Dr Dorothy Erickson looks at the 19th century gold rush in Western Australia that attracted the Levinsons, a renowned English silversmithing family, as well as the famous JWR Linton and one of his studio partners, the award-winning but forgotten artist Kitty Armstrong.

Spurred on by miners happy to spend their earnings from rich mines on gold craftsmanship, these gold discoveries as well as the earlier ones in New South Wales and Victoria led to the local production of gold jewellery, at first with symbolic gold-mining imagery and later with distinctly Australian motifs. Anne Schofield highlights how Australian jewellers of the time produced beautiful and highly sought-after work and thus found a ready market for their creativity – then and now.

Still in the 19th century, and closer to home for many, the wreck of the Dunbar at the entrance to Sydney Harbour in 1857 was one of Australia's worst colonial disasters and ignited a collectables stampede which began the day after the victims' funeral and continues until today with heritage items, such as Hanks and Lloyd tokens, periodically coming onto the market.

In the 20th century, one of the most impactful events – as well as one of the most documented in American history – was the assassination of US president JF Kennedy. Sparking the production of a myriad of memorabilia, the resulting two classes of collectable – pre and post assassination – range from films and books to a GI Joe action figure, bubble gum cards and a Superman comic.

What is definitely very real is the issue of potentially poisonous substances when collecting old bottles or other containers including fire extinguishers, first aid boxes, doctors' bags and chemistry sets as well as the substances themselves such as mineral specimens. This continues Geoff Crawford's well-informed series of articles addressing possible risks of which collectors should be aware. His pharmacy background coupled with a personal interest in collecting results in intriguing as well as informative reading.

Also intriguing is folk art, a rustic movement which traversed the backdrop of Australia as well as the United States. Drawing on traditional European skills, this peoples' art is explored by Conrad Blakeman who finds its simplicity and creative flourishes are attracting renewed interest.

Finally, for those with an interest in oriental arts, a review of decorative works in the Qing dynasty continues the series by Melody Amsel-Arieli. The Manchu reign influenced and inspired artistic pursuits in a number of ways. Often encouraging creativity, in the area of ceramics an emperor's reactivation of the imperial factory resulted in over 3,000 workshops producing wares and an era of superlative porcelain production.

Such interesting sidelights are peppered throughout this issue which covers so much more. Once again the magazine is a repository for articles that explore the arts, heritage and history, each giving us insights into other times and places. Reading about such craftsmanship and exploring the creative process reminds us that collecting is honouring the past and holding these creations for the future.

Eva Jaku

CONTRIBUTORS Melody Amsel-Arieli is an Israeli-American freelance writer on art, collectables, genealogy, history and more.

Her most recent book is Jewish Lives: Britain 1750-1950 (Pen & Sword).

Conrad Blakeman is an antique dealer based at Wyberba in Queensland. He is passionate about collecting for himself and other collectors.

Dr Geoff Crawford has a background in science and a PhD in microbiology. He is also a collector and deals in antiques and collectables.

Rob Ditessa writes articles on artists, collectors and collecting trends.

Dr Dorothy Erickson is an art historian, curator, editor, author and practicing jeweller. Her publication Gold and Silversmithing in Western Australia: A History is an essential resource.

John Harrison is an enthusiastic movie memorabilia collector as well as delighting in pulp fiction.

Peter Lane is a respected numismatist and Secretary of the Numismatic Association of Australia He lives in South Australia where he undertakes research on coins, medals and other numismatic objects.

Paul Rosenberg of Moorabool Antique Galleries, Geelong VIC is a specialist in ceramics from antiquity to the modern age.

Anne Schofield is proprietor of Anne Schofield Antiques in Queen Street Woollahra NSW. She is an approved valuer for the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program and co-author with Kevin Fahy of Australian Jewellery: 19th and early 20th Century.

Roy Williams is a noted antique dealer, principal of Roy’s Antiques in historic Fitzroy. He specialises in 18th and 19th century English, French and other European furniture, hallmarked silver and Imperial Russian silver and icons.

CONTENTS FEATURE ARTICLES 10

62

Maritime themed collecting:

Meissen’s Johann Friedrich Böttger

SPECIAL FEATURE

Discovering the secret to making hard

Tips for collectors on handling

paste porcelain

potential hazards: continuing the

Paul Rosenberg

series by Dr Geoff Crawford

Dunbar souvenirs

16

The significance

Decoding labels: from early children’s chemistry sets to

of Hanks and

medical collectables, old

Lloyd tokens

containers & substances

Peter Lane

20

Hidden risks in old rings, fire

24

extinguishers &

JFK memorabilia This president

mineral specimens

FOCUS

remains one of the most collectable

PROFILING AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS

figures in

6

36

COLLECTING PROFILE A collector reveals how his

Stars of silversmithing: The Levinsons

collection of affordable

American

The WA gold rush attracted this English

matchboxes and matchbooks

political history

artisan family to settle in Australia

are also a window to history

John Harrison

Dorothy Erickson

Rob Ditessa

KNOWLEDGE BASE 30

Secular arts during the Qing dynasty

76

Imperial taste set the tone of

The unicorn: its meaning and origin

creative pursuits Melody Amsel-Arieli

68

Federation jewellery Gold discoveries in NSW & Victoria led to local production of gold jewellery

Anne Schofield

REGULAR FEATURES 42

Following the trail of finely crafted furniture Roy Williams

50

Kitty Armstrong: an Australian metalsmith & artist Until recently, a forgotten Western Australian

Dorothy Erickson

47 49 80 82 84 87 88 95 96

Conundrum Fairs and more Out & about Online Magazines Notice Board Collectables Subscription Trader Advertising Rates Advertisers’ Index

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56

Folk art: inspired creations Societies created from European transmigration into New Worlds gave rise to what is now known as peoples’ art

Conrad Blakeman

WIN conundrum enter our prize draw See page 47

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3

AMANDA ADDAMS AUCTIONS Auctioneers and Valuers

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Monday 3 June 2013 6.30 pm Viewing: Saturday 1 June 11 am – 4 pm Monday 3 June 12 noon – 6 pm Monday 1 July 2013 6.30 pm Viewing: Saturday 29 June 11 am – 4 pm Monday 1 July 12 noon – 6 pm Monday 5 August 2013 6.30 pm Viewing: Saturday 3 August 11 am – 4 pm Monday 5 August 12 noon – 6 pm

QUALITY SINGLE ENTRIES OR LARGE COLLECTIONS (ANTIQUES, ART, COLLECTABLES, DECORATIVE ARTS AND DECEASED ESTATES) ARE ALWAYS INVITED FOR SPECIAL AUCTIONS

AMANDA ADDAMS AUCTIONS 344 High Street, Kew Victoria 3101 Tel: 03 9855 2255; Fax: 03 9855 2244

www.aaauctions.com.au David Freeman 0419 578 184 Amanda Freeman 0419 361 753

STARS OF SILVERSMITHING the levinsons of western australia The gold rushes attracted an English silversmithing family who created precious pieces for the domestic market from 1896–1961

Dorothy Erickson

WA silversmithing: a potted history estern Australia is mostly

W

known for its artistcraftsman silversmiths. The best known being the Linton

family, their assistants and Gordon Holdsworth.

J.W.R. Linton, who taught as well, worked on silver in Western Australia from c. 1902 to c. 1946 and had various partners – Arthur Cross, Kitty Armstrong, William Andrews, Kitch Currie and his son Jamie Linton who made much of the work.

Jamie (James Alexander Barrow Linton) who worked from 1920 – c. 1980 also had various assistants, including Terry Walsh, George Lucas and his son John. Jamie became the best-known silversmith in Australia after World War II. Meanwhile, deep in the country, artist-

A brooch in 18 ct gold with rubies and pearl from the collection of the Western Australian Museum, photographed upon the page of the catalogue in which it featured

6

CollectablesTrader

craftsman Gordon Holdsworth worked in the same manner from c.1908 –1960s.

Five sterling silver sorbet dishes made by Levinson & Sons, h: 10.8 cm, with sterling silver spoons made

by Jamie Linton, c. 1933

However, there were some other makers of silver hollowware in Western Australia, which had no silver mines to stimulate production and very little manufacturing industry of any kind was undertaken until the gold rushes of the 1890s. Sadly, many of these nascent industries collapsed after Federation when the protective import duties were phased out.

The three commercial firms who survived and manufactured and retailed hollowware were Caris Bros, Stewart Dawson, and Levinson and Sons. All had English origins and arrived during the gold rushes. For most of their history, Caris Bros and

A brooch from the collection of the Western Australian Museum photgraphed on the approriate page of the catalogue in which it featured

Steward Dawson relied on original

the 1890s and the Victorian bank

work such as Perth Cups, to make

crashes occurred, Mark moved to

their commissioned hollowware. Caris

Western Australia bringing with him

paten made for Lady Bedford to

Bros and Stewart Dawson retained

his two sons Eugene and Felix. In

donate to the Beaconsfield church in

their links with parent companies in

1896 they set up in Howick Street

1916 in memory of her husband who

England and much was imported.

(now Hay Street East) as Levinson &

had been Governor of Western

Levinsons’ Australian story

Sons. Two years later they had moved

Australia. The design of this had the

to 167-9 Barrack Street and by 1907

broad bowl derived from the Icelandic

they were at larger premises at 81-89

Chalice in the Victoria and Albert

Barrack Street. With a larger staff they

Museum, a shape they later adapted

needed a good foreman and in 1911

for sorbet dishes and sporting cups.

they sponsored Reece Jones to come

Commissions

The story of the Levinsons is slightly different. Michael Levinson established a jewellery and watchmaking business in Sheffield in 1840. The discovery of gold in

to Western Australia.

Levinsons advertised in the daily

Victoria and New South Wales

Demand for church work

papers and various church

however saw his eldest son Hyam sail

As a result of the population increase

newspapers and also produced a

in 1854 on the Marco Polo for

during the gold rushes, many new

comprehensive 86-page catalogue of

Victoria. Seven years later, his second

churches were being built and the

jewellery and hollowware. The

son Mark joined Hyam at Sturt Street,

business improvements enabled

company was commissioned to create

Ballarat where they set up business

Levinsons to supply much of the

many official items including a gift to

and were reasonably successful.

ecclesiastical metalwork required.

the departing Governor’s wife Lady

One example was the chalice and

Ellison-McCarthy in 1920, and a

However when the Depression of

CollectablesTrader 7

A page from a Levinson catalogue, c. 1914. Western Australian Museum

would also have made the dies for the sorbet dishes formerly in the collection of the late Hazel Nash to be auctioned at McKenzies later this year. One of these was a trophy awarded by the Cottesloe Golf Club in 1933. The winner was obviously so pleased with them he commissioned another four and had Jamie Linton make five sorbet spoons to fit.

The sunset years Eugene’s son Robert studied gemmology in London in 1934 and he and his brother Malcolm became partners in the firm in 1936. Robert Levinson claimed to have commenced commercial lost-wax casting in Perth.

This was an expensive outlay suitable only for mass production.

During World War II both these Levinson sons were manpowered to make optical munitions for the war effort. Robert became an instrument artificer in the AIF in 1943. Felix retired pectoral cross to a visiting Apostolic

Levinson & Sons moved to Sheffield

Delegate, Archbishop Catteano in the

House, the new three-storey, purpose-

same year. Levinsons also made a

built building at 713-721 Hay Street,

number of sporting trophies including

designed by George Temple Poole with

one for Royal Perth Golf Club in 1919.

a ‘Moderne’ facade of pale grey

Felix became Rear-Commodore of

Portland cement studded with lapis

Royal Perth Yacht Club which,

lazuli and window frames of bronze.The

although it did not have the cachet of

staff numbered 110, manning a

Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, no

watchmaker's repair shop, a jewellery

doubt assisted with business contacts.

and hollowware manufacturing section

Jewellery: an accessible collectable

as well as a retail area.

For collectors, Levinson jewellery is more easily obtained. The firm made brooches in 9 ct, 15 ct and 18 ct gold

The staff included a very skilled die sinker and engraver by the name of John Anderson who made the dies for the Interdominion Trotting Trophy. He

with precious stones in the latter and

after the war and the firm became a proprietory company, Levinsons Pty Ltd, with Robert and Malcolm as joint managers. However the firm began to decline and in 1961 the stock in trade was sold to the rival firm of Caris Bros, by this time bought by Lindsay Rosenthal who also acquired the Victorian branch of the firm. Robert became a consultant gemmologist and Malcolm started a hearing aid buiness.

Caris Brothers also declined and closed. Stewart Dawson closed in 1965. It was the end of an era.

Images courtesy of Western Australian Museum and McKenzie’s Auctioneers.

simulated or lesser stones in the former.

Its extensive catalogues of fashionable jewellery from c. 1912 frequently sported red, white and blue stones as a show of patriotism as war loomed.

In the 1920s Mark retired and his sons Eugene and Felix became joint managers. Eugene was in charge of the manufacturing and Felix managed the front of house. The sons were ambitious and became successful.

8

CollectablesTrader

MAKER’S MARKS UK: Lion passant leopard’s head, HM in England (att.)

Victoria: Lion passant leopard’s head L&S in Victoria (att.)

WA: ‘L&S’, ‘Levinson Perth’ quality mark (15 c, 15 ct, 18 ct), ‘Levinson & Sons’ and the quality mark, ‘Levinson’ and the quality mark

Further reading Dorothy Erickson, Gold and Silversmithing in Western Australia: A History, UWA Publishing, Perth WA, 2010 Anne Schofield and Kevin Fahy, Australian Jewellery of the 19th and Early 20th Century, David Ell Press, Balmain NSW, 1990 Judith O’Callaghan, Treasures from Australian Churches, Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, 1985

Fyans Cottage COLLECTABLES

170 Moorabool Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220 P: 03 5229 7006 F: 03 5222 3362 E: fyanscottage@bigpond.com.au www.fyanscottage.com.au Hours: weekdays 9.30 am to 5.00 pm Saturday 9.30 am to 1.00 pm. After hours by appointment

maritime themed collecting Hanks and Lloyd 1857 penny.

Courtesy Noble Numismatics

SOUVENIRS FROM THE DUNBAR A collectables stampede started the day after the victims’ funeral following one of the colony’s worst maritime disasters

Peter Lane

T

he wreck of the Dunbar was one of the worst colonial disasters in Australia. On a dark and stormy night in 1857, the Dunbar

crashed into the cliff at South Head at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. Only one of its 122 passengers and crew survived.

Many of the men, women and children on board were colonists returning from a visit to England. What made it sadder was the fact that it had sailed all the way from England, almost completing the voyage of 81 days only to be wrecked hours from its destination.

About the Dunbar The Dunbar was launched on the 30 November 1853 and was the largest wooden ship ever constructed at Top left: Book-like souvenir piece with ‘Wreck of the Dunbar 20 Augt 1857’ on a plaque mounted on it, 91 x 77 x 36 mm Left: Hanks and Lloyd 1857 halfpenny.

Courtesy Noble Numismatics

10

CollectablesTrader

Dunbar anchor at The Gap

Sunderland in north east England.

shelter in the harbour rather than lay

that the next edition of Bradshaw’s

The owner, Duncan Dunbar, intended

at sea until the weather improved.

Monthly Continental Railway, Steam

it to carry a mix of general cargo and

The captain miscalculated the

Navigation & Conveyance Guide would

passengers between London and

passage and when he discovered this

contain illustrations of the wreck.

Sydney. Gold had recently been

it was too late and the ship smashed

discovered in Australia and the owner

into the cliff at The Gap at South

From morbid souvenir hunting to heritage

saw potential for substantial profit in

Head. The only survivor was James

this route at the time. However,

Johnson, a 23-year-old Irish seaman.

instead of sailing on the Australian

By daybreak, the remains of the

People beachcombing the area found white candles, boots, panama hats, bonnets and timber. Those

run, the ship was immediately

Dunbar and cargo were littered along

deployed as a troopship to carry

the coast and harbour beaches. The

Queen Victoria’s forces to the Crimea.

following day The Sydney Morning

When it was no longer needed as a

Herald published the ship’s manifest

troop carrier, it made a voyage to

and passenger list in a special

recovered and was placed for

Australia in 1856.

afternoon edition as, by this time,

visitors to see at The Gap, the

mail bags had been found which

dramatic cliff-top on the South

to Australia, she sailed from Plymouth

were marked ‘Dunbar’, thus

Head peninsula overlooking the

on 31 May 1857 with 63 passengers

establishing the identity of the vessel.

ocean near the wreck site. With the

and a crew of 59. Captain Green was

The bodies that were found were

advent of scuba diving, many more

On her second and fateful voyage

that dived onto the wreck found many more objects. Fifty years later an iron anchor from the ship was

in charge of the vessel and he had

taken to the ‘dead-house’ at Circular

objects were recovered. This

made eight previous voyages to

Quay. Many were beyond identification

concerned heritage authorities and

Sydney. At dusk on 20 August, the

but some were able to be identified by

it is now illegal to remove anything

Dunbar sailed past Botany Bay and

jewellery or initials on clothing. They

from the site.

was in the vicinity of the Sydney

were all buried in the Camperdown

Heads in the dark. As it was a stormy

Cemetery in a mass grave.

night, Captain Green decided to

The following day it was announced

Unfortunately, with the passage of time, provenances of items recovered that are in private hands

CollectablesTrader 11

A view of the coast line at The Gap overlooking the ocean near the wreck site

can prove difficult to substantiate.

halfpenny tokens went down with the

depict an unofficial coat of arms of

There are a few exceptions; cutlery

ship so any of those tokens bearing that

Australia on one side.

stamped with ‘Dunbar’, objects that

date can be attributed to the Dunbar.

Records relating to Hanks and Lloyd Dunbar tokens

have contemporary plaques or something engraved into them.

mart in 1853 in George Street,

Recently for sale at the Sydney

Sydney. The partners were

Antique Centre was a small solid

experienced dealers; Hanks had been

wooden book with an engraved

engaged in this line of business for

silverplate with rather ambiguous

more than 20 years in Newport

wording: ‘Wreck of Dunbar 20thAugt

Market Square, Leicestershire while

1857’. One assumes that the wood

William Lloyd had run a similar shop

was salvaged from the wreck. The

for some years in Hobart.

asking price was $350.

Items in public collections The National Maritime Museum and the Powerhouse Museum do not record similar items in their online collection catalogue of Dunbar relics.

