Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840
  • Home
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Figures etc.
    • Some Fabulous Figures
    • Restoring Antique Staffordshire Pottery
    • Reproductions of Antique Staffordshire Pottery Figures
    • Believe It?
    • Dealers in Antique Staffordshire Pottery
    • Books on Staffordshire Pottery
    • Interesting Web Sites
  • Videos

Tolerance

1/1/2011

0 Comments

 
A popular magazine recently trumpeted the "return" of a movie star's face.  Apparently, she had abandoned her plastic surgery/filler routine and her face was looking normal.  That same week, I ran into an acquaintance who is a plastic surgery addict. I admit to staring at her face intently as she talked.  Nothing quite worked right. A mask of horrors.  And too much restoration on a piece of pottery is like too much facial restoration: it detracts rather than enhances.  

In prior centuries, broken ceramic articles were not routinely tossed aside. What to do in an age before superglue? Well, metal was routinely used for ceramic repair. A lost handle, the tip of a spout...whatever it was, the tinker took care of it when he did his rounds. Plates were rejoined using metal rivets. You can see many examples of truly innovative repairs on Andrew Baseman's site, Past Imperfect, by clicking here.
Picture
Unique pearlware equestrian figure from the stock of John Howard.
Similar creativity was applied to repairing figures. This enormous 19" equestrian is available from John Howard. Click here to see and read more. It is a WOW figure. Truly impressive.  But notice the old repairs to the hind legs, which have been repaired with metal rivets....and, best of all, John has left them this way.  The rivets are part of the figure's history and add to its charm. Yay, John!  Thank you for leaving it alone.

One of my many resolutions for 2011 is to be more tolerant of damage to my figures.  I am working on it already and own a growing number of figures that I have chosen not to restore. Don't get me wrong: there are times when restoration is a must, and I am very appreciative of the extraordinary expertise of professional restorers. But when it comes to poor restoration I will never be tolerant. In fact, I have become quite adept at stripping it off.  A while ago, I got a little figure in a lot at auction.  The top of the bocage had been overpainted and looked lumpy.  To strip off the old restoration, I applied a coat of stripper.  Surprise! The green came away to reveal a perfect little squirrel sitting atop a perfect bocage. No damage at all. 

About 20 years ago I knew dealers who owned an impressive Toby jug. It was a highly desirable Rodney jug but at some point it had lost its head. Almost certainly in the 1800s, somebody thought enough of that jug to have an outstanding replica of the head made in bell metal.  Fast forward to the 1980s, and the dealers thought better. They had a replacement head made by casting off a similar jug in the Brighton Museum.  "Metal Micky", as they called their jug, had a new ceramic head. It was a very perfect head but each time I looked at it, it looked a little less in keeping with the body.  Too much plastic surgery, if you get my drift. After about a decade, I thought the head had yellowed. Perhaps they did too.  Anyway, the jug was sold to a US dealer.  I was talking to him about it last year, and he had no idea that the jug had once had a metal head. "Metal Micky"--an object that was uniquely beautiful and touching in that it manifested the thoughtful care that had been bestowed upon a beloved object--had just become a second-rate jug with a restored head!

In 2011, think before you demand perfection from your pots. Their scrapes and bruises are integral to the stories they tell. 


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Myrna Schkolne, Myrna Bloch Schkolne, antique Staffordshire pottery, expert
    antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, bocage, antique Staffordshire, Myrna Schkolne
    Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, pearlware figure, creamware, bocage figure, antique Staffordshire pottery
    Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, pearlware figure, creamware, bocage figure, antique Staffordshire pottery
    Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, pearlware figure, creamware, bocage figure, antique Staffordshire pottery
    Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, pearlware figure, creamware, bocage figure, antique Staffordshire pottery
    Staffordshire figure, Myrna Schkolne, pearlware figure, creamware, bocage figure, antique Staffordshire pottery
    antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, bocage, antique Staffordshire, Myrna Schkolnecture
    antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, bocage, antique Staffordshire, Myrna Schkolne
    antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, bocage, antique Staffordshire, Myrna Schkolne
    antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Ralph Wood, antique Staffordshire, Myrna Schkolne
    antique Staffordshire pottery, Staffordshire figure, Obadiah Sherratt, antique Staffordshire, Myrna Schkolne
    Picture
    antique Staffordshire pottery figure, pearlware figure, Staffordshire figure, creamware, Neale & Co, Wilson, Neale & Wilson,  Myrna Schkolne

    Archives

    January 2025
    December 2024
    September 2024
    July 2024
    May 2024
    February 2024
    November 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008

    All material on this website is protected by copyright law. You may link to this site from your site, but please contact Myrna if you wish to reproduce any of this material elsewhere.


Visit earlystaffordshirefigures.com