In the collection of Vaucluse House, located not far from where the wreck

Like a number of traders they saw the advantage of having tokens to

While the 1857 batch of tokens formed part of the Dunbar’s cargo they were not mentioned in contemporary newspapers. At the time of the incident the pilot of the Sydney pilot vessel the Sea Witch was given some of these tokens from a diver. This information only appeared in a newspaper in 1910. The son of

advertise their business and make a

William Lloyd stated at the time that

profit in the process. Their copper

this article was written: ‘I have often

penny and half penny tokens were

heard my father speak of his having a

dated 1855 and 1857 and are now

shipment in the Dunbar but I was not

relatively common. Rather than use

aware that any had been recovered

colonial manufacturers of tokens they

until his letter appeared.’

opted to have all their tokens minted

Today the 1857 Hanks and Lloyd

in London by W.J. Taylor. The earlier

pennies and halfpennies sell for $50 to

ones have an inscription recording the

$100 in average condition with some

opening of the first Sydney railway in

Hanks and Lloyd tokens

sea corrosion. Their role in Australia’s

1855 and, as such, appeal to railway

monetary, shipping and migration

The entire shipment of Hanks and

enthusiasts. The 1857 tokens are

history is significant and worthy of

Lloyd’s 1857 merchant’s penny and

much more visually appealing as they

being in any Australiana collection.

occurred, there is a chair engraved in capitals ‘made from the wreck of the ship Dunbar August 20 1857’.

12

Hanks and Lloyd opened their tea

CollectablesTrader

FAULCONBRIDGE ANTIQUES p l a n

Moorcroft vase decorated in Tasmanian Blue Gum pattern designed by Sally Tuffin, c. 1993 h: 43.2 cm. Limited edition no. 29/50

Art Nouveau WMF ornate Moser glass and pewter claret jug, c. 1890s

t o

b e

Loetz (signed) iridised Art Nouveau single trumpet epergne, c. 1890s, set on a silver-plated base

Thomas Webb & Sons cranberry glass epergne, c. 1880s with applied uranium glass highlights

Selection of Carlton Ware Art Deco flower vases, c. 1930s, decorated with bell, hollyhocks & devil’s copse

i n s p i r e d

Art Deco Crown Devon vase in Mattejade Fairyland pattern designed

by Enoch Boulton, c. 1930s

Samuel Clarke fairy lamp model Burmese ware epergne manufactured

by Thomas Webb & Sons, c. 1884

Kauri pine & Queensland maple hallstand, c. 1900s, carved decoration includes kookaburras, tree stumps, grapes and grape vines

448A GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY FAULCONBRIDGE, NSW. 2776

02 4751 7627 or 0458 524 752

faulconbridgeantiques.com OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 9.30 am – 5.00 pm or by Appointment

Moorcroft vase decorated in the Florian Poppy pattern designed and produced

by William Moorcroft at the factory of James Macintyre & Co, c. 1902

Kalmar Antiques where you can hold a piece of history in your hand Specialising in antiques, fine jewellery, watches and objets de vertu

Shop 45, Level 1 Queen Victoria Building, Sydney 2000

Phone 02 9264 3663 Email kalmar@ozemail.com.au You can also visit our website at www.kalmarantiques.com.au

This rare and important ladies’ pocket watch, c.1910 formerly the property of a Russian aristocrat, is by the watch supplier to the Russian Imperial Court, Pavel (Paul) Buhre. Beautifully enamelled, the 18ct gold case is enriched with diamonds. The guilloche enamel is in mauve, the favourite colour of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and no doubt intended as a compliment to her. The enamel is further enriched with painted flowers, and with a 1911 presentation date within the case, diameter: 3cm. $5,500

G e o rg i a n & C o n t i n e n t a l F u r n i t u r e • Po r c e l a i n

Silver • Ikons • Paintings • Imperial Russian

www.Roys-Antiques.com.au

410 Queens Parade Clifton Hill Vic 61 3 9489 8467

message in a bottle

WARNING ON OLD CONTENTS In this article Dr Geoff Crawford reviews some simple chemistry as it relates to substances

Beware when collecting early pharmaceuticals Old first aid boxes and doctors’ bags may contain an array of potential poisons. Watch out for anaesthetics (ether, chloroform), injectables (adrenaline, atropine, penicillin), narcotics (laudanum, morphine), antiseptics and smelling salts.

Smelling salts release ammonia (NH3) and a good sniff is like a punch in the face!

Not child’s play Old chemistry sets may contain chemicals that are now banned for children’s use. I remember that Selby’s removed strontium nitrate from their chemistry sets in the 1960s because of its skin and eye irritant properties. Other nasties might include potassium dichromate (or bichromate) and potassium bisulphate which are both carcinogenic (cancer causing) or mercuric oxide that when heated gives off mercury metal vapour.

16

CollectablesTrader

HELPFUL WARNING SYMBOLS

A helping hand regarding poisons is often given by the bottle itself. In Australia, poison bottles often had: • ‘Poison’ printed in raised letters on the glass • skull and cross bones or other warning symbol on the label • raised ribs or dots • were triangular /other unusual shape • were brown in colour

Common chemical names To complicate matters, chemicals are also often given common names as well as their chemical name:

»

Muriatic acid or spirits of salts is hydrochloric acid

» » »

Mercury – its more common uses A mercury amalgam was used as a

Oil of vitriol is sulphuric acid

Aqua fortis is nitric acid Aqua regia is a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids used to dissolve gold

‘silver’ backing in old mirrors. When it

»

breaks down small beads of mercury

Calomel is mercurous chloride

accumulate at the bottom of the mirror. Mercury is an extremely heavy metal and has been used inside clock pendulums. It is still used in

Caroline Grills (1880?-1960). Image NWN Library Source: The Daily Telegraph. http://murderpedia.org

Below: The Canberra Times ACT, 10 October 1953. Courtesy http://trove.nla.gov.au

movement switches.

Older style sphygmomanometers

alloy objects. Alongside these was a

(blood pressure meters) contain a

small Sigma brand bottle (c. 1960s)

long tube of mercury and laboratory

of the strong oxidising agent potassium

vacuum pumps often contain

permanganate (Condy’s crystals). Not

mercury. As glass is often used to

a great combination to have together

contain the mercury great care is

in an old wooden shed!

needed. Once spilt it is difficult to

From rat poison to a killer cake

pick up as it is a liquid metal and dry!

Alert for bottle collectors

Bottle collectors need to be alert

Recently I came across two lovely

Thallium, a particularly nasty poison,

reagent bottles in an old garden shed.

was used in Thall-rat (rat poison) in

The labels said ‘conc’ nitric acid and

Australia in the 1940-50s and old

‘1.1 N’ nitric acid. ‘Conc’ means

bottles are still found. An interesting

concentrated and ‘1.1’ means the acid

poisoning case involved Caroline Grills

has been diluted to 1.1 N (normal). A

('Aunt Carrie') who committed a

bit complicated but it means that it

number of poisonings and murders in

was diluted 14.5 times in water, so it

Sydney using thallium in cakes from

was safe enough to handle.

around 1947 to 1952. An afternoon

regarding the contents of old bottles.

The concentrated acid was the

tea at Aunt Carrie’s home was fraught

significant danger as nitric acid is

with real danger. She died in prison of

extremely corrosive and poisonous. It is

natural causes and never gave a

often used to clean copper and copper

reason for her crimes.

CollectablesTrader 17

Left: Mixing alkaline metals with water – an explosive reaction

Warning: water can worsen problem – dilution is not necessarily the answer!

SUMMARY: Collectors need to have

Do not assume that diluting the

objects. A 1½ pound tin of treacle is

substance in lots of water will solve

completely harmless (but sticky)

the problem. There are many nasty

whilst a bottle (wax or special plastic)

surprises in store for the uninitiated!

of hydrofluoric acid (HF) is extremely

For example sodium (Na) and

corrosive and deadly! It is routinely

potassium (K) metals explode in

used to etch glass and should never

Examining copper sulphate

water. Strong acids (hydrochloric,

be touched!

Another example: bluestone (common

sulphuric and nitric) and bases (e.g.

name), sulphate of copper or copper

sodium hydroxide or caustic soda)

For more information and advice

sulphate are all names of the same

generate large amounts of heat when

Dr Geoff Crawford can be contacted at

substance. Of course scientists use

diluted in water that can cause the

access@academix.com.au

chemical symbols as a kind of

acid or base to boil and fume and spit

shorthand for chemicals – copper

at you. Ouch!

Thallium. Courtesy http://murderpedia.org. An indication of thallium poisoning is the loss of hair. Initially it was used as a depilatory. Another side effect is the damage to peripheral nerves. In the case of the Grills poisoning, one of the surviving victims, Mrs Lundberg, became blind

some basic knowledge of the contents of their wonderful containers or

sulphate is CuSO4. 5H2O and has a lovely blue colour. If heated to drive off

ATOMIC SYMBOL

POISONOUS ELEMENT

often used in a water detecting paste

Sb

Antimony

as it turns back to blue in the presence

As

Arsenic

Ba

Barium. Barium sulphate OK (barium meal) but other compounds are poisons

will be found in many chemistry sets.

Br

Bromine

Poisons that are elementary

Cd

Cadmium

Cl

Chlorine

Chemical symbols are used

Cu

Copper

F

Fluorine

I

Iodine

chemical containing different kinds of

Pb

Lead

elements (a compound). Copper

Hg

Mercury

sulphate – CuSO4. 5H2O – contains copper (Cu), sulphur (S), oxygen (O)

P

Phosphorus

and hydrogen (H). I have listed some

Ra

Radium - radioactive

of the elements that may cause

Tl

Thallium

trouble if they are in a chemical

U

Uranium - radioactive

Z

Zinc – some compounds poisonous

the water, it becomes a white CuSO4

of water. Copper sulphate is a poison but not a very strong one and is often used in aquariums to control algae. It

extensively in science. Each element has its own specific symbol and they are put together to describe a

formula on your bottle. This is not an extensive list.

18

CollectablesTrader

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more on collecting containers

REVEALING THE HIDDEN DANGERS Further and hidden risks associated with some vessels are examined by Dr Geoff Crawford whose knowledge of chemistry helps reveal the dangers

Top 12 mineral poisons ineral specimens are

M

intensely interesting and often handled. Who can resist the temptation to

pick up that wonderful crystalline structure? You should treat those listed

Pyrene brass pump handle extinguisher, c.1930s

in the table (next page) with great care, especially if some of the mineral has flaked off or is powdery. This is not a full list but some consider it to be the top 11 mineral poisons – with Crocidolite being number one!

20

CollectablesTrader

extensively in science however some chemical symbols are very similar, e.g. NaCl or NaCN. Which would you put on your fish and chips and which is a deadly poison? The ‘CN’ gives it away – that is the symbol for cyanide.

The first compound is common salt (sodium chloride) and the latter sodium cyanide.

If symbols on an old bottle label resemble either NaCN or KCN (potassium cyanide) then be extremely careful as the bottle

Salt or cyanide on your chips?

contains deadly poison. KCN was

It should be noted that two of the

the USA. When mixed with sulphuric

minerals listed are possible sources

acid it gives off hydrocyanic gas

of arsenic. One also comes across

(HCN is also called prussic acid). An

this poison in 19th century

odour of almonds indicates it is

collectables, incorporated then in

cyanide but sniffing old bottles is not

clothing dyes (see ‘A Dress

recommended! Interestingly,

to Dye for’ in Collectables Trader,

poisoning from cyanide turns the

Dec 2012 – Feb 2013) as well as

body a bluish colour. Cyan means

in household items.

blue – check out your blue laser

As referred to in the previous Early fire extinguishers

article, chemical symbols are used

used for gas chamber executions in

toner for the word ‘cyan’.

MINERAL

POISON OR DELETERIOUS EFFECTS

Crocidolite Number one killer

Blue asbestos, lung disease including mesothelioma

Hydroxyapatite

Deposits in human heart valves and arteries

Erionite

Fibrous zeolite, malignant mesothelioma (virulent lung cancer)

Phenacite

Contains beryllium, dust is highly poisonous

K-Feldspar

Small amount of uranium, ore of lead

Chrysotile

White asbestos, lung disease

Quartz

Fine particulates cause lung disease silicosis

Fluorite

Contains fluorine

Pyrite(s)

Fool’s gold. May contain arsenic

Galena

Ore of lead

Cinnabar

Ore of mercury

Realgar

Source of arsenic

Brass poison ring

Hidden compartments: deadly legacy Cyanide is also found in old rings with hidden compartments (also called suicide, pillbox or locket rings) that sometimes crop up in jewellery auctions. Watch out for tablets or

dry powder (red with a white stripe) contains sodium bicarbonate powder.

But what about those old collectable fire extinguishers? The small Pyrene brass pump handle extinguishers contain carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). This is a great

powders in such rings. These rings

fire extinguisher and degreaser but

can go all the way back to the 14th

causes liver cancer. Yellow BCF

century and were used extensively

extinguishers (c. 1970) contain a

during the Renaissance (14th –

halon (bromo chloro difluoro

17th century) but mainly to store

methane) that gives off toxic chlorine

lockets of hair or small miniature

(Cl2) fumes when used on a fire but is

paintings of a loved one.

again a great fire extinguisher. BCF is

Collecting early fire extinguishers could be a health risk Many substances are also fire risks.

an ozone depleting gas and is now banned for general use. Small ‘silvery’ extinguishers for cars and around the home also contain halons or carbon tetrachloride.

Things like phosphorus, celluloid, metal, matches and common

How to check your collection

alcohols burn. So a fire extinguisher

If in doubt consult the appropriate

might be handy but what chemical

MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets).

(poison or not) is inside it? Soda acid

Typing the names of chemicals into

(red) and foam (blue) extinguishers

your search engine will turn up the

contain sulphuric acid (battery acid)

meaning. Old chemistry texts or

and sodium bicarbonate (baking

books on poisoning cases often

soda) solutions, CO2 (red with a black

contain information about chemicals

stripe) contains carbon dioxide while

banned or no longer in use.

gun powder, sodium and potassium

Crystal hemlock poison ring

CollectablesTrader 21

www.aada.org.au

Abbott’s Antiques

Member

The Established Name for Quality Antiques since 1931

Pair of Japanese landscape painted Imari chargers with pierced scalloped rims, c. 1890

Fine pair of George III diamond cut crystal square base covered jars, c. 1820

Parian figure of 'Clytie' dated 1855, probably Copeland

George III sterling silver three piece bright cut engraved tea service, London 1811

Bronze figure of 'Seated Mercury' with winged sandals on a verde marble base, c. 1890

Walnut 3 division music canterbury with turned supports and lower drawer, c. 1840

Gilt framed painted porcelain portrait plaque, c. 1860, probably KPM

Fine George III Sheffield plate crested and scroll embossed tea urn, c. 1820

Selection of William Moorcroft 'Pomegranate' pattern items, c. 1925

Fine set of eight Regency period brass inlaid mahogany dining chairs including two carvers, c. 1820

Max Dupain, Wine press at Maurice O'Shea’s Hunter Valley, 1951. Signed and dated lower right

George III mahogany side table with three drawers and shaped apron, c. 1770

Specialising in Fine English 18th & 19th century Furniture, Sterling Silver, Porcelain, Jewellery, Sheffield Plate, 18th century Drinking and Table Glass, Bronzes, Paintings, Art Nouveau and Art Deco

14 Eastern Road, Turramurra NSW 2074 • Tel 02 9449 8889 Visit www.abbottsantiques.com.au for a further selection of current stock

Camberwell ANTIQUE CENTRE 25-29 Cookson Street Camberwell VIC 3124

Tel 03 9813 1260 or 0418 586 764 www.Camberwellantiquecentre.com.au OPEN 7 DAYS, 10 AM – 5 PM

Over 50 dealers in antiques, collectables, sporting memorabilia and ephemera.

Large selection of Carlton Ware, Moorcroft, Wedgwood, Doulton, Australian pottery, furniture, silver, jewellery, paintings, toys, clocks, watches and much more!

Collecting

JFK MEMORABILIA The assassination as well as the life of US President John F. Kennedy resulted in a wealth of collectables

John Harrison ntil 9/11 slapped the world

U

in its collective face, the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas

on 22 November 1963, initiated more conspiracy theories than any other event in modern history. It seemed as if the majority of Americans, as well as many foreigners, could not accept the possibility that one person – Lee Harvey Oswald – had taken it entirely upon his own volition to murder the most powerful man in the western world, only to be killed by shady nightclub owner Jack Ruby in the basement of a Texas police station 24 hours later.

Of course, all this happened at a (supposedly) more innocuous time, when random killings by lone gunmen were not such a common occurrence. Were it to occur in 2013, a lone shooter with a personal vendetta would be the first and most likely scenario that most people

24

CollectablesTrader

hardcover tomes – that appeared in the assassination’s wake helped popularise the true crime genre which is so expansive and prominent today.

But JFK memorabilia took in a lot more than just books and, along with Abraham Lincoln (also a victim of assassination in 1865), he remains the most collectable – and fascinating – figure in American political history.

American ‘royalty’ Prior to his killing, the youthful Kennedy and his extended clan were the closest thing America had to royalty, and his brief time in the White House symbolised a time of promise and discovery for a new era, just as his death ushered in a new dark side would consider and accept. In fact,

to the great American dream. When it

considering the noticeable rise in

comes to collecting JFK memorabilia,

random killings across America that

there are two clear periods: pre and

followed in its wake, Kennedy’s

post-assassination.

murder can be viewed as something

Pre and post assassination periods

of a catalyst for a long-simmering undercurrent of psychopathology and violence – it was the day that America lost its perceived innocence forever.

The Kennedy assassination was also one of the most documented events in American history, it virtually changed overnight the way major news events were covered in the media (particularly in the medium of television). Suddenly, Americans were able to watch history unfold in front of them in real time, such as the worldwide televised Apollo Moon landing in 1969. The experience which the media gained was put to great use later in the turbulent decade when the Vietnam War was televised directly into lounge rooms all across America.

Pre-assassination, there is the usual political memorabilia to track down – campaign badges, posters and flags, commemorative magazines and copies of the books Kennedy authored (1957s Pulitzer Prize winning Profiles in Courage and Why

England Slept, his 1940 college thesis that was published in 1961).

However it is the wealth of material that surfaced in the wake of his murder that remains most sought after by collectors – these items include original newspapers from the period, souvenir reels of 8 mm film released for the home movie market, tribute comic book biographies and magazines, postcards that depict the assassination route along Dealey Plaza, and record

Popularised true crime genre

LPs that documented the tragic event,

Kennedy was also exploited as much

President: The Four Black Days

as he was mourned. The rash of

(released in 1964 by the American

books – both of the cheap, trashy

Society of Recorded Drama).

variety and the more academic,

such as The Assassination of a

Of course there were – and

CollectablesTrader 25

continues to be – a plethora of books published on Kennedy over the years, as well as an enormous number of documentaries and bio-films (of varying accuracy and quality) which have been released on VHS and DVD.

Unusual items For those on the lookout for something a little unusual, you can buy posters and a paperback tie-in for

PT-109, a 1963 war film which chronicles the heroics of John F. Kennedy on his torpedo boat in the Pacific during World War II. Starring Cliff Robertson as JFK, PT-109 was the first film ever made about a stillcurrent US President (who had full approval over the casting and director), and was released only three months prior to the assassination.

Over the years plastic model kits of the PT-109 have also been produced, and in 2000 as part of a GI Joe collector’s series celebrating American military heroes and famous battles Hasbro released a limited edition JFK GI

the Man of Steel promotes JFK’s physical fitness for young people. This edition was in preparation prior to Kennedy’s death, before being delayed a few months and finally published as a tribute to the slain President.

Rising interest & values

and his naval officer’s dress whites.

Most early JFK memorabilia is still fairly easy and inexpensive to obtain

sitting in his White House rocking chair

as much of it was produced in

was produced by Aurora in 1965.

overwhelming numbers. However it is

Other off-beat items include various

CollectablesTrader

DC’s Superman comic book, in which

Joe action figure in his PT-109 fatigues An earlier model kit of Kennedy

26

and the July 1964 issue (#170) of

a subject that will forever spark

die-cast replicas of Kennedy’s open-

fascination and debate and, as the

top 1961 Lincoln limousine which he

1960s become an increasingly distant

rode in on that fateful day, a series of

memory, prices for such vintage items

bubble gum cards released by Topps,

have been steadily rising.

MITCHELL ROAD ANTIQUE & DESIGN CENTRE

Upper Level 76 Mitchell Road, Alexandria NSW 2015 Open 7 days 10 am - 5 pm P: 02 9698 0907 I E: mitchellroadcentre@yahoo.com.au www.mitchellroad.wordpress.com

SHINE-ON IS THE MESSAGE For everyone who has favourite things which have lost it olishing varnished wooden surfaces has been touched on in a previous story I wrote, however in that article I spoke about creating a shine on furniture with the aid of Howard Restor-A-Finish as a preliminary treatment. What needs to be touched on more fully is the problem of floors that have lost their shine and are covered in light scratches, as well as items

P

like guitars or violins which have become scratched and marked with sweaty build-up.

Understanding modern varnishes Modern surfaces, especially highly polished floating floors, cannot be successfully repaired with Restor-A-Finish alone because it cannot melt and re-spread space age Carbamate ester based polyurethane finishes in the same way that it can

penetrate and melt early era shellac based varnish finishes and older style two pot polyurethane varnishes.

A special protective product This is where a light cutting polish which also creates a hard finish comes into its own.

Most of the compounds available are silicone based and also contain harsh abrasives and certain drying agents and chemicals. Howard Products have devised a new style of polish containing micro-polishing powders combined with orange oil and select waxes, which does NOT contain silicone or linseed oil as fillers. This extremely safe cream will not lift veneer, and can be used by hand for buffing and polishing or can be used on floors with an electric buffer.

Looking at the big picture Take a look at the assembly of photos in the big panel to the left of this column.

There you will see some examples of what can be achieved with new Howard Restor-AShine. First of all you will notice some half polished items like the guitar body, the decorative bedhead and the back of a chair.

Then there's the newly polished floor just gleaming with new pizazz. There’s no prep work required, no waiting to dry, you just pour and polish, then buff to a shine.

If you really want a non-toxic one-step solution to all sorts of surface blemishes, this is it.

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CollectablesTrader

Find a stockist or buy online

The Gold Coast Antique Centre is an exciting gallery in Miami with over 25 dealers displaying an ever changing range of rare antiques and collectables. It’s an Aladdin’s cave of treasures including the finest glassware, antique furniture, jewellery, clocks, toys, movie memorabilia and much more.

The Gold Coast Antique Centre is a must see venue located at

2076 Gold Coast Highway, Miami • Phone 07 5572 0522 • Mobile: 0414 338 363 More than a website – shop online @ www.goldcoastantiquecentre.com.au OPEN 7 DAYS 10 - 5 Sun 10 - 4

continuing our series on oriental decorative arts

SECULAR ARTS DURING THE QING DYNASTY (1644-1911) In China, imperial taste set the tone of creative pursuits undertaken by artists and artisans

Melody Amsel-Arieli n 1644, the Manchus, a semi-nomadic

I

people from beyond the Great Wall, established the Qing (Pure) dynasty, the last imperial dynasty in China. Their

empire, which eventually extended into Siberia Tibet, and Central Asia, lasted nearly 300 years, through to 1911.

Above: Late 19th century very large famille rose, greenground ‘In and Out’ offering dish made for the Asian market.

The dish is painted both inside and on the underside of the rim. Courtesy Michael Backman Ltd, London Right: Encountering a Learned Beggar, folding fan leaf, ink and colour on paper, 24.1 x 52 cm, inscribed and dated gengzi (possibly 1840), bearing the signature Su Liupeng with one seal, now framed and glazed.

Estimated value: US$1,200-1,500.

Courtesy Bonhams

30

CollectablesTrader

Under Emperor Qianlong (reigned

Art of Painting In the field of painting, a number of outstanding Chinese artists served the early Qing court. Others, however, loyal to the previous Ming dynasty (13681644), withdrew from public service.

Instead, they pursued personal forms of expression in the Anchui province

1722), Chinese intellectuals with a

of literacy, a bustling economy, and

deep appreciation for the Orthodox

cultivation of the arts encouraged

School were recruited into

further creativity and innovation.

government service. Following their

Painting and calligraphy, as well as

advice, the emperor commemorated

the creation of porcelain and jade

his triumphal 1689 tour through the

objets d’art, flourished.

Chinese heartland with a huge collection of paintings in the

and Nanjing, once the capital of the Ming Empire. Although these

Emperor Qianlong

individualists found inspiration in the

increased the imperial

landscapes around them, they

collection of paintings

eschewed ancient artistic tradition.

and calligraphy to over

Elite Chinese scholars, who had

2,500 were by the

and calligrapher, Dong Qichang (1555-

emperor himself. Qianlong

painting techniques of Chinese old masters. A group of Dong disciples, known as the Four Wangs, founded the Orthodox School. Although their followers venerated ancient paintings,

Orthodox style. He also consulted the fourth Wang, Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715), about expanding his Imperial painting collection.

15,000 works of which

been influenced by the late Ming artist 1636), re-interpreted the models and

During the Kangxi Reign (1662-

1736-95), political stability, high levels

was also an artist who had a fondness for accurately painted, technically skilled works that were colourful.

Artist unknown, Lychee and Rat scroll, ink and colour on silk; painting: 20.4 x 25.5 cm, colophon: 21 x 25 cm. Bearing an inscription reading, ‘1428, painted by royal decree at the Wuying Palace and gifted to the eunuch Guo Bi’, inscribed over a seal reading Wuyingdian bao, dated ‘a winter month in 1762’, and bearing the signature Shen Deqian with two seals.

Estimated value: US$2,000-3,000

their landscapes and bird-and-flowers pieces, which feature highly-skilled brush-and-ink techniques, were often innovative in form and expression.

Since painting and calligraphy are closely entwined in Chinese cultural identity and social standing, many also feature traditional calligraphic inscriptions or lines of poetry.

The Four Wangs were painters all with the surname Wang who were members of the group known as the Six Masters of the early Qing period.

They established a systematic style based on the tradition, known as the Orthodox School, continuing the tradition of the scholar-painter.

Fan painting signed Wang Duo (1592-1652), ink on gold paper, 22.2 x 51.5 cm, calligraphy in running script, mounted for framing. Estimated value: US$10,000-15,000 Images courtesy Bonhams

CollectablesTrader 31

Ceramics The Kangxi emperor reactivated the imperial porcelain factory at

seem to be of simple decorative form

Late 19th century pair of Kat Maus or Chupus with covers made for the Asian market.

Courtesy Michael Backman Ltd, London

underpin a deep symbolic significance.

Jingdezhen in the 1680s. The period

Western influence

1680-1756 is held to be the era of

New colour came to Chinese porcelain

During Kangxi’s reign

superlative porcelain production. By

from the outside world. Pastels –

cobalt blue was used for

the end of his reign there were more

including pale yellow-crackle – and

decoration on white

than 3,000 workshops producing wares

shiny, bright monochromatic glazed

for the imperial court as well as for

porcelain. This was a

porcelains were widely produced, as

China’s domestic and export markets.

were ruby-magenta tones called famille

Symbols of power portrayed in porcelain

rose (rose family) and fencai (powdery

As the dragon was the Chinese

a wide range of hues resulting in

the establishment of The People’s

emblem of divine imperial power, Qing

porcelain graduating in China – as well

Republic of China in 1949. Some

porcelain often features ferocious, five-

as the west – from blue and white to

reached Western museums. Other

clawed, serpentine golden dragons –

all shades of the rainbow.

Qing pieces, including colourful

symbols of strength, good luck and

practice that dated back to the early 15th century.

colours). These new colours produced

Items produced included porcelain

cloisonné vases, serving ware and

potent powers. It is now thought that

ginger jars, brush pots, vases and tea

figurines, reached the public through

vessels decorated with five-clawed

cups, glazed with pink opaque famille

European and American expositions of

dragons were for imperial use only.

rose and hand-painted with dense

the 19th and early 20th century.

Other porcelain pieces feature overlarge flowers, muted enamel work or stylised figures of fierce, traditional

32

(Book of Changes). So pieces that

designs featuring auspicious motifs

Today, due to the restrictive Chinese

like bamboo, butterflies, and bats.

trade policy that is designed to safeguard

Many valuable late Qing era (1849-

the country’s national heritage, many

warriors. During the Kangxi Reign

1911) pieces which evoke the breadth

museum quality or rare collectables that

Daoist motifs were very popular. The

and grandeur of Chinese tradition and

date before 1911 cannot legally leave

decorative motifs of yang (continuous

culture, were looted or stolen from

the country. Thus few authentic, high

lines) and yin (broken lines) are drawn

1839 – the beginning of the first

quality late Qing dynasty antiques

from the Eight Trigrams from the Yijing

Anglo-Chinese Opium War – through

currently reach the international market.

CollectablesTrader

Fascination with jade According to Confucius, jade (ju), which ranges in colour from pure ‘mutton fat’ white through to vibrant spinach-green, embodied many virtues, including benevolence, fidelity, wisdom and sincerity. Because jade was believed to symbolise love, nobility and power, some craftsmen carved it into ritual utensils, weaponry and musical instruments.

Others sculpted detailed ornamental pieces from blocks of jade, such as trees replete with fruit and birds and vases adorned with rambling roses. Still others fashioned jade bangles, beads, pins, pendants and amulets which were believed to avert bad luck. In those days, a Chinese who did not wear jade was considered improperly dressed.

detailed figures, amulets, earrings, pendants, and scholars’ implements from bronze. Others carved utilitarian objects such as tobacco boxes and snuff jars from hard stone like carnelian, lapis lazuli, agate, or wood. Their wooden

A pair of massive cloisonné enamelled metal covered urns, 19th century, h: 89 cm. The exterior surfaces covered in a dense vine and lotus ground surrounding ba jixiang motifs and crane roundels above the large side panels depicting the flowers of the four seasons against a ground of repeating cash motifs, now mounted in modern gilt lacquered soft wood stands.

Estimated value: US$12,000-18,000

lacquered table screens, which typically portrayed auspicious motifs or traditional courtyard scenes, often featured mixed wood, ivory inlay, enamel, gold, marble, or brass accents.

Silk or paper hand-painted, doublesided folding fans with carved bamboo or ivory frames, were fashionable as well. Since most artists were also well-trained calligraphers, many featured decorative, innovative script along with pictorials.

The Qing dynasty covered a wideranging evolution in artistry, truly

Other materials

reflecting the signs – as well as the

Some late Qing era artists sculpted

symbols – of its times.

Below left: Jade censer and cover, width: 14 cm. reticulated around the side walls with leafy peony blossoms above a petal lappet band, two undercut and reticulated peony roundels forming the handles, the flat lip with a subtle step, receiving its similarly decorated cover with a raised knob centred with an additional peony. Value: US$40,000 Below: An 18th century polychrome lacquer box, 38.5 cm, exterior deeply carved in red, black and yellow hues, the lid centred with a large roundel containing two dragons flanking a large chun (spring) character which further contains a roundel of Shoulao seated beneath a tree, sided with cartouches containing fruiting plants and separated by the Eight Auspicious Emblems. Value: US$53,750 Images courtesy Bonhams

CollectablesTrader 33

NOW W SHO SHOWING OWING BOOK O NLINE N ONLINE

Pair of banquet lamps featuring stylised shades over glass fonts set on Corinthian columns $495 each

Large selection of 20th century art glass in stock

Belle Époque Louis XV style bonheur du jour c. 1900 with ormolu mounts $1950

Pair of brass with copper rivets peat buckets $280 each

Set of twelve late Victorian mahogany dining chairs c. 1890, showing Arts and Crafts influence $7800 set

Turned timber standard lamp with shelf $495

Set of eight spindle back leather upholstered Arts and Crafts chairs $3600 set

Good Victorian mahogany extension dining table to seat eighteen, with five leaves and set on fine carved legs $15,800

French late 19th century Henri II style walnut pillow mirror $2500

Glebe Antique Centre Phone: +61 2 9550 3199 Fax: +61 2 9550 3833

88-90 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050

Arts and Crafts quarter sawn oak desk chair fitted leather upholstered seat $850

Two levels of quality furniture, lighting, jewellery, glass, porcelain and general collectables

Open 7 days 10am to 6pm Email: sales@glebeantiques.com.au Check out our up-to-date websites Victorian ash and brass mounted desk compendium $2650

www.glebeantiques.com.au www.desksofdistinction.com.au

The largest collection of genuine antique furniture in Sydney

French plum-pudding mahogany double bed c. 1910, gilded bronze ormolu mounts $3950

Restored Arts and Crafts oak hallstand with seat $1850

Willmotte Williams (1916-1992), The Tall House, Paddington, oil on canvas $385

Queensland walnut double pedestal tooled leather top desk featuring six drawers, fitted to cupboards $2250

George IV chest of drawers designed with quarter column corners, original handles, mother-of-pearl escutcheons $4850

Australian Art Nouveau carved walnut sideboard with slump glass doors $2750

European oak bookcase with glass doors and linen fold panels to base $2950

Edwardian walnut revolving bookcase of good proportions $2450

Magnificent Louis Philippe oak cylinder top desk, c. 1860.

Provenance: ex Bill Bradshaw collection $7650

collecting profile

DAVID FIGG AND HIS MATCHBOX AND MATCHBOOK COVERS COLLECTION Matchboxes and matchbooks became popular as a cheap form of advertising and as well as continuing to offer an inexpensive collectable up to the present day, these items now provide historical insights Top: Captain Cook ARTB, issued late 1920s with a matching packet label; the first in a new series by Federal Match Company (Alexandria, Sydney). The series was planned to cover Australian explorers and their ships Left: Cigarette booklets Below: Federal Dozen labels. In the first half of the 20th century, a large label adorned a wrapped pack of one dozen boxes of matches and usually bore the same or a similar design to the front panel or top label of the boxes packed inside

Rob Ditessa avid Figg has accumulated a

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sizable and historically significant collection of matchbox and matchbook

covers. According to his best estimate of all individual items, including duplicates and spares, it totals more than one million pieces. His core collection, including sets, tallies to over 30,000 items. Figg specialises in collecting from Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea because the Australian firm Bryant & May established the match industry there.

Recollecting his first find, Figg explains that one day at the age of nine he was walking to school and happened to kick some rubbish in the gutter. Suddenly something caught his eye: it was a matchbox with a label that was different to the common one featuring Miss Redhead.

Instead, the label had a picture celebrating the 1959 Queensland Centenary.

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CollectablesTrader

After Figg showed his find to his friends, they all began to collect and swap matchbox and matchbook covers. His friends’ interest faded after a few years but he continued to be intrigued, collecting and pasting his labels into school exercise books.

‘I had an auntie in England who sent me all the ones she was able to collect for me over there. There were many imports coming into England from the continent at the time, and many brands were made in the UK as well. So back in those days, I collected everything and anything I could get my hands on,’ he recalls.

An early discovery: realising the value of a collectors’ society At seventeen, he discovered the Australian Match Cover Collectors’ Society, and found a source of advice and information that started him on the way to becoming a successful collector. The first advice was not to paste labels as he had been doing, but to mount them in stock books with photo hinges. He attempted to soak off the labels but ruined many in the process. Fortunately, he has been able to replace them over the years.

For potential collectors – advice on how best to store and display a collection

drawers in it,’ he adds. ‘It’s a wooden one that I picked up at an antique shop. The boxes fit nicely in there, and I’ve lined the trays with felt so they don’t move around and get

Endeavour ARTB, issued late 1920s as the second in the series but shortly withdrawn thereafter. Only a couple of used examples are known to exist and not many more in mint condition are known. No packet label has ever been recorded The red background version is believed to be a printer’s proof as it has never been seen used or on box

scratched or damaged.’

Generally, the collection is sorted firstly by manufacturer, then by set or series or year of issue. Some are sorted by theme or other characteristics.

Promotional matchbooks may be arranged in alphabetical order or by colour. Figg has displayed at the London quinqennial international

safety match, whose development is attributed to Carl Lundstrom from Sweden in 1855. For a while, wax vestas (matches) in tins were popular. Booklets were made in Australia by a number of factories,

exhibition and the Australian biennial

including Matches Australia (1927-

national exhibition. He gives talks at

1953), and the Plyfiber Match

historical societies and service clubs

Company (1953-1962).

and has given radio interviews about

Rare finds

his collection.

A highlight of his collection is two

easy to pop a label in or out using

History of matchbooks

Endeavour ‘all round the box’

tweezers. He keeps the stock sheets

Figg explains that the invention of the

(ARTB) labels. To his knowledge,

in albums but the bulkier whole boxes

matchbook is attributed to the American

only eight people around the world

or whole booklets he keeps in

inventor Joshua Pusey, who was

have any of these in their

drawers of large plan-filing cabinets.

granted a patent in 1892. In the USA,

collections, and no packet labels

Each of the 12 drawers is about

the matchbook was popular and in

have ever been found. The

seven centimetres deep, and takes

1895 it was used for the first time as a

interesting story around this label is

the complete, unopened packets of

publicity gimmick, to advertise a show.

that the Federal Match Company, in

matches and larger items. ‘I’ve got

In Australia, on the other hand,

Alexandria (Sydney), started on what

Storing the core collection in his study, Figg prefers to house his covers in Lighthouse stock sheets, acid-free high quality see-through strips on a black backing. It is very

one cabinet which has 20 shallower

people preferred the matchbox with a

was to have been a series of ARTB

CollectablesTrader 37

Left and right (opp page): Tobacco matchbox labels. As matchbox labels were a cheap form of advertising and due to smokers needing to use a match to light a pipe, cigar or cigarette, many brands of tobacco and cigarettes were advertised on matchbox labels

labels and labels for the dozen packets. The company first issued Captain Cook labels and followed up with labels featuring HM Endeavour.

However, not many Endeavour box labels have survived. ‘They had released the second in the series to selected grocery shops in Sydney to test the market when management decided to scrap the idea. Apparently, they even went to the extent of going to these outlets, removing the stock from the shelves and destroying it,’ he says.

An Australian discovery made each year On the average, one new Australian item is found each year, estimates Figg.

His own rare find was a printer’s proof.

‘We’ve never seen it as a label on a matchbox but it’s exactly the same size as a label. It looks like a label but it’s Left: Skylark ARTB, rare printer’s proof from C.F. Duncan & Co. Pty Ltd (Melbourne) for what is believed to be an unadopted design. It is the only one known to exist

probably an un-adopted design, and it’s mint, obviously. It was a Duncan’s ARTB, one for their Skylark brand.’ It was part of a fellow enthusiast’s collection that Figg purchased. When the factory closed, the collector visited to ask for any mint labels, and was given a bundle, amongst which was this solitary one. When he saw it, Figg says, his mouth watered.

Value in the market place The earliest labels, those from the 1820s, are extremely rare, and the highest price known to have been paid in Australia is $1,000 for one of the mint Endeavour labels. However, generally speaking, collecting labels is

Left: Federal Dozen labels. In the first half of the 20th century, a large label adorned a wrapped pack of one dozen boxes of matches and usually bore the same or similar design to the front panel or top label of the boxes packed inside

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CollectablesTrader

not expensive. In fact, Figg points out

meets, and the Internet. For research,

that almost all catalogues do not

he maintains a good library of reference

contain a price guide.

books on the subject and also makes

Beware of fakes

judicious use of the Internet.

He cautions that fakes of some labels and series have been produced, for example the 1956 Olympic Games labels by the Melbourne firm Bryant & May. Usually recognising a fake is obvious and the variations are especially noticeable when the fake is placed alongside a genuine item.

Collecting directions

As a collector and through his involvement with his phillumenist society, Figg says he has had the pleasure of meeting many interesting people such as the descendants of two early English match manufacturers in Australia, a descendant of Samuel Alexander Bell from Bell & Black’s, and a descendant of John Hynam. Figg provided them

Some enthusiasts collect only mint,

with information for their family trees

labels that have never been stuck on

and in turn, they provided him with

a matchbox, or mint matchbook flats.

some historical documents.

Others collect only used ones, where the striker panel has been struck to show actual usage. But most have a mixture in their collections.

Serious collectors of today’s cardboard boxes prefer the complete ARTB specimen and do not thin the cardboard box outer, the skillet. Some collectors cut the cardboard box at its seam and then slice off the label layer, but this is frowned upon by serious collectors.

Modest about the historical significance of his work, Figg finally admits that without it there would not be a record of a slice of Australian social history for future generations.

‘I’ve published a couple of books on the hobby. I’ve done a catalogue on

Cigarette booklets. Bryant & May in Melbourne commenced the production of matchbooks in 1931 and continued up until 1939 when production ceased during WWII. All those illustrated are from this period.

Matchbook production at Bryant & May Melbourne did not re-commence until 1951

Duncan’s (1926-1954), a catalogue on Australian Match Works/E.L. Bell & Co (1910-1927) and Commonwealth Matchworks (1913-1942), more than 50 years after these factories had

Sourcing specimens and the importance of research

closed. If I hadn’t, it would never have

The main sources for acquisition are

we can, share the research amongst

antique and collectables shops,

enthusiasts, and then go into print. It’s

collectables fairs, buy, swap and sell

a great sense of achievement.’

been done. We do try to find out what

David Figg’s recommended reading Jerry Bell, Lighting up Australia: The Story of the Australian Match Manufacturing Industry 1843-2003, self published, 2008. This features chapters on each manufacturer plus a section on New Zealand.

J.H. Luker (editor), Encyclopaedia Phillumenica or The Matchbox Label Collectors’ Encyclopaedia, 1984

CollectablesTrader 39

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OPEN 7 DAYS 9.30 am to 5 pm

following the trail of finely crafted furniture

BEGINNING IN ANCIENT EGYPT Roy Williams he oldest practical wooden

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furniture surviving today is around 3400 years old! They are chairs that can be comfortably sat upon,

beds one could lie on and hinged chests for storage. As these are safely locked in glass cases in museums, their practicality cannot readily be put to the test. However this is just as well, as to demonstrate the strength of the 3400-year-old rush seat, one stool was sat upon at so many lectures in the late 19th century that it eventually gave way!

Hundreds of such ancient Egyptian timber furnishings still exist. The tomb of Yuia and Thuiu, for example, which dates from the 18th Dynasty c. 1400 BCE, was excavated in the 19th century wherein several pieces of very advanced furniture were found. The boxes, stools, chairs and chests show as Late Cycladic I period (17th century BCE), plaster cast of a carved wooden table from Acrotiri. The volcanic ash preserved the shape of the table for 15,000 years. Archaeologists poured plaster into the cavity in the volcanic material to reveal the original shape of the table.

Thera Prehistoric Museum

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CollectablesTrader

Stool with lattice supports with seat of plaited herringbone style cords.

Tomb of Kha, Deir el-Medina, from Shiaparelli excavations 1906. Museo Egizio, Turin. Courtesy artsearch.org.uk

Ceremonial chair, Tutankhamun’s tomb, 18th Dynasty, Valley of the Kings, Carter expedition 1922

much sophistication and refinement as

furniture, to reconstruct the luxurious

legs. Most ancient tables were made

any wooden furniture produced in

furniture. While we have several

with three rather than four legs to

recent centuries. This wooden furniture

examples of humble, white painted,

create a better sense of balance.

was carved, leaf gilded, enriched with

rush seated wooden stools and a chair

Made in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE

metal mounts, and veneered in costly

from the workmen’s village and

means the table is comparatively

imported timbers, as well as ivory,

cemetery at Deir el Medina, the royal

'new' and it was preserved in Egypt,

faience, and coloured glass. Paint was

furniture shows many techniques that

possibly made in Alexandria by

also used to decorate the timber

an 18th century French royal furniture

Greek craftsmen rather than an

furnishings. Plywood, an extension of

maker would have known.

import from the Greek mainland.

veneer technology, was also used in

The furniture of Tutankhamun

ancient Egypt, as evidenced in a

(c. 1370-1352 BCE), is probably the

2700 BCE coffin. Egyptian plywood, like

oldest example of wooden furniture with

that of the 18th century and of today,

which most people are familiar. There is

has the grain of each laminate laid at

nothing primitive about his famous gold

90 degrees to the last, so that the result exceeds the strength of solid wood of the same dimensions. Drawers were created, as were copper hinges.

encrusted throne and there are chests which showcase skilled marquetry decoration, a pictorial decoration made up of pieces of different veneers,

Quality through the ages

structured like a jigsaw puzzle.

Even as long ago as 3100 BCE, wooden

Parquetry relies on the same techniques

furniture had already reached the

but rather than showing a picture, it is a

quality it was to retain until the recent

pattern of geometric shapes.

past. Unfortunately, the 5000-year-old

There are hundreds of complete

Furniture was also made throughout the ancient world in stone, marble, metals such as bronze and silver, and exotic materials such as ivory and animal horns. Quantities of stone and metal furniture still survive. We also know a great deal about Greek and Roman timber furniture from drawings and paintings on walls and pottery, without having the physical object surviving. Identical woven wicker chairs to those recorded on Roman walls are readily available new today.

furniture survives only in fragments,

pieces of ancient Egyptian wooden

Impact of mechanisation

such as the odd carved chair leg.

furniture still standing, thanks to the

Until the Industrial Revolution of the

Furniture excavated from the tomb of

dry, hermetically sealed tombs and

19th century, very little changed in the

the mother of Cheops, c. 2600 BCE,

dessicating desert sands. However

world of the furniture maker. The

was also found in scattered fragments.

from Ancient Greece, only a single

ancient Egyptian cabinetmaker could

However enough of the gold casings

piece of timber furniture has survived.

walk into an 1840s furniture workshop

existed, filled with powder, where once

This spectacular circular small table

and recognise most tools and

the wood formed the structure of the

is supported on three finely carved

techniques, if not the materials. The

CollectablesTrader 43

mortise and tenon joint was still

the pride the artisan undoubtedly feels.

is often ‘cherry wood foil wrapped

standard. He would be delighted with

By 1850 most British furniture was

chipboard’, a pathetic residual

the American timbers: mahogany and

made in large, anonymous urban

memory of the halcyon millennia from

rosewood. Egyptian saws, like current

factories. A nearby river or canal was

Lebanese cedar to satinwood.

Japanese ones, cut on the pull rather

essential for the delivery of fuel and

Value in the artisanal

than the thrust, as modern Western

dispatch of product. Gas lighting

saws do. Metal screws date only from

allowed the expensive machines to

the early 15th century. Nailed on

operate non-stop, 24 hours a day.

padded upholstery is a modern, 16th

Mass production required that each

century development. Glass doors,

worker produced endless multiples of

also, would surprise our time traveller.

single components: chair legs turned

These do not generally appear until

on a lathe with a pattern shaped blade,

the 17th century. This seems a short

for example. When finished the

list for an artisan tradition spanning at

furniture was then displayed in shops,

least 5000 years.

in the contemporary fashion, to be

Hence the rapid development and decline of the timber furniture tradition since 1800 seems all the

Since the mid-19th century our reliance on increasing mechanisation

Revolution brought machines: steam

has meant a decline in timber

powered circular and band saws,

furniture. Timber has to be carved to

lathes, drills, carving machines and

the desired shape, so this means

rotary peeling of veneers. None of

much of the expensive material is

these things in themselves were

wasted as sawdust. There is no waste

directly detrimental to the furniture

in materials that can be cast – such as

trade, but the immovable, huge,

metal, glass, and plastics. Chipboard

expensive machines needing constant

is an inelegant hybrid solution to this

fuel, demanded structural change in

problem, basically making wood able

all industries.

to be cast, but removing its advantages of tensile strength,

made for a specific client, to their

lightness, and the beauty of the figure.

specifications, by a team of craftsmen

Inexorably, from the 1920s the best

who made the product from scratch

furniture comprises glass, metal and

and delivered it to the client, with all

plastic. Timber-looking furniture today

CollectablesTrader

that is both practical for contemporary living and available, Roy’s Antiques chooses to stock pre-industrial, artisanal furniture made before about 1840. Fortunately, old artisanal furniture glows in the company of Philippe Stark plastic, Marc Newson aluminium, as well as vintage Italian marble and glass coffee tables, and Chuck Close paintings.

Couture had given way to prêt a porter!

more surprising. The Industrial

Until 1800 furniture was mostly

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seen and selected ‘ready-made’.

To display the best of timber furniture

Note Article reproduced courtesy Antiques & Art in Victoria

Den of Antiquities 2 5 A B E L L S T R E E T YA R R A G L E N , V I C 3 7 7 5

Ph/Fax: 03 9730 2111 or 0414 934 363 – 0413 454 966 Specialising in quality furniture sympathetically restored from all eras We buy & sell furniture, china, collectables & jewellery OPEN 10.30 AM – 5 PM EVERY DAY EXCEPT TUESDAY Royal Doulton Art Deco hand painted bowls and jug, c. 1930; bowls $225 each, jug $350

Burleigh Ware Commemorative plate, c. 1930s $245

Royal Doulton Flow Blue & gilt bowl, c. 1890 $650

Moorcroft Anemone bowl, signed ‘William Moorcroft’, h: 38 cm, original sticker $725

Stuart Crystal decanter, c. 1950 $295

Beswick figurine of a Bald Eagle $595

Carlton Ware wall pocket $295

Art Nouveau twin handled vase, c. 1900, decorated with embossed flower $650

Art Nouveau hand painted vase, c. 1900 $195

Assorted Mason’s Ironstone ginger jars $165 - $265

Victorian oak purdonium or coal scuttle, brass hinges & trim with inlaid front, c. 1860s, original lining $750

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CollectablesTrader

Carlton Ware tableware, c. 1960s $75 - $160

Edwardian walnut c. 1910 bedside table $395

SALLY BERESFORD 17th - 19th Century Provincial Furniture

BIG & SMALL TABLES

DINING TABLES

EXTENSION TABLES

Sally Beresford/French Farmhouse Tables is now trading in the country. We have a beautiful and historic showroom for our range of artisan made, bespoke tables in hand-selected French timbers. Uniquely crafted locally, using 17th-18th century methods of construction and finish, we can take orders on tables custom made from 1m to 5m. Visit us at Mount Ashby and sit around a French Farmhouse table in the original, restored dairy, and enjoy the view of the vineyard surrounded by grazing dairy cattle.

SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS SHOWROOM Mount Ashby Estate Cellar Door and ‘La Palette’ Cafe 128 Nowra Road, Moss Vale (100m from cnr of Nowra & Yarrawa Rds) p: 02 4869 4144 p: 02 9362 1733 e: info@sallyberesford.com.au Open Thursday to Monday 10am to 4.30pm & By Appointment

www.sallyberesford.com.au

www.sallyberesford.com.au

www.sallyberesford.com.au

Collectables Trader

Congratulations to the winner of Conundrum No. 46

conundrum no.47

Congratulations to the winner of Conundrum No. 46, M. McMahon of Burleigh Heads, Qld., who wins a one year subscription to the online version of CARTER'S Price Guide to Antiques at www.carters.com.au, valued at $110.00. his issue we look at what are now fashionably called ‘pre-owned luxury’ items.

Some of the designers, retailers and companies listed below are multi-nationals, or in the case of individuals, have lived or worked in several countries. However, the names of each are associated with their country of their origin.

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1

2

3

4

Item 1 is a gold cigarette case retailed by Asprey & Co., the oldest established of our luxury goods businesses, having been founded in 1781.

The gold leopard brooch displayed as item 2 is by Cartier, which originally built its reputation as the retailer of exceptional jewellery by outstanding designers.

The firm also sold fine antiques and objects d’art supplied by workshops, manufacturers and dealers, but whose range now includes clocks, pens, watches, clothing and desk accessories.

Likewise, Georg Jensen (1866-1935), whose cuff bangle is displayed as item 3 was a silversmith whose name has become a brand with the range extending from jewellery and flatware to lighting, clocks and other luxury items.

The name of Stuart Devlin is familiar to many of us as a designer of banknotes, but is probably better known commercially as a silversmith. A silver and gilt goblet by Stuart Devlin is shown as item 4.

The Versace name launched with women’s fashion collection in 1978, proves that a strong brand name can be used to promote just about anything, from hotels in Dubai and on the Gold Coast, to ceramics, watches, jewellery and writing instruments, and even rhinestone encrusted sunglasses as shown in item 5.

Tiffany & Co. was founded as a ‘stationery and fancy goods’ store in 1837, going on to set up a design house that won the grand prize for silver craftsmanship at the 1867 Paris World’s fair. The company’s innovative jewellery designs as shown by the bangle in item 6 lead them to be the preeminent jewellers of the 20th century and while the firm still sell jewellery, they now promote the Tiffany name as a ‘house of design’ which includes silver, watches, leather goods, writing instruments and so on.

After reading through the description of each item from 1 to 6 above, which includes the name of the manufacturer or designer, your task this month is to write the name of the country of their origin, or birth in the case of individuals under each item.

The names of the applicable countries are.

Denmark, Britain, France, Italy, United States, Australia Once you are satisfied with your answers, complete the coupon below and mail it to the address shown.

5

6

The first correct entry opened after the closing date for entries, will receive a free one year subscription to Carter's online price guide to antiques and collectables valued at $110.00 You must have an email address in order to be able to access the online price guide.

Located on the internet at www.carters.com.au, it includes over 90,000 items.

Carter's online price guide is fully indexed, making it easier to locate items, and offers affordable access for infrequent or once-only users, as well as being moderately priced for an annual subscription.

Answers to Conundrum No. 46, which asked readers to indentify six items of silver, which could have been found on the dining table in an upper class home in the 19th century. The answers are: 1. Jet 2. Baleen 3. Shagreen 4. Horn 5. Alabaster 6. Amber

CARTER’S PUBLICATIONS

PO BOX 8464, ARMADALE VIC 3143, AUSTRALIA FAX: 03 9819 4407 EMAIL: info@carters.com.au JOHN FURPHY PTY LTD ABN 37 005 508 789

To enter, write the answer underneath the appropriate picture, complete the coupon below and mail or fax this page or a photocopy to reach CARTER’S by 5 pm Tuesday 4 June 2013. Win a free one-year subscription to Carter’s online price guide to antiques and collectables at www.carters.com.au valued at $110.

Name: ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Address: .........................................................................................................................Suburb or Town: ...............................................................

State: .................Postcode: .................Phone..........................................................Email.........................................................................................

CollectablesTrader

47

Now you can easily find the value of antiques and collectables in the online version of Carter’s Price Guide to Antiques and Collectables.

STEP 1 Enter one or two words applicable to o your general gen area of interest, intere estt, and click c on the Go button. bu utton.

STEP 2 Select the index ind dex item from the disp play that display your matches you ur criteria. criteria.

STEP 3 Click to displ display ay the matching ma items.

Our online price guide comprises over 95,000 items sold by auction in Australia and New Zealand over the last four years, and the price range shown is indicative of the actual auction price. Carter’s price guide is fully indexed, just like a book, making search-and-find easy. Each item is fully described and illustrated.

Subscription rates are: – One week AUD$12.50

– One month AUD$30.00

Go to: www.carters .com.au John Furphy Pty Ltd trading as CARTER’S Publications ABN: 37 005 508 789 info@carters.com.au

– One year AUD$110.00

COLLECTABLES fairs ** Fairs listed prominently advertise complete details in Collectables Trader or Antiques & Art (NSW, VIC, QLD)

Collectors should call and confirm the date, venue, address, hours and entry fees to ensure up to date information before travelling to the listed fairs, as changes may occur after printing.

Fair organisers who advertise in Collectables Trader and Antiques and Art NSW, Queensland and Victoria have preference for this free listing, as space is limited.

Please ring 02 9389 2919 to discuss ways to advertise your fair in these magazines or email copy or request for advertising rates to production@worldaa.com.

AUSTRALIA MAY 1 May - June 16 Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition, Toorak Rd, Toorak Village, Melbourne VIC www.toorakvillage.com.au Until July 14 McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award, McClelland Gallery+Sculpture Park, 390 McClelland Drive Langwarrin VIC www.mcclellandgallery.com 18 - 19 Alstonville Rotary Annual Antiques & Collectables Fair, Alstonville Leisure & Entertainment Centre Commercial Rd, Alstonville NSW 0411 952 356 18 - 19 Thomson Brook Winery Antiques & Collectables Fair, Town Hall, Abel St, Boyup Brook WA 08 9731 5351 24 - 26 Griffith Antiques and Collectables Fair, Griffith Ex-Servicemen’s Club, Jondaryan Ave, Griffith NSW 0428 446 534 24 - 26 North Shore Antiques Fair & Collectables, Ku-ring-gai Town Hall, Pacific Hwy, Pymble NSW 0437 000 112 25 - 26 ANDA Coin Note and Stamp Show, Table Tennis Centre, Green Tce, Downey Park, Windsor QLD www.anda.com.au 25 - 26 Gumeracha Antique Fair, Gumeracha Town Hall, Albert St, Gumeracha SA 0438 856 853 25 - 26 Rotary Club of Mont Albert and Surrey Hills Annual Antiques & Collectables Fair, Mont Albert Primary School, Barloa Rd, Mont Albert VIC 0450 472 723 http://rotarymontalbertandsurreyhills.org.au 26 Dayboro Antiques and Collectables Fair, Dayboro Showgrounds, off Mt Mee Road, Dayboro QLD 0412 724 080 www.dayborodistrict.com.au 31 - 2 June Adelaide Antique Fair, Burnside Ballroom, cnr Greenhill & Portrush Rds, Tusmore SA www.adelaideantiquefair.com JUNE 1-2 1-2 15 - 16 15 - 16 16 21 - 23

22 22 - 23 29

The Rotary Club of Springwood Annual Antique and Collectables Fair, Springwood High School, Grose Rd, Faulconbridge NSW 02 4751 8277 Antique & Collectables Fair, Midland Town Hall WA 0430 019 030 Cobram Historical Society Annual Antique & Collectables Fair, Cobram Civic Centre, Punt Rd, Cobram VIC 0439 721 112 Mandurah Antique and Collectors’ Fair, Mandurah Indoor Volleyball Centre, Dower St, Mandurah WA 08 9535 5846 Aladdin’s Antique and Collectables Fair, Brisbane Table Tennis Hall, 86 Green Terrace, Windsor QLD 0424 731 006 Avoca Antique Fair, Function Centre, Avoca Raceourse VIC. Gala preview 21 June 6pm - 9 pm $20 entry 1300 303 800 www.avocaantiquefair.com.au Bendigo Collectables Fair, Kangaroo Flat Leisure Centre, Browning St, Kangaroo Flat VIC 03 5444 0308 Bridgetown Antique & Collectors Fair, Bridgetown Showgrounds, Peninsula Rd, Bridgetown WA 08 9586 3029 Fernvale Antiques and Collectables Fair, Fernvale State Primary School, Brisbane Valley Highway, Fernvale QLD 07 5426 3013

The Benalla Lions Club Antique & Collectable Fair to be held at

NEW ZEALAND MAY 4 4

4-5 5 5 10

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Antiques, Collectables and Crafts Market, Bay View Hotel, Petane Road, Bay View, Napier www.eventfinder.co.nz 06 836 5340 The Little Big Markets vintage wear, art, craft, Mount Maunganui Sports Centre, Cnr Maunganui and Hull Rds, Mt Maunganui, Bay of Plenty www.thelittlebigmarkets.co.nz North Shore Antique and Collectable Fair, AUT Sport & Fitness Centre, 90 Akoranga Drive, Northcote, Auckland 02 160 9399 Hamilton East Village Market Street Market, Grey Street Hamilton East 07 847 9855 Shabby Chic Market Day, Rochester Villa, Connal St, Woolston, Christchurch City www.eventfinder.co.nz Anissa Victoria’s Twilight Vintage Market, Pallet Pavilion, Corner Durham Streets and Kilmore Streets, Christchurch City www.eventfinder.co.nz Otara Fleamarket, Otara Town Centre Carpark, Newbury St, Otara, Auckland www.eventfinder.co.nz

Benalla Indoor Recreational Centre (Basketball Stadium) Ackerly Avenue, Benalla on

12 & 13 October 2013 Saturday 10am – 5pm Sunday 10am – 4pm Admission – $7.00 Accompanied children under 14 free For further enquiries phone

Margaret and Peter on 03 5762 3043 or email: pandmpoels@bigpond.com

CollectablesTrader 49

PROFILING AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS

KITTY ARMSTRONG a forgotten western australian A painter, a leatherworker and a metalsmith, Kitty was a business partner at one stage with the famous James W.R. Linton

Dorothy Erickson

here are many Western Australian

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women artists who have slipped from our gaze – most because they did not marry and, without

descendants, had no one to promote their memory or preserve their works. One such was Kitty Armstrong who is luckier than most as her work was distributed among her brothers’ descendants.

Early years Catharine ‘Kitty’ Armstrong was born at Semaphore in South Australia on 29 January 1885, daughter of Thomas Montgomery Armstrong and Caroline Elizabeth née Hammond. When she was nearly two her mother died tragically so Kitty and her three brothers went to live with their father’s sisters and brothers.

Kitty Armstrong, c. 1914 One of Kitty’s charcoal drawings exhibited in London in 1908

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CollectablesTrader

James W.R. Linton with students at the Technical Art School, c. 1909

In business with J.W.R. Linton In 1914 Kitty re-enrolled at the Technical School. This was the year she inherited Moorabin. The following year she became a business partner with Linton in his silversmithing studio in Hay Street. She made copper and silver boxes, silver necklaces and silver spoons for herself as well as working on Linton’s commissions. They were Henry Charles Armstrong, a

the Tech. She was one of the better

rumoured to have had an affair, but

pharmacist with seven pharmacies

students and exhibited in the student

regardless of the reasons, the

and pastoral interests, and his wife

exhibition at the Industries Hall in

partnership did not last and soon

Zara cared for Kitty at Ballarat then

Barrack Street in 1906, in the following

Linton had a new partner.

Wilcannia. In 1894 they went to

year at the Exhibition of Women’s Work

Western Australia to open WA

in Perth as well as in the first

Apothecaries in Hay Street, Perth.

Australian Exhibition of Women’s Work

The family home ‘Moorabin’ was

in the Melbourne Exhibition, which was

nearby. Kitty lived the normal social

also held in 1907.

life expected of a well-connected

Franco British Grand Prix winner

young lady.

In 1900, Perth Technical School was established and in 1902 J.W.R. Linton (1869-1947), son of Sir James

The Western Australian student’s work was a non-competitive entry in

Drumgole Linton who was painting

Melbourne however it was sent onto

tutor to the Royal princesses, became

the Franco British Exhibition in London

art master and developed classes in

in 1908 where it won the Grand Prix

applied arts as well as in painting and

and a Diploma of Honour – ‘showing

drawing. It became quite fashionable

that the work executed at this School

to enrol at the Tech instead of in one

is of a high order of merit’. One of

of the many private art schools.

Kitty’s drawings from this exhibition is

In 1904, aged 19, Kitty enrolled at

Above: Trinket box in copper and silver made by Kitty when a business partner of J.W.R. Linton from 1915-17

still in the family’s possession.

Above: Silver necklace made by Kitty between 1915-17

Above: The diploma from the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition in London Left: The Art School advertisement

CollectablesTrader 51

living teaching and as an artist

Ballet – seen as the forerunner of the

painting still life, landscapes and

professional West Australian Ballet

portraits in oils and watercolours. She

Company, and famous Russian ballerina

established a solo studio in Cathedral

Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) who was

Chambers which she kept from 1918-

welcomed as a guest in Kitty’s home

22. In addition she went to Sydney for

when performing in Perth.

a while to study design during 1920. lessons and taught at schools in

Creative pursuits redirected

Claremont and Fremantle, and at

The Depression resulted in Kitty giving

Kindergarten Teachers College until

up art as a fulltime profession and

1930. In 1924 she relocated her

opening a teashop. In 1930 she

studio to Cathedral Avenue then to the

moved to the Old Mahogany Creek

corner of St George’s Terrace and

Inn in the hills behind Perth where

George Street and finally to Moorabin.

she ran her tearooms before moving

Diverse skills

two years later to Kalamunda where,

When she returned she gave private

Still life with Hookah which hung on the walls of Green Gables

As well as working as an artist Kitty also stained, tooled, cut and embossed leather. Her motifs included wildflowers and fanciful beasts while objects she made included handbags, writing wallets, table runners, dinner mats, lounge cushions, book carriers and other useful articles made of cowhide, pigskin, sheep and calfskin. Gesso workboxes in soft colours with neat designs were all part of her output.

Examples are held by family members in Sydney and Perth.

On a number of occasions, Kitty exhibited with the Western Australia

in a former school house which she beautified with gardens, ponds and rockeries with stone seats, she continued to serve tea and exhibit artworks on the walls. This teahouse was named ‘Green Gables’, after the famous stories written by her relative Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942).

Kitty’s great nieces and nephews remember her with great affection for she was apparently quite a character – she once fell down a well in her garden and, after being rescued some five-and-a-half hours later, joked about ‘Kitty’s in the well’.

Society of Arts – in 1908, 1913, 1920,

Postscript

1928 and 1929. In 1928 she exhibited

When she died in 1968 she left Green

a substantial collection of tooled, stained

Gables to the Church of England who

and embossed leather and suede – a

built homes for the aged there. This

fire screen, mat, table centre, bags,

property was sold a few years ago,

blotters, needle case and a cushion.

and the Church invested the proceeds

Quite a collection was exhibited in the

in the Amana Living property at Salter

Society’s 1929 Centenary exhibition. An

Point, where they named the new

undated cutting held by the Art Gallery

wing Armstrong House in her honour.

of Western Australia quotes a critic’s

The epitaph on her grave reads: ‘I

view that ‘her colour work, the bags and

pray thee, then, write of me as one

purses ... being worth more than a

who loves his fellow men.’

passing glance’.

Study for a commissioned portrait

Counted among her friends at the time were the dancing entrepreneur

52

An independent spirit

Norma Linley Wilson (1898-1990), who

After the dissolution of her partnership

established Western Australia’s first

with Linton, Kitty made a modest

ballet company, the Australian Caravan

CollectablesTrader

Acknowledgements Information from the late Col. F.H.M. Armstrong, NSW Photographs courtesy of John and Robert Armstrong, Elizabeth Bradshaw and Dorothy Erickson

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CollectablesTrader

53

FOLK ART FINDS Whether designed for function or as a personal creative impulse these often inventive and mysterious artworks are a delight to behold and collect

Conrad Blakeman

ecently, travelling through the

R

southern Philippines, I observed an array of ethnographic carvings and artefacts. From a distance it

enabled me to reflect upon the panorama of the Australian antique landscape that I travel; a parallel with antipodean folk art, carvings

Chip carved nautical themed photograph frame made in kauri pine. Courtesy Glenn R. Cooke. Photographer: Eden George, Dunedin and Auckland, New Zealand

and sculptural melange. There is a unique richness in the panorama of what is termed folk art – a fascination of simplicity and purpose accompanied by whimsical decorative flourishes within an obvious rustic digression of interpretation.

Yarn reel made by unknown artist, c. 1830-50, paint on wood. Courtesy American Folk Art Museum. Eva & Morris Feld Folk Art Acquisition Fund, 1981

Traditional European skills employed The folk art movement that I am aware of traversed the backdrop of Australia and the United States, both having societies created from European transmigration into the New

Leaping horse weathervane, c. 1850s, laminated and carved wood, iron. American Museum in Britain Far right: A creative solution to a seating problem – the effective recycling of a packing case into a chair

Worlds. Taking and drawing upon old traditional European skills, this expression gave rise to the groundswell of peoples’ art – vernacular, rustic, lived-in and shaped from memory and a glorious creative spark.

The United States had a head start of some 200 years over us as a founding colony then nationhood, so the retrospectivity of folk art began in the 1920s at a time between two

56

CollectablesTrader

world wars and fiscal uncertainty, which

we say here, ‘as rare as hens’ teeth’ in

also proved to be the impetus for

the reassurance of old values and the

creative solutions and inspired designs.

old days.

Items considered passé, obsolete, to be

Treen – small, wooden handmade

detruded, or stored away within a

household objects other than furniture

hoarder’s sanctity, suddenly took on new

– were plentiful, such as pegged coat

demeanour, or were rejuvenated, cast

or hat racks, milking stools, fruit bowls,

into new light or incarnation.

mixing spoons, racks for dishes, shoe

Country craftsmanship

polishing boxes, fruit boxes, blanket or

Vital implements in the tools of trade

dowry boxes dovetailed or merely

included chisels, mallets, spokeshaves

butted together; whatever could be

(a tool to shape wooden shafts and rods,

turned or shaped.

such as for chairs), augers and bow

One can only marvel at the

saws. Metal was beaten, hammered and

draughtsmanship of John Scholl (1827-

laboured into weather vanes, whirligigs,

1916), a German American who lived in

sign posts, trade signs, church spires

Pennsylvania and created innovative

and advertising motifs that displayed

and symmetrical designs of whatever

navigation points – to be etched into

took his fancy; masterpieces of

travellers’ yarns and tales.

imagination running wild but with

In the 1920s, American folk art gathered momentum on the north eastern seaboard then lay dormant until

From left: Copper donkey weathervane made by an unknown artist, 1890-1930.

American Folk Art Museum. Gift of Susan Unterberg, 1996.

Photo by John Parnell Carousel rabbit. Courtesy American Folk Art Museum Toy horse made by unknown artist, c. 1860-90, paint on poplar. Courtesy American Folk Art Museum Soldier whirligig made by unknown artist, c. 186080, paint on wood on metal. Courtesy American Folk Art Museum.

Gift of Frances and Paul Martinson, 1995

constraint featuring unique, idiosyncratic and diligent design.

In the 1980s I used to always read

the post war years and times of

Architectural Digest when they did

prosperity. It then rose from humble

country features, and the richness of

urbanity to reverential decor highlighting

Americana jumped off the pages. Yarns

the richness of simple traditional values

of dealers, pickers and avid collectors,

and country craftsmanship; one-time

tales of barn finds, country clearing sales

dime-a-dozen status was dramatically

and flea markets, plain old door

elevated to rarity, collectability and, as

knocking, hearsay and intrepid pursuits,

Above: Cat weathervane, origins unknown, copper with gold leaf. Colby College Museum of Art. Helen Warren and Willard Howe Cummings Collection Below left: Garden furniture made in Australia from tree branches, c. 1900. The design is reminiscent of chairs and benches made in England and the United States in the 19th century Below right: Indian weathervane, c. 1880s, gilded copper.

American Museum in Britain

Wooden pull toy made for the Macarthur family, Camden Park, NSW

CollectablesTrader 57

Old Fun Fair ‘shoot ’em down’ mounted onto an old Oregon block as a base

A whirligig I found on the roadside at Peats Ridge, NSW. It is in its as-found condition apart from minor structural stabilising

journeys down country backroads into

principally for people who in those days

heartland Pennsylvania or upstate

were illiterate and could only judge a

New York.

store's function by appropriate signage.

Motifs & designs

On the subject of animals, of course,

Above: Australian made cradle crafted from twigs then attached to a rocking chair base ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Photography by John Delacour.

Images courtesy Golden Press in association with National Trust of Australia NSW, 1977 Images courtesy World of Antiques & Art

Skilled artisans decorated with fine

on every dealer and collector’s list was

draughtsmanship creating floral or fauna

decoy ducks. I have read of a collector

motifs, fretwork, applique, tracery that

cum dealer in New York in the

off a buzz around the traps, and the

was symmetrical, and painted effects

embryonic revival days of Americana

trade bush telegraph was humming

with nods and winks to naturalistic

who owned 2,000 ducks and knew the

with anecdotes and swapped yarns in

scenes; just simple statements of the

provenance of each and every one: the

search of the next bush eureka of

inner self – freewheeling autonomy with

carver, type of wood used and its general

dinky di holy grail.

what I term ‘conceptual naivety’.

history. In the mid 1980s, a major New

Australian folk art

York auction house sold a decoy duck

heart shape, in a diversity of forms,

There are two waves or cycles within the

for the then unheard of price of

appearing within the margins and

Australian movement – the first was at

$200,000, moving it from the realm of

the turn of the 19th century around the

letterheads in the old traditional way of

collectable to that of significant artwork

time of Federation. Inspired by national

communicating endearment, to a

desired for its provenance – maker/artist

fauna and flora, depictions of kangaroos,

painted motif on a bride’s dowry chest as

– and material – Sequoia wood.

kookaburras and lyrebirds embellished

A common motif was the human

well as score more stencilled designs.

Along these lines, a classic piece of

chair back rests, leadlight windows,

There were anecdotes of weather

Australiana of vernacular cut and thrust

picture frames, poker work, quilts,

vanes and how they originated: a horse

too had its moment of glory. Around

weavings and studio pottery. A flourish at

motif could indicate a saddler

1987, an old bush chair that had been

high artistic level is, in part, why it

feed depot; a fish symbol for a fish

salvaged by pickers at the Maldon tip in

survives and is lauded today.

merchant; a ship for a ships’ chandler; a

Victoria, reached an astonishing price of

The other cycle spun out of the

whale for a whaling station – this was

$17,000 at auction in Victoria. This set

Depression era (1929-32): a severe,

or stock

Below: Decoy duck of South Australian provenance Right: A broken tricycle takes on a new form

58

Top: Hardwood bench and table found in South Australia, probably made late 19th century

CollectablesTrader

Right: Perceval-Compton Windsor chair (English), c. 1756 © Victoria and Albert Museum London Below: Unknown maker, 'Jimmy Possum' chair, c. 1925, blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) slab and stick construction.

National Gallery of Australia. Gift of Diana Cameron 1981

Right: Primitive Thames Valley comb back chair for possible use as a garden chair, 18th century, original paint still partly visible

Above: Interior of The Hollow, Mackay, c. 1880s, showing a typical Queensland interior. Rawson Archive, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland Below: Depression period side table made from two side panels taken off an old Norco butter box, c. 1920s, washed in blue paint and red ochre

shattered economy saw tough, austere

understatement of bush sensibilities,

and 1925 attributed to Jimmy Possum

and frugal times. As there simply was

and not a dovetail joint in sight!

sits in the National Gallery of Australia in

not enough money for a working man to buy new furnishings, old Victorian pine furniture, cedar, mahogany, oak and whatever lay at hand would be recycled, rejuvenated, rejigged or enhanced with licks of fresh paint.

For those even further down the food

Bush furniture

Canberra. The symmetry and style of the country form is stunning in its

The crafting and use of bush furniture

understated elegance. The centre seat

was widespread but very little of it within Australia has been attributed to a

slab braced and mortised by simple stick

particular maker. However, some pieces can be ascribed to coming out of a distinct school of style, leading me to the

poles shooting up to the horizontal top rail rest – it is almost air animation holding sticks, hand rails and seat in suspension.

One would guess that he made other

chain, thrift really cut in: old packing

mention of a Mr Jimmy Possum who is

crates were salvaged to make crude

perpetually associated with a certain

meat safes; old kerosene tins were cut

type of crude country armchair – skeletal

open and used as utility cupboards;

and sparse – but held in mystical

crude bush furniture in the rural areas

esteem owing much in inspiration as

to. From all accounts, Jimmy Possum

was fashioned from eucalyptus planks

well as a passing nod to the British High

seems to have been a journeyman joiner

while rustic dressers were made from

Wycombe chairs emanating from the

cum bush carpenter – elusive and

sugar pine backboards, ventilation

Windsor region in the late 1700s. This

ghostly, floating through the Deloraine

panels forming the sides made from

furniture icon has moved from high

region of northern Tasmania around the

perforated tin. These may have been

status parlour or drawing room

turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

crude and makeshift but were ultimately

designation, to the cottage as an

With that surname, I suspect that he

functional, not only serving a practical

everyday chair.

was of indigenous background with a

purpose but also declaring a pithy

A hardwood chair dated between 1900

chairs and furniture as well as treen with whatever timber lay at hand and whatever he was asked to turn his hand

tribal totem name.

CollectablesTrader 59

BRISBANE ANTIQUE EMPORIUM at Discovery Junction Cnr Sandgate & Junction Road Clayfield Qld 4011

07 3862 1600 info@brisbaneantiqueemporium.com.au

Chinese famille rose vase, c. 1880, h: 35 cm

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Pair piano babies designed and made by Gebruder Heubach (Sonneberg, Germany), c. 1890, h: 27 cm x l: 27 cm

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Aquamarine and diamond dress ring

Victorian mahogany Wellington chest, c. 1890, 210 x 86 cm

Parian Ware figurine group ‘The Three Graces’, c. 1880, h: 32 cm

Art Deco diamond and sapphire brooch

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OPEN 7 DAYS 10 AM – 5 PM Discovery Junction incorporates Buy Design Clayfield & Atomic Martini Vintage

ROYCROFT AUCTIONS

THE MILL MARKETS ENAMEL SIGN COLLECTION Sunday 26 May Flowerdale Public Hall Yea Rd Flowerdale Victoria View 8.30 day of sale Auction 10.30

THERE WILL BE 400 ODD SIGNS UP FOR SALE FROM THE RECEIVERS Petrol, Oil, Motor Car, Household, Battery, Shop Advertising Lights, Fertiliser, Motor Tyres, Enamel, Metal, Wooden, Acrylic, Cardboard Quantity of Embossed Enamel Signs FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER FOR CATALOGUE Please call John 0433 247 438 Email info@roycroftauctions.com or Ross 03 5780 1234 Email roycroftantiques@bigpond.com Cash or Chq only View at www.roycroftauctions.com

Under Instructions From: Ken Sellers and Mathew Muldoon, Receivers and Managers of Daramking Pty Ltd (Receivers & Managers Appointed) Formerly trading as “The Mill Markets” Geelong Markets Pty Ltd (Receivers & Managers Appointed) and Geelong West Property Trust (Receivers Appointed)

Pakenham’s

10th Annual Antique Fair

TWELTH BLUE MOUNTAINS

Saturday 20 July 2013

ANTIQUES &

9 am to 4 pm

Pakenham Racecourse Racecourse Road, Pakenham ALL UNDERCOVER

COLLECTABLES FAIR Blackheath Community Hall Great Western Highway, Blackheath NSW

Entry: $5 Adult $4 Concession, Children free

SATURDAY 6th JULY 2013

Valuations by David Freeman from 1 pm

SUNDAY 7th JULY 2013

$5 per item

10 AM - 4 PM

Please bring photos of larger items No jewellery, coins or stamps can be valued

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10 AM - 5 PM

Admission $8.00 ENQUIRIES 0428 446 534

Enquiries

03 5941 1327 or 03 5943 2366

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CollectablesTrader

61

Portrait of Johann Friedrich Böttger. VEB Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur, Meissen

FIGURINES MADE BY

JOHANN FRIEDRICH BÖTTGER inventor of european hard-paste porcelain Europe provided an enormous market for oriental porcelain and the huge profits that were made encouraged efforts across the continent to discover the secret of making it. But it was not until the 18th century that the mystery was solved

Paul Rosenberg n the first few years of the fledgling

I

Meissen factory, a crisis emerged; their amazing new discovery, porcelain, was a very valuable product both in the

marketplace for luxuries, and as a prestigious gift to buy political influence for the patron, Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. However, what were they to make?

Meissen porcelain factory On 15 January 1708, Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682-1719) fired the first successful samples of true white porcelain and the Dresden porcelain factory was established in 1709 and was then moved to Albrechtsburg in Meissen. The earliest pieces were simple: small tea bowls very similar to the highly desirable Chinese Left to right: Meissen figure of a Gypsy, c. 1715-20 Meissen dwarf figure of an American Indian, c. 1725 Meissen commedia dell’arte figure, c. 1720

62

CollectablesTrader

Meissen jug and bottle, 1710-13, Böttger stoneware

Meissen teapot, 1725, Böttger porcelain

porcelains imported at great cost.

the romanticised world of the Gypsies

Very soon, non-Chinese elements

– a much more appropriate theme for

crept in, such as applying acanthus

the table of the gentry.

leaf moulding to the outside. Larger

The source is by the esteemed

vases were attempted, as well as

French engraver and etcher, Jacques

shapes such as teapots and jugs, and

Callot (1592/3-1635). It is said that

they all had a common theme: they

he ran away at a young age with a

echoed the German taste for the

band of ‘Travellers’ – the nomadic

Baroque, that northern European

gypsies who roamed as they wished

taste for the dramatic and exotic.

through Europe.

Early figures Into this period fall a group of figures we have assembled over the years.

Known as Böttger figures due to the distinct porcelain body they are made from, they are extreme rarities, dating from 1715-20. Meissen had an interest in producing figures from the very beginning, as a part of the decoration for the lavish table settings typical of the 17th and early 18th centuries.

These were traditionally made from sugar, which didn’t last for many uses; porcelain was the perfect replacement.

Above: Abraham Bosse (French 1602/1604-1676), Portrait of Jacques Callot (Épitaphe de Jacques Callot), c. 1636, etching with engraving, published by Israël Henriet (Fench c. 1590-1661). Metropolitan Museum of Art New York

Callot created a series of four prints on the subject in around 1621, titled

Below: Jacques Callot (1592/3-1635), Les Bohemiens, c. 1621, engraving

Les Bohémiens, and in one, the first figure in the long procession of travellers on the road is very similar to our porcelain figure. The boots, the long hair, and the hat match; his left hand, which was always assumed to be a beggar’s plea, suddenly makes sense, as it supports a long thin barrel of a gun hefted over the gent’s shoulder – an impossible feat to produce in porcelain at this time, so they have left it out.

Table settings often had themes.

Our figures appear to belong to three distinct themes: first, and most interesting, is a tall man in a broad brim hat. He bears a very rare early version of the famous crossed swords mark of Meissen, which first appears shortly before 1725 and was quickly discarded, allowing us to date this

Jacques Callot worked in Rome and then Florence before returning to Nancy in 1621. His speciality of portraying beggars and deformities made him a favourite with 18th century

figure to circa 1725. Very few of these

collectors. His engravings

figures exist; when described, they

of the bizarre and

are often called ‘beggars’.

grotesque inspired

Gypsy figure However, a recent discovery reveals a probable graphic source for the figure which removes him from the dubious

statuettes made by goldsmiths and in porcelain at Vienna and Chelsea as well as at Meissen.

world of begging and places him into

CollectablesTrader 63

There is a figure representing Africa

Meissen mark in a pale Böttger lustre

Dwarf figure This discovery came about while researching the next figure for our 2013 catalogue. He represents our second theme – a previously undescribed set of the continents. He is a dwarf, of a type often called Callot figures, as once again a series of engravings dating to the early 17th century were the source for both painted and moulded productions.

However, after an exhaustive search of the recorded Callot engravings (there are literally thousands of them!) we were unable to find a suitable source to which to attribute this particular figure.

The first unusual feature you notice is his skin. It’s a pale reddish colour, giving a strong clue to his identity. We know this shiny surface from early Meissen teawares, which we call Böttger lustre. Identical figures exist with thick black enamel to the skin, representing Africans; our figure, therefore, is surely a redskin Indian, representing the Americas.

Interestingly, a female example exists

64

Punch & Judy show, but in the

The figurine has black enamel skin

European courts, it had many more

colour and stands on a hexagonal

characters and themes played by

base. The dwarf as an American

actual characters, not puppets. This

Indian is also set on an octagonal

figure is the earliest porcelain example

base and a perfect partner for this

from this theme, and has been

African figure. Another unusual

variously described as Harlequin,

feature is the odd trace of a painted

Scaramouche and Beltrame, but is

surface. High magnification reveals

most probably The Captain.

traces of colourful enamels, with a

The figure’s extremely baroque pose

yellow ground to his cloak painted

is most probably the work of a sculptor

with scattered red flowers, the

outside the Meissen factory, and

feathers in the headdress alternating

researchers have pointed out the

yellow and red, and bright yellow

similarity to ivory carvings produced in

boots. As a fragile lacquer surface put

Augsburg. Intriguingly, a reference in

on cold, such a surface was easily

the factory records for 1725 refers to

removed by merely washing, and so

161 plaster models being purchased

rarely survived.

Underneath is a mark, a large ‘G’ in a pale Böttger lustre. A number of such letters have been recorded and are linked to the decoration, often of simply gilding. Older books describe this as a ‘fired ink’ mark, which is wrong. It is actually a lustre, achieved by firing massively diluted gold. Such

figure could be from this source.

Unmarked and dating to the early 1720s, it has left the factory in the white, and travelled to Augsburg where it has been gilded to enhance its value.

These figures represent the first endeavours of the Meissen firm to produce figures, something they were to become very famous for within a few decades. At this early period,

category of products, pieces that were

however, they were not the ‘pretty’

sold by the Meissen works in the

figures we think of when we speak of

white and decorated in workshops in

Meissen figures – but they are most

nearby Augsburg. Many of the

definitely the rarest, representing the

beautifully gilded teawares from early

pioneering years of the first porcelain

Meissen were decorated there, the

factory in Europe.

gold significantly enhancing their value. An interesting Meissen Böttger pagod figure with the same pale lustre to the face exists, and is attributed to the workshop of Johann Aufenwerth of Augsburg.

direction making a perfect pair, perhaps from a long-divided set of the

Our gypsy figure has escaped this fate

continents. An interesting clue comes

and remained white; the next figure

from the factory records, which in

has not. He is from a third theme,

around 1725 refer to ‘nationen’ –

that of the commedia dell’arte. This

people of different nationalities – and

very popular entertainment was

includes Zwergnationen, dwarfs of

widespread through Europe for much

different nationalities. Very few seem

of the 18th century, and was varied

to have survived.

and evolving in its nature. We know it

CollectablesTrader

from an Augsburg studio, and this

a mark also puts it into an interesting

Rare early commedia dell’arte figure

and curves in a complementary

best by its English descendant, the

in the Blohm Collection (1953, #129).

Note Article reproduced courtesy Antiques & Art in Victoria

Valentine’s Antique Gallery IMPORTERS OF FINE QUALITY ANTIQUES ESTABLISHED 1947

Impressive French rosewood Louis XV style queen size bed, c.1880, with ornate rococo scrolls, professionally extended for new mattress

Rare 19th century satinwood double bed made by Alex Mackenzie (Glasgow UK), c.1880, with cartouche initials ‘R.D.’ to foot; fine ebonised inlays, newly upholstered head & foot

Fine quality French mahogany Louis XVI style queen size bed, c.1890, with parquetry inlaid panels and quality floral ormolu mounts

Rare Victorian burr walnut arched top queen size bed made by Wylie & Lochhead (Glasgow UK), c.1870, with turned columns to head, bow ends to bracket foot

Please refer to our website: www.valentinesantiques.com.au for a full listing of new stock

Valentine’s Antique Gallery 369 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo, Victoria 3550 Phone: 03 5443 7279 Mobile: 0418 511 626 Fax: 03 5442 9718 Email: peter@valentinesantiques.com.au www.valentinesantiques.com.au

Au s t ra l i an An t i q u e a n d Art Deal e rs A s s oc iat i on

This painting by Queensland based artist Peter J Hill, acclaimed for his equestrian oils on canvas, features legendary Australian horse Black Caviar being ridden by her jockey Luke Nolen in the BTC Cup at Doomben Racecourse, Brisbane Queensland, May 2011; a Group 1 weight-for-age race attracting the best sprinters in the country. This was Black Caviar's 13th unbeaten race – of 22 so far.

One of only four paintings in the series, one of which has already been sold. Price: $20,000 Dimensions: 76 x 60 cm unframed, 100 x 76 cm framed

“ P. J.”ART GALLERY 136 Long Road ‘Gallery Walk’ Eagle Heights Qld 4272

Phone: 07 5545 0089 Mob: 0428 259 014 judyandpeter07@bigpond.com • judyandpeter09@bigpond.com

www.pjart.com.au

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JEWELLERY DESIGNED & MADE for the Australian market

Spurred on by miners happy to spend their earnings from rich mines on gold craftsmanship, 19th century Australian jewellers found a ready market for their creativity, using local materials and motifs

Anne Schofield

old discoveries in New South

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Wales and Victoria in 1851 led to the immediate local production of gold jewellery, at

first with symbolic gold-mining imagery and later with distinctly Australian motifs.

In the 1890s, discoveries in Western Australia provoked another creative output, with its own local flourishes based on goldmining emblems as well as resulting in the migration of jewellers from the eastern states who were suffering from the 1890s Depression. Like the 1850s gold rush, goldsmiths from Europe were also attracted to the mining settlements.

Clockwise from top: Gold-mounted black opal brooch, c. 1900 Gold medallion made by Willis & Sons Pty Ltd (Melbourne), c. 1900, with twisted border and openwork design depicting an Australian coat of arms with ‘ADVANCE AUSTRALIA’. Private collection Heart-shaped gold brooch pendant set made by Henry Newman (Melbourne), c. 1910, blister pearl within a turquoise blue enamel border, with a baroque pearl drop and another pearl on the suspension loop. Private collection

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CollectablesTrader

IDENTIFYING GOLDFIELDS

stock of unique and characteristic

JEWELLERY

goldfields work’.

In general, the differences

Among the goldfields-inspired

Similar trinkets were made in Tasmania, a popular tourist destination also at that time, and

between the goldfields

designs were souvenir gold bar

maps of Tasmania were popular

jewellery of the 1890s are

brooches with picks and shovels,

features with rival manufacturers

windlasses and other mining

often offering almost identical

equipment, inscribed with the name

pieces. Jewellers were also

of a mine, or a town such as

enthusiastic about using local

Hannan’s (Kalgoorlie) or Coolgardie.

gemstones and incorporating

The Western Australian black swan

Australian floral and plant forms.

that the pieces are usually made in 9- or 15-carat gold as well as being lighter and simpler than the 1850s jewellery.

Forms and shapes inspired by goldfields

could appear alongside.

Patriotism and souvenir trinkets Patriotism for Federation around 1901

The Caris brothers, John and Stanley,

was an additional incentive for the

came to Western Australia from South

employment of Australian motifs and

Australia about 1894. They advertised

materials. A wealth of inexpensive

‘Nuggets mounted as brooches, & c.’

novelty jewellery resulted featuring the

among a range of jewellery at their

Australian coat-of-arms, the map of

Coolgardie premises in the Western

Australia, the Southern Cross, the

Australian Post Office Directory of 1897.

word ‘coo-ee’ and boomerangs.

Joseph Pearl, a jeweller who had

Maker unknown (Western Australia), brooch, c. 1895, in 18 ct gold with a central swan and nuggets on either side

Willis & Co., a Melbourne-based

moved to Coolgardie from Melbourne,

jewellery manufacturer, wholesaled

advertised in the Coolgardie Miner of

vast numbers of such novelties

21 March 1899 a ‘large and varied

throughout the country.

Brooch made by Golding & Sons (Hobart), c. 1900, 9 ct gold, design features map of Tasmania on a bar. Private collection

Goldfields jewellery made by Piaggio & Co (Perth), c. 1895. Private collection

Silver openwork pendant and chain designed and made

by J.W.R. Linton and Arthur Cross (Perth), c. 1910, set with sapphires and blister pearls. Private collection

CollectablesTrader 69

Inspired designer pieces In addition to the commercial ‘novelty’ souvenir ranges, some Australian jewellers were creating striking original designs for Australian opals and sapphires which had been discovered in northern New South Wales and Queensland in the late 19th century, and for the wonderful pearls and Gold brooch made by Priora Bros (Sydney), c. 1900, set with a plaque of opal which represents the sea.

The gold rising sun is reminiscent of ecclesiastical motifs found on Catholic monstrances. Private collection

mother-of-pearl from the Torres Strait in Queensland and Broome in Western Australia.

Prominent Melbourne jeweller Henry Newman became so interested in Broome’s pearling industry that in 1900 he invested in a fleet of 26 luggers as well as in local real estate. Table Talk of 20 March 1902 reported that among his stock there were ‘grotesque pearl brooches…Their original form suggest some animal or insect… and they are worked up into a brooch or pendant to represent that object’.

Sydney based jewellers John Priora with his brother Ernest traded as the Priora Bros, which was considered one of Sydney’s premier manufacturers of the Edwardian period.

John created a black opal necklet and pendant commissioned by German residents in Australia, prior to World War I, presented to Bertha Krupp, ‘the Munitions Queen of Essen, Germany’.

Another remarkable piece is a gold and opal brooch dated to circa 1900 that includes decorative elements found on Catholic monstrances.

Highly-esteemed Sydney jeweller Percy Marks and founder of the firm of the same name was another Australian opal enthusiast. In 1907 he purchased a collection of rare black Lightning Ridge opals.

The following year, when exhibiting his collection at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, it attracted the interest of Queen Alexandra. Marks went on to receive the Grand Prize for his collection at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 where, in his Group of 9 ct gold novelty brooches, c. 1900-1910

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CollectablesTrader

honour, the famous French dancer

Page from Flavelle, Roberts & Sankey, From Outer Darkness, 1908, p. 9. The page reproduces the article published by Brisbane’s Daily Mail (13 Dec 1907) validating the firm’s use of Queensland gems for their jewellery designs

Loïe Fuller created the Opal Ballet for a special benefit performance for French casualties of World War I.

Promoting Queensland gems Flavelle Roberts & Sankey Ltd promoted local gemstones: blue green and gold sapphires; beryl, olivine, amethyst and topaz. But it was an uphill battle until the showing of their designs at the Greater Britain Exhibition held in 1899.

Their gold display on show in the Queensland Court drew everyone's attention. ‘All London admired and talked of them, and better still, later brought and wore them’ reported Brisbane’s Daily Mail of 13 December 1907. In response the firm published a booklet, From outer darkness, in 1908.

Tracing local Arts and Crafts societies During the first decade of the 20th century, local Arts and Crafts societies sprang up – first in Hobart in 1903, then Sydney in 1906 and Melbourne in 1908 to ‘encourage and assist the development of the use of Australian materials and motifs in work and design’.

In Western Australia, the craftsmanship of James W.R. Linton attracted interest. Linton had studied metalwork, enamelling, jewellery and bronze casting in England. After being sent on family business to the goldfields, he settled in Perth and emerged as the most important and influential figure in Arts and Crafts jewellery design.1 Thus it became evident that Australian jewellers could produce beautiful and highly sought-after work, whether commercial novelties or original, finely-wrought pieces.

This article is adapted from Anne Schofield, ‘Australian Jewellery at Federation’, World of Antiques & Art, July-Dec 2001, pp. 20-24.

Note 1 Anne Gray, Line, light and shadow: James W.R. Linton, painter, craftsman, teacher, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, 1986

Novelty jewellery featuring local iconic emblems and patriotic themes, made in 9 ct gold, c. 1900 – 1910

CollectablesTrader 71

Open Monday to Sunday 10.30am to 4pm

Avoca Antiques fair 22-23 June 2013 30 Exhibitors from across Australia showcasing their finest wares Function Centre Avoca Racecourse Gala Preview Friday 21 June 2013 6pm to 9pm - Entry $20.00 Bookings essential phone Avoca Information Centre 03 5465 1000

General Admission

Admission Prices

Saturday 22 June & Sunday 23 June 10am to 5pm both days

Adult / Senior $10 Concession $8 Children U/16 Free (accompanied by an adult)

Door prizes Refreshments available & local wineries in attendance

Enquiries P: 1300 303 800 M: 0428 384 133

www.avocaantiquefair.com.au

EURABBIE ESTATE

GOWRIE GALLERIES AUSTRALIA’S FINEST COLLECTION OF RARE AND IMPORTANT ANTIQUE MAPS

The 1680 edition of Goos’ magnificent sea chart of the East Indies, c.1666

PRINTED WORLD V Beyond Settlement A catalogue of rare world, Australian, Southeast Asian and Pacific maps from 1493 to 1847 featuring a fine selection of 17th-century Dutch sea charts of Australia

For orders 02 4365 6399

OUR STOCK INCLUDES 15th – 18th century world maps Australian maps from the 17th century onwards Maps of Southeast Asia and the Pacific

❖ ❖ ❖

Expert advice on all aspects of map collecting Full research, evaluation, restoration and framing service Collections and individual items always considered for purchase Extensive range of decorative antique engravings

Please note new contact details for Gowrie Galleries PO BOX 276 TERRIGAL NSW 2260 Matcham studio: Phone: 02 4365 6399 Mobile: 0417 040 902 Fax: 02 4365 6096 EMAIL: maps@sydney.net • WEBSITE: www.gowrie-galleries.com.au

Paul Cholewinski

Special features sales 2013 June 7 Rock, pop & retro July 5 Toys, books & ephemera Aug 2 Vintage clothing, accessories & jewellery Sept 6 Blokey, sport, pubanalia, tools, military Oct 4 Australiana & decorative art Nov 1 Rock, pop & retro & vintage clothing Dec 6 Toys, books & ephemera

A

ntiques & Collectables Fair

Presented by the

Rotary Club of Springwood, Inc to be held at

Springwood High School Grose Road, Faulconbridge Saturday 1 June 2013 - 9 am - 4 pm and

Sunday 2 June 2013 - 10 am - 3 pm Admission $7 Daily ALL ITEMS FOR SALE Wide range of fine estate, period and costume jewellery, English and Australian furniture, sterling silver, precious gold, fine porcelain, glass and crystal, linen, clocks, prints and many other interesting collectables.

ENQUIRIES Valda: 02 4751 8277 or Ross: 0414 279 805

Floral Embossed China Featuring Carlton Ware - Royal Winton - Shorter and Son at

Camberwell Antique Centre 25-29 Cookson St, Camberwell VIC 3124 Ph: 03 9882 2028 also trading from

Ringwood Antique Market 182 Mt Dandenong Road, Ringwood, VIC 3134 Phone: 03 9879 1686 Mobile: 0412 333 368 paul.cholewinsk@optusnet.com.au

THE 21ST ANNUAL ROTARY CLUB OF HOPPERS CROSSING INC.

Antiques & Collectables Fair

July 2013 Fri 19th Sat 20th Sun 21th

6 pm - 9 pm 10 am - 5 pm 10 am - 4 pm

Werribee Civic Centre 45 Princes Highway PLEASE NOTE

CHANGE OF VENUE Many of our most respected dealers presenting a wide range of antiques and collectables priced to sell

Enquiries: Trevor Jago 03 9748 6437 0408 486 432 Admission $10.00, Seniors & Health Card discounts apply

CollectablesTrader

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Above: Display of the replicas of the Unicorn Tapestries hanging in the Chapel Royal in Stirling Castle, Scotland Left: Dish with an allegory of Chastity and the arms of Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice of Aragon, 1476-c. 1490, probably Pesaro, tin-glazed earthenware (majolica). Metropolitan Museum of Art NY

Knowledge base

THE UNICORN ITS MEANING & ORIGIN he unicorn is a mythological animal widely recognised as resembling a white horse with a single horn on its forehead, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Although the unicorn was depicted in Mesopotamian art and referred to in the ancient myths of India and China, its earliest description in Greek literature dates from c.400 BCE.

T

Mediaeval representations The most elaborate and beautiful depictions can be found in mediaeval works.

The Unicorn Tapestries are seen as the finest expression of this subject from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance.

Comprising seven individual hangings, they are among the most complex works of art from the Late Middle Ages to survive.

Given by John D. Rockefeller, Jr in time for the 1938 opening of The Cloisters, a New York museum devoted to mediaeval art and architecture, the Unicorn Tapestries are its best-known masterpieces. The tapestries have been seen both as metaphors for Christ and a celebration of matrimony. They are emblematic of mediaeval notions of the magic inherent in the natural world that endured through the Renaissance.

Sections of Unicorn Tapestries. Metropolitan Museum of Art NY

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CollectablesTrader

Illustration from 14th century copy of Shahnama of Iskandar (Alexander the Great) killing the monster of Habash (Ethiopia)

The unicorn’s horn was thought to offer protection against poison however it was believed to be fierce and difficult to capture but if a virgin were brought before it, it would lay its head in her lap.

A celebrated work illustrating this myth is the Morgan Library and Museum's English Bestiary, a 12th-century manuscript that depicts the unicorn with its head in the lap of a maiden.

A late 15th-century majolica dish made for the marriage of Matthias Corvinus (1440-1490), king of Hungary, and Beatrix of Aragon, presents a similar image of the unicorn as a metaphor of love and marriage, with the couple’s entwined coats of arms reinforcing the idea of a happy alliance.

In the collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art, on a Florentine tray, a pair of unicorns draws a golden chariot representing Chastity, painted in celebration of the birth of a child.

Association with exotic lands & legends Continuing the emblematic symbolism, the Meshal ha-Kadmoni (Fable of the Ancients) uses unicorns and other animals to present moral lessons. The first printed and illustrated edition of this 13th-century Hebrew text, published in Brescia, Italy in 1491, is held by The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York.

The text of the nearly contemporary Peregrinatio in terram sanctam, an illustrated travel diary to the Holy Land that was printed in Germany in 1486 and is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, claims that its woodcut of a unicorn was drawn from life. Indeed, the unicorn was often associated with faraway lands.

A page from a 14th-century copy of the Shahnama (Book of Kings), a 10thcentury text that recounts the legendary deeds of the Persian kings, features Iskandar (Alexander the Great) killing the monster of Habash (Ethiopia), an elegant one-horned beast, quite like a unicorn. A 16th-century engraving by Julius Goltzius after Maerten de Vos suggests that the unicorn’s natural habitat was the American continent!

Where the creature resided might be debated, but unicorns were included – and depicted – in early encyclopaedias of animals, such as Konrad Gesner’s treatise, published in four volumes, 1551–58 (these works also form part of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection).

the original printing of the KJV, when the word ‘unicorn’ is used, there is a footnote that says ‘Or Rhinoceros’.

Today scientists today often use the word ‘unicorn’ when referring to either the Indian or Asian One-Horned Rhinoceros and it is also known as the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros. And Diceros bicornis is the scientific name of the two-horned black rhinoceros.

Of interest, there is an extinct species of a giant one-horned rhinoceros called Elasmotherium sibiricum, also known as the Big Horn Rhinoceros. Scientists often refer to this creature as 'The Giant Unicorn'.

This is the creature that some creation scientists believe may be the unicorn that is mentioned in scripture.

Was the unicorn really a rhinoceros?

Further reading

Many insist that the King James Version (KJV) is the most accurate of all the English translations of the Bible. However although unicorns are fictitious, they are referred to nine times in the KJV, the only version in which they are mentioned.

Unicornis and bicornis are Latin words. In Psalm 92:10 in the Latin Bible, the Latin word used is ‘unicornis’.

The King James was translated from the original tongues, but the translators also diligently compared their work to former translations, including the Latin. They would have known that the Latin said ‘rhinoceros’, and they put ‘unicorn’. This is evidence that unicorn meant rhinoceros back in 1611 when the KJV was first published. In Isaiah 34:7, in

www.creationtoday.org/why-does-thebible-mention-unicorns/

Right: Bernhard von Breidenbach, Peregrinatio in terram sanctam, 1486

CollectablesTrader 77

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G N I S O CL DOWN! SALE!

setting a new

standard

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Porcelain, Glass, Lighting, Metalworks, Prints, Victorian, Edwardian & French Furniture, Ephemera, Watches, Statuary

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LET’S TALK A DEAL! NO REASONABLE OFFER REFUSED

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Lovely French terracotta figure, signed T. Bess, 27 x 26 cm $1,500 Royal Worcester figurines ‘Water Carriers’, modelled by James Hadley, c. 1898, Female H:23 cm Male H:25 cm $4,950 pair French Louis XV style carved armchairs set on cabriole legs $1,800 pair Noel Jack Counihan (1913-1986), Untitled (nude study), charcoal on paper, 26.4 x:29.5 cm $1,495 Fine French 19th century walnut keyhole desk set on carved cabriole legs fitted with four drawers and brass ormolu escutcheons, H:76 cm L:150 cm D:86 cm $15,000 Fine set of five French Louis XV oak chairs with caned backs and seats $3,250 French Louis XV style night stand, rouge marble top fitted with one drawer and unusual curved marble interior cupboard, H:85 cm W:43 cm D:37 cm $2,495 French Brittany style oak hall bench with storage, H:99 cm W:106 cm $2,500 French Louis XV style two tier floral marquetry pedestal table with brass mounts, H:75 cm W:50 cm $1,295 Tufted back easy chair in rosewood, newly upholstered $3,500 Superb 19th century light from France with wrought iron frame, leadlight shades, brass reservoirs and Hinks patent duplex oil burners, c. 1887 $42,000 Set of six French Louis XV style beech framed ladder back chairs with rush seats $3,900 French antique ladder back carvers with rush seats $2,495 pair French oak oval extension table, superb detailed carving on a four footed central pedestal, H:72 cm L:127 cm W:108 cm $4,950 Antique French buffet in rosewood on oak with rouge marble top, H:95.6 cm W:122 cm D:60 cm $7,950 Stunning French Louis XVI style buffet, white and grey marble top, inlaid walnut and burr walnut with bevelled back mirror and brass ormolu mounts, H:208 cm W:149 cm D:55 cm $7,950 Large French walnut Louis XV style bookcase bevelled glass to doors with adjustable shelves, H:185 cm W:132 cm $5,600

Silver, Ceramics, Advertising, Clocks, Kitchenalia, Bakelite, Perfume Bottles, Oriental, Costume Jewellery, Cruet Sets

LIMITED FLOOR SPACE / CABINETS AVAILABLE. CONTACT DENISE 02 9550 5554 212–220 Parramatta Rd, Camperdown NSW 2050 Phone 61 2 9550 5554 Fax 61 2 9550 4990 www.camperdownmewsantiques.com Open 7 days 10 am–6 pm Off-street parking

WE BUY, SELL, HIRE AND TRADE

out & ABOUT Cayley at Mosman Library osman Library hosted the Sydney launch of a book that

M

many have been waiting to read for decades.

This book is about Australia’s most famous bird artists Neville Henry Cayley (1854-1903) and his son, Neville William David Crane and author Penny Olsen in conversation at the book launch

Cayley (1886-1950). Cayley & Son: The life and art of Neville

Henry Cayley and Neville William Cayley by Penny Olsen, published by the National Library of Australia was celebrated in the guise of an interview with the author, Penny Olsen and collector of all things Cayley, David Crane to an audience of bird and art lovers.

As part of the celebration Donna Braye curated a wonderful exhibition of original art works by the two artists in a setting of

Two works by Neville Henry Cayley

David Crane with one of his Cayley paintings

bush flora and bird calls. This was a rare opportunity as these works had never been on public exhibition and may never be able to be viewed together again.

Wandering around the exhibition space it was clear everyone had a story to tell about their own Cayley – on the walls over the dining table, rolled up in the bottom of

The exhibition space

Noela Gill, Professor David Carment and curator, Donna Braye

wardrobes, prints purchased that turned out to be originals and originals that turned out to be prints!

More for collectors in Kew fter 11 years working and operating in Bulleen, the highly

A

successful partnership of David Freeman and Amanda

Addams decided it was time for a change and have relocated to 344 High Street, Kew. This closely knit family business which boasts between the two of them over 50 years of experience is continuing their popular regular auctions and equally in-demand valuation services. David invites regular and new clients to take advantage of their free market appraisals, held every Thursday

David and Amanda Freeman

Amanda Freeman and Jared Shaw

Kathy Mc Mahon, Amanda Freeman and Michael Sirakoff

Bryan Stertern-Gill

between 3 pm and 7 pm. Amanda and David are excited about moving into Kew and look forward to meeting new neighbours and the local community while continuing their relationship with long-time customers and clients.

Julian, David, Amanda and Juliana Freeman

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CollectablesTrader

Melbourne dealers Chris Ogden, Alastair Ingles and Jon Davies

Performing arts, literature and human rghts

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he powerful theme of anti-bullying attracted a diverse crowd to the ‘I Am Jack’ event at the Lend

Lease Darling Quarter Theatre, Darling Harbour. Susanne Gervay OAM’s best selling, award winning children’s books – the I Am Jack series – have been adapted into an acclaimed play by Monkey Baa Theatre. Tim McGarry Susanne Gervay OAM and David Whealy

performed powerful segments of the play to the audience.

I Am Jack is currently in development for a feature film to be directed by Nadia Tass and starring actor Deborra-lee Furness who both enthusiastically endorsed the evening and the feature film. Guests included Linda Funnell, Chair of the Board of the NSW Writers Centre, acclaimed sculptor Terrance Plowright, David Small CEO of Variety the Children’s Charity, Lisa Berryman publisher Tim McGarry performing segments of the play

David Whealy, Executive Producer and Stephan J Wellink, Producer of I Am Jack

HarperCollins, the British Consul General and many people from the film industry.

Celebrating Native American Jewellers

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our Winds Gallery hosted an exhibition of works by internationally acclaimed Native American mother and daughter

artists Denise and Dawn Wallace. Their finely crafted jewellery which features scrimshawed fossilised ivory set into silver and gold reflect their Aleut Eskimo culture and heritage.

Lesley Paul & Annette Goubran

Colleen Keys & Waverly Lynch

Ethan with his mother Dawn Wallace, Jennifer Cullen, Dawn’s grandmother Sally Hottinger and Denise Wallace

Denise Wallace & Gayle Sutherland

Peter & Shelley Madden

Joanna Thorpe & Ross Teitzel

Marie Scott & Jenny Reed

Lydie Bacot & Edwina Anderson

Helen & Mark Clifton

Denise Wallace, Dawn Wallace and their mother and grandmother Sally Hottinger

Sue Brannon, Dawn Wallace & Issabel Little

Chris & Ed Pearson

Dawn Wallace, Ashleigh Cullen & Denise Wallace

Victoria & Peter Smith

CollectablesTrader 81

VALUE ADDED @worldaa.com NOW ONLINE Australia’s foremost magazines on the decorative arts – antiques, art & collecting vintage & retro Need to contact your local dealer but don’t have a copy of your state’s Antiques & Art? Problem solved – log on and read online.

Peruse World of Antiques & Art – the most authoritative magazine on the decorative (antiques) and fine arts in Australia. A portal to national and international collecting trends, subscribe to the online edition and SAVE! Check out Collectables Trader – subscribe to the online editions and save! Australia’s only bi-monthly magazine on vintage, retro and collectables.

World of Antiques & Art

Collectables Trader

Antiques & Art NSW

Antiques & Art Victoria

Antiques & Art Queensland

Brasac enterprises One of a set of five framed photographs selected by Max Dupain from amongst his favourites, for sets of limited edition prints published for the Royal Blind Society in the late 1980s.

Set of five framed $2,500. Individual $600 each.

Sunbaker, 1937

Moonflower, 1982

Girard Perregaux 9 ct white gold stainless steel case back 17 jewel $2750

Interior Elizabeth Bay House, 1978

At Toowoon Bay, 1985

Blue Gum Forest, c. 1940

Cartier gold on sterling silver quartz c. 1990 $1500

24 Jewel VGOC 31198614 case 168018, 18 ct gold Omega Constellation c. 1971 $3800

Of the three nine piece sterling silver tea sets made by Garrard & Co London in honour of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, this is the only known surviving example.

Hallmarked Garrard & Co London 1953/54, weight approximately 11 kilos

Omega Seamaster 14 ct c. 1960s $1895

Longines Admiral 10 k gold filled c. 1965 $2295

Gerrard Perregaux gyromatic, original band, c. 1960 $1295

CAMPERDOWN MEWS 212-220 PARRAMATTA ROAD CAMPERDOWN NSW P: 61 2 9550 5554 M: 0412 229 117

GOLD COAST ANTIQUE CENTRE 2076 GOLD COAST HIGHWAY, MIAMI QUEENSLAND P: 61 7 5572 0522 M: 0412 229 117

BOTH OPEN 7 DAYS

Gold diamond and jade stick pin $3750

A selection of English hallmarked sterling silver frames and antique silver available

noticeBOARD total of 1809 opulent woodcuts from the print shop of Pleydenwurff / Wohlgemuth, in which Albrecht Dürer was an apprentice. It has an estimated value of C100,000 and is to be auctioned by Ketterer Kunst in Hamburg in May.

Moreton Bay Tourist Drive Qld St Helena Island has a dark and grim past and for 65 years (1867-1932) it was Queensland’s maximum security prison for men and the colony’s worst criminals. Located four kilometres from the mouth of the Brisbane River, St Helena Island is one of Queensland’s most historic islands and has been preserved as a Historic National Park, the first of its type in Queensland.

Cleveland Lighthouse which was built in 1864, is the only remaining timberstructured, timber-clad 19th century lighthouse in Moreton Bay.

Alfredo Bouret fashion drawings for RMIT Fashion & Textiles Archive Born Alfredo Gonzalez Acevez in 1926 in Mexico, in 1948 Bouret worked for Pierre Balmain and French Vogue. Subsequently he established a base in London. His illustrations appeared in English

Vogue, The Tatler, Queen and Glamour magazines and he covered the designs for post-war couture houses including Chanel, Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Pierre Cardin and Givenchy. He was the only artist of any discipline granted access to record the collections of master couturier, Balenciaga. From 1969 to 1972 he established an outlet in Sydney under the name of ‘Mexicana Bazaar’ together with ‘The John Cavanagh ready-to-wear’ shop.

Photograph of lighthouse taken c. 1871

Eureka Flag on display Australia’s most iconic symbol of democratic struggle and defiance, the Flag of the Southern Cross (Eureka Flag) will be the centrepiece of Ballarat’s new national Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E), built on the site of the Eureka Stockade, opening 4 May 2013.

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CollectablesTrader

Stamps to collect Australia Post’s latest stamp release features five paintings drawn from the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). The stamps were designed by Lynette Traynor of the Australia Post Design Studio.

In this second issue in the Gallery Series, the five domestic base-rate (60 c) stamps show landscapes by some of Australia’s most well-known painters.

Landscapes have long been a favourite subject of artists, and this stamp issue features John Glover’s Mr

The first true-tolife illustrations

Robinson’s house on the Derwent, Van

In 1493, Hartmann Schedel created

Chevalier’s Studley Park at sunrise

the first true-to-life illustrations of

(1861), Eugene von Guérard’s

important cities such as Augsburg,

Dandenong Ranges from ‘Beleura’

Diemen’s Land (c. 1838), Nicholas

Munich and Vienna in his Liber

(1870), Arthur Streeton’s Land of the

chronicarum, an incunable (a book

Golden Fleece (1926) and Hans

printed before 1501), containing a

Heysen’s In the Flinders-Far North (1951).

Windsor store proprietors Hunter and Ross Hordern were the great grandsons of Anthony Hordern the founder in 1825 of Anthony Hordern & Sons, which at its peak in the early 20th century employed 1200 people, served 30,000 customers a day and operated the largest department store in the

Celebrating the Moorcroft centenary in Qld

southern hemisphere (in Sydney). It died an ignominious death in 1970.

Roundabout Antiques in Toowoomba is having a Moorcroft Legacy Collection

Tiffany glass on show

open weekend (22-23 June) at their

The Corning Museum of Glass, which

Campbell Street premises, which marks

holds one of the most comprehensive

the 100th anniversary of the celebrated

collections of Tiffany glass and related

manufactory set up by William Moorcroft

materials in the USA, will place on

in 1913. For more information –

display in its permanent galleries two

www.roundaboutantiques.com.au

remarkable examples of the

A quick response

decorative work of Tiffany Studios.

The passing of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Hilda Thatcher has created more than steamy political debate – her life and times have also inspired Moorcroft to

One of the objects is a recently acquired, rare example of a dragonfly reading lamp by the respected Tiffany Studios designer Clara Driscoll. Also going on view is a recently conserved, ecclesiastical stained glass memorial window commissioned for the United Methodist Church in Waterville, NY, around 1901.

Clever marketing The English firm of W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd is setting up a selling exhibition devised around room sets that take the visitor on a journey through the daily life of a home predominantly furnished and decorated in the Georgian style. For the collector looking to recreate

create a Margaret

the Georgian bedroom there is a

Thatcher

George III period mahogany four-poster

commemorative

bed, c. 1780, and add to that the

series.

William and Mary period chest of drawers in oyster kingwood, rosewood

Numismatics meeting in York

and with Arabesque/ seaweed marquetry, attributed to the maker Gerrit

The Yorkshire Numismatic Society will host the 2013 joint meeting of the

Jensen (1680-1715), priced at £45,000.

Mason’s ware exhibition

Racecourse on 20 July 2013. The

Hordern Brothers Department Store in Windsor NSW

meeting is being held at the same

An exhibition opening at the

(and other) Mason’s wares. Early

venue as the York Stamp and Coin

Hawkesbury Regional Museum in

wares produced by Miles Mason date

Fair. The event is open to all

May focuses on the Hordern Brothers

from c. 1795 until c. 1813.

and is free. More at

Department Store in Windsor which

http://yorkshirenumismatic.blogspot.

operated from 1962 to 1998 and is an

co.uk/2013/02/joint-rns-and-bns-

exploration of the changing face of retail.

summer-meeting-2013.html

Among the displays will be remnants of

Royal Numismatic and the British Numismatic Societies at York

a cash carrying system that operated on overhead wires and transported cash in small containers from the counter to a room out of view.

Keele University has on display a permanent exhibition of Ironstone

Free mobile art app As part of its mission to present great done 21 years ago by Art Gilding who

enjoy, the National Gallery of Art,

Night class in history of fashion

Washington has released a free mobile

Eleanor Keene is teaching an eight

application about the treasures in the

week course at North Sydney

permanent collection. Your Art expands

Community Centre on Tuesday

the Gallery’s reach by bringing its

evenings, beginning 30 April. Eleanor

masterpieces to art lovers across the

has a Masters Degree in the History of

globe. Your Art is designed for use on

Fashion and Textiles, and ran the

iPhone and iPod Touch devices and is

Costume and Textile auctions for

available in the iTunes App Store:

Bonhams. She now works in Sydney

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-

consulting for auctions and writing for

art/id600049768.

antique magazines. If you are

UNESCO World Heritage site destroyed

by Hamas

interested in attending the classes, or

Hamas’ military wing has bulldozed

know others that would, please find

parts of the 3,000-year-old Anthedon

more information at

Harbour to make way for a training

www.northsydneycentre.com.au

zone, Abeer Ayyoub (al-monitor.com)

works of art for all to learn from and

again are working on the clock face.

Peter McKenzie, specialist in heritage architecture, discovered that the Sydney Town Hall original clock face had 3 rings of gold leaf and so is being restored to match the original.

All will be unveiled in September when the scaffolding comes down.

reports. The present site consists of a variety of elements which spread in the area from the seashore, including the underwater archaeology, to the

Calling on Ipswich businesses

inland: the ruins of a Roman temple

Do you own a business or know

uncovered, as well as Roman artisan

someone who does? The Ipswich Art

and living quarters, including a series

Gallery is currently seeking donations

of villas, testifying to the city of

from businesses for use in their

Anthedon. Mosaic floors, warehouses

upcoming exhibit Light Play. The

and fortified structures are found in

gallery is looking for materials and off-

the area.

and a section of a wall have been

cuts that are clean, translucent, transparent, perforated, fibrous, safe.

If you think you can help, please materials to Children’s Program

Art Gilding’s Sydney project

Officer Stefanie Ferguson:

The Sydney Town Hall is undergoing

smferguson@ipswichartgallery.qld.gov.au /

restoration and is currently covered in

07 3810 7225. The gallery will come

scaffolding – a perfect time for the

and collect the material.

clock face to be re-gilded. Work was

email a photo of your surplus

86

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TRADER toys

Lincoln Continental Sedan made by Bandai, l: 29 cm, friction drive $595 Antique Toy World Camberwell VIC 03 9882 9997

Bassett-Lowke LMS Compound #1082, O Gauge electric locomotive $1250 Antique Toy World Camberwell VIC 03 9882 9997

Matchbox Major Pack M-9 Cooper-Jarrett, c. 1962 interstate double freighter $250 Antique Toy World Camberwell VIC 03 9882 9997

ceramics Aynsley bone china, hand painted cabinet plate, c. 1920, diam: 22 cm, signed with the initials of the artist: ‘R.G.K.’ $265 Collectors’ Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

Pair of Beswick bunny bookends, c. 1937-1954, multi-coloured drip glaze $265 Collectors’ Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

English meat platter, c. 1870, l: 47 x w: 36 cm $245 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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John Campbell, (Tasmania), beer mug made for the Commercial Hotel, Port Kembla, c. 1930, h: 12 cm, unsigned, but with typical Campbell glaze and pottery body $125 The Compulsive Collector Newcastle NSW 02 9630 7106

Bing & Grondahl (Copenhagen, Denmark) wall plaque, c. 1970, diam: 15 cm signed on the back ‘Bl’. ‘Arctic Greenland’ 8000/9200 $25 Tricia’s Treasures Gosnells WA 08 9398 2450

Martin Boyd plate or plaque, c. 1950, diam: 18.4 cm, hand painted scene of Aboriginal figure in a landscape $125 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

Royal Copenhagen (Denmark), wall plate Hare in Winter (Hare I Vinterlandskad) design, c. 1971, diam: 18.5 cm $25 Tricia’s Treasures Gosnells WA 08 9398 2450

Martin Boyd plaque or plate, c. 1950, diam: 18.4 cm, hand painted scene of Aboriginal figure $125 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

Guy Boyd wall plaque, c. 1960, diam: 15 cm $45 Tricia’s Treasures Gosnells WA 08 9398 2450

Arthur Merric Boyd plate, c. 1930, diam: 13 cm, inscribed on bottom ‘A. M. Boyd’ $110 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

William Moorcroft Art Deco jug, c. 1935, featuring yacht design, h: 23 cm, signed by William Moorcroft $695 New Norfolk Antiques TAS 03 6261 1636

English, maker unknown, majolica jardinière, c. 1940, h: 24 x diam: 30 cm $185 Toowoon Bay Antiques NSW 02 4334 1775

Burleigh Ware (England), hand painted jug, c. 1930, h: 18 cm, squirrel handle and leaves and acorns in relief $68 The Centenary Centre Newcastle NSW 02 4926 4547

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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89

Royal Worcester dessert plate, c. 1907, hand painted decoration, diam: 23 cm, gilded rim edge $125 Toowoon Bay Antiques NSW 02 4334 1775

Royal Doulton character jug, ‘Sam Weller’, c. 1930, h: 56 mm $98 Toowoon Bay Antiques NSW 02 4334 1775

Gouda (Holland), Zenith factory plate, c. 1925, diam: 12 cm $65 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

Crown Devon vase, c. 1930, hand painted decoration, h; 20 cm $295 Aggie’s Attic Newcastle NSW 02 4926 4547

Royal Doulton figurine of fox terrier, bone china, hand painted, h: 7 cm $98 Collectors’ Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

Vase designed by Hugh McHugh (Tasmania), c. 1930, h: 15 cm, inscribed to base signature and No 10 $130 Collectors' Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

Royal Worcester cabinet plate, c. 1905, unsigned, hand painted scene, diam: 23 cm, pale green border with brown lace edge, gilded rim $128 Toowoon Bay Antiques NSW 02 4334 1775

Royal Worcester comport/tazza, c. 1874, hand painted floral border, gilding to centre, rim and foot, diam: 23.5 cm $198 Toowoon Bay Antiques NSW 02 4334 1775

Small Melrose gum leaf vase, c. 1930 $50 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

90

CollectablesTrader

Bizarre vase designed by Clarice Cliff for Newport pottery (England), c. 1930, Gayday pattern, hand painted, h: 22.8 cm, manufacturer's mark to base: $1250 Tarran Court Pty Ltd trading as Online Antiques Harcourt VIC 0407 321 865

WMF (Germany), lobster bowl with EPNS trim, c. 1930, h: 12 x diam: 21 cm $175 Aggie’s Attic Newcastle NSW 02 4926 4547

Australian art pottery jug c. 1960, h: 25 cm $135 The Compulsive Collector Newcastle NSW 02 9630 7106

Regal Mashman (Australia), brown toned dripware bowl, c. 1940, signed on the base, width: 26 cm $195 Pastimes Antiques Camperdown NSW 02 9550 5554

Majolica jug made by George Jones (England), c. 1890, h: 17 cm $95 The Compulsive Collector Newcastle NSW 02 9630 7106

Remued vase, c. 1941, dripware glaze, size 4-L, h: 13 cm $130 Pastimes Antiques Camperdown NSW 02 9550 5554

Royal Doulton figurine ‘Sleepy Darling’ c. 1970, h: 19 cm, artist’s signature and maker’s mark stamped to base signed $105 Tulip Antiques & Art Silvan VIC 03 9737 9010

William Ricketts, Untitled sculpture, c. 1940, 16 x 12 cm wide $595 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

Royal Albert cake plate, c. 1960, decorated in old country roses pattern $88 Collectors’ Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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91

Royal Winton Marguerite pattern teapot, c. 1930s, h: 16 cm $425 Aggie's Attic Newcastle NSW 02 4926 4547

Royal Doulton cabinet plate ‘Columbine’, c. 1977, 35 x 35 cm design after an original work by Le Roy Neiman, $80 Tulip Antiques & Art Silvan VIC 03 9737-9010

Royal Worcester cabinet plate decorated by Raymond Rushton titled ‘Wick’ c. 1939, diam: 26.7 cm $1150 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

English china teapot with unusual lid $145 Retro Active Northcote VIC 03 9489 4566

Royal Doulton Series Ware Robbie Burns wall plate, c. 1930, diam: 26 cm $95 Antique Effects Ballarat VIC 03 5331 3119

Shelley Foley Wileman intarsia three handled vase by Frederick Rhead, c. 1890, decorated with Queen of Hearts motif., h: 17 cm $1500 Turn O' The Century Antiques Sherwood QLD 07 3379 7311

Royal Doulton bowl, c. 1930, diam: 19 cm, signed ‘Grace’, ‘D5694’. Registered Australia 16306/7/8; 2-37. $155 Aggie’s Attic Newcastle NSW 02 4926 4547

Royal Doulton hunting scene cabinet plate, c. 1940 diam: 26cm $155 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

92

CollectablesTrader

Pair of large 18th century Italian majolica dishes, c. 1780, painted in the rococo manner, width: 34 cm $400 South Fitzroy Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9417 7993

Moorcroft vase designed by Vicki Lovatt, 2012, 'A Tribute to Terra Australis' series decorated with image of honey possum, h: 20 cm, limited edition of 75 $1150 Roundabout Antiques Toowoomba QLD 07 4632 8805

French ceramic figurine in the form of a fish signed ‘Le Jan’, c. 1940, h: 30 x w: 12 x l: 49 cm $225 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

Shelley teacup, saucer & plate, c. 1930, Queen Anne shape decorated in medallion pattern # 11612 $125 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

Shelley Harmony Ware ashtray, c. 1930, diam: 11 cm $95 Turn O' The Century Antiques Sherwood QLD 07 3379 7311

Royal Doulton dish, c. 1930, 'Under the Greenwood Tree' l: 23 cm maker’s mark and no 12-39 impressed to base $195 Aggie's Attic Newcastle NSW 02 4926 4547

Pot made by Gustavsberg Argenta (Sweden), c. 1930, with applied silver decoration, h: 5.5 cm $40 The Compulsive Collector Newcastle NSW 02 9630 7106

Grace Seccombe (attrib) figurine of a penguin standing on an ice flow, c. 1940, h: 11 cm, unsigned $1850 The Compulsive Collector Newcastle NSW 02 9630 7106

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

CollectablesTrader

93

glass

Holmegaard Per Lutken (Denmark) glass bowl, c. 1950s, ‘Provence’ design, diam: 29 cm $225 Retro Active Northcote VIC 03 9489 4566

Sabino (Paris, France), ‘Gaite’ scent bottle with stopper, c. 1925, h: 15 cm $395 New Norfolk Antiques New Norfolk TAS 03 6261 1636

Pair of antique Bohemian glass candlesticks with applied gilt design, c. 1910, h: 26 cm $395 Pastimes Antiques Camperdown NSW 02 9550 5554

Victorian era jug or pitcher with internal green and opaque white colours and moulded spirally waved exterior, c. 1890, h: 21.6 cm $195 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

European art glass vase, c. 1970 trapped internal fish net design, h: 17 cm $110 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

Art Deco uranium glass vase glows well under UV light, c.

1930 $98 Collectors' Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

Biomorphic shaped Italian art glass vase, c. 1950s, h: 30 cm $125 Collectors' Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

ADVERTISING RATES 1/4 page colour $270 1/2 page colour $456.50 Full page colour $830

Pair Murano figures, c. 1950, h: 25 cm $795 New Norfolk Antiques New Norfolk TAS 03 6261 1636

Collection of 6 Lalique demicrystal plates c. 1938, diam: 18 cm $395 each Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

Rene Lalique 'Gazelles' bowl designed in 1925, diam: 29.2 cm $1950 Yande Meannjin Antiques Narangba QLD 07 3886 6037

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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TRADER photography

1

3 2

1 Sunbaker, 1937 2 Moonflower, 1982 3 Interior Elizabeth Bay House, 1978 4 At Toowoon Bay, 1985 5 Blue Gum Forest, c. 1940

5

4

Girard Perregaux 9 ct white gold stainless steel case back 17 jewel $2750 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

One of a set of five framed photographs making up a portfolio illustrating Max Dupain’s versatile approach to a broad range of subjects. They were selected by him for this set of limited edition prints published for the Royal Blind Society and were among his personal favourites. These were produced in the late 1980s.

Set of five framed $2,500. Individual $600 each.

Brasac Enterprises, 02 9389 2919

Cartier gold on sterling silver quartz c. 1990 $1500 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

Gerrard Perregaux gyromatic, original band, c. 1960 $1295 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

Longines Admiral 10 ct gold filled, c. 1965 $2295 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

Gold diamond and jade stick pin $3750 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919 24 Jewel VGOC 31198614 case 168018, 18 ct gold Omega Constellation c. 1971 $3800 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

Omega Seamaster 14 ct c. 1960s $1895 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

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Antique and Modern Clocks and Watches Repairs and Sales

Family business established 25 years Specialising in antiques & decorative arts CONDUCTING MONTHLY AUCTIONS Next auctions: 26 May 2013 16 June 2013 Refer to website for future sales

Friendly professional service Free quotes Guarantee on major repairs Clocks bought and sold Leigh Fist 493 North Road Ormond VIC 3163

Tues – Fri 9 am – 5 pm Saturday 9 am – 1 pm

03 9578 6960

Contact Mark or Megan Stone on 03 5256 1674 or 0418 553 910 14-16 Grubb Road, Ocean Grove Victoria 3226 Catalogues available

www.woodlandsauctions.com.au

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75

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Noble Numismatics

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5

Antique Valuations Established 1985

John Rogers, Off Little Bourke Street, 1948, oil on canvas, 50 x 66 cm

How much is this painting worth? $6,000, $8,000, $10,000

David Freeman knows...

David Freeman Antique Valuations is Melbourne’s largest independently owned valuation service. Founded in 1985, we have vast experience with art, antiques, china, collectables and general household contents.

David Freeman Antique Valuations delivers expert valuations, on time, every time, all at extremely competitive rates. Whether you require valuations for insurance, market, family law, company divisions, or deceased estates, David Freeman can help you with experience, total confidentiality and personal service. David Freeman can also advise you on purchasing, disposal, placement and restoration services.

David Freeman is approved to value Australian Paintings and Prints after 1850 for the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. We can supply you with excellent references from some of our many satisfied clients, if required.

Call David for your next valuation.

Phone: 03 9855 2255 Mobile: 0419 578 184 Fax: 03 9855 2244 344 High Street Kew Victoria 3101 PO Box 21, Balwyn North Victoria 3104 Visit our website: www.aaauctions.com.au

Government Approved Valuer Cultural Gifts Program Australian Paintings & Prints after 1850

OFFERING A CONSECUTIVE PAIR OF AUSTRALIA’S FIRST BANKNOTES ON THEIR 100th ANNIVERSARY

Ten shillings, Collins/Allen (issued 1913), presentation notes M000054 and M000055 with an accompaning letter dated 5 July 1913, to W.N. Hodges ‘Dunboe’, Sackville Street, Kew East, signed by the Secretary to the Treasury, Geo. T. Allen.

Price on application.

Contact our Sydney office (02) 9223 4578 or our Melbourne office (03) 9600 0244 for a free, confidential valuation

www.noble.com.au ground floor 169 macquarie street sydney info@noble.com.au level 7 / 350 collins street melbourne noblemelbourne@hotkey.net.au

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