A Bitossi Lamp

I bought this lamp base a few weeks ago for about $20 because I love the colour and texture of it.

At first I thought it was West German...but everything points to it being Bitossi - with the "Italy" script on the base and a few numbers. I need to do a bit more research to confirm it, but even if not Bitossi - it will be a great lamp for the living room.....Adding to about 5 of the number of bases I need to get re-wired and find shades for!.

Scherzer Finds

One of our readers Martine, in Belgium sent me some images of a great find she had recently with some Scherzer Bavarian porcelain that I've done a post on previously. She found the set in a jumble sale, and my goodness what a find! 

The shapes are the same as the pieces I found, but the pattern so much better. Looking again at the pieces I have - it is such well made porcelain - you can always tell by the feel and look of it.

The pattern is so retro and really has that WOW factor. Those clean, simple, clean geometric 1960's and 1970's designs are snapped up so quickly - you just have to be in the right place at the right time to get them.

Retro Scherzer Bowl

Retro Scherzer Casserole

Retro Scherzer plate shapes

The piece below was also found by Martine - amazing! It is It's also from Bavaria but Vohenstrauss, Johann Seltmann - I'm not familiar with the maker or design but would love to find some pieces like this. I had a quick look on the web and could only find quite traditional designs by the maker - just imagine a whole setting of it.

Vohenstrauss, Johann Seltmann, Coffee Pot.

Auction Watch - No. 1

I thought I would start doing a series of my auction picks for each week coming up, starting today. It's always a mixed bag of things that take my eye - pottery I have to have at any cost, pottery I would like but is just too expensive when bidding gets going, and things I would love to have but would get them home and think "why on earth did I buy this"? Then there are things I buy that I never even saw listed, and suddenly just have to have.

So here we go, my picks for this week. Check back to see how many I end up with in the coming weeks as I post them on here. Usually I get about one third of what I am interested in - which is fine - I couldn't afford to buy the whole lot! . Some of the photos are a bit blurry - as they are from the e-catalogue and much smaller originally.

Carmel Pottery - see my previous post on this pottery

Carmel Pottery

Ooh Yes, Original 1960's and 1970's Johnson Australia Retro Platters

Villeroy & Boch Kaleidoscope

Denby Coffee Set

Mikasa Retro setting

Very cute original transistor radio

Quite a lot of Portmerion this week - always very expensive though

Portmerion

West German Vase

Original unused Silit Enamel Pot

A nice 50's water jug

Oh yes!

Love this enamel sign....but nowhere to put it, too big to post.

Antique Wood Plane

Love Typewriters!

Meet the Family

I found these at an auction a few weeks ago, and I think they are just so funny and adorable...they make me smile.I knew they were Danish, and supposed they were Trolls of some sort - and Karen over in Denmark kindly filled me in further with some background.

They are from the island of Bornholm, where of course much of the best pottery came from in the 19th and 20th Century, and it is a Krølle Bølle family. They are very popular as tourist items along with miniature Bornholm round-churches and smokehouses.

Krølle Bølle is the son, the sister is Krølle Borra, the father is Bobbarækus, and the mother is Bobassina. Apparently you can buy children's books about Krolle Bolle too. They evolved out of ancient superstitions on Bornholm.

Most of the troll figurines were made by Michael Andersen & Sons in the past, and although these are not marked they look very much like Michael Andersen pottery.

As you can see in the first photo, they even came with mud on their feet.

Antique Noritake Bling

I found these 2 amazing pieces of antique Noritake on eBay a few weeks ago - they are just lovely. They have the blue spider mark for 1908 ish.

Not quite up to my all time Noritake favourite - the Desert Scene in all its variations - but this design is pretty close with its superb attention to detail and beautiful use of colour and or course the gold detailing.

The porcelain or china they are made of is so strong too - with not a hint of ageing except for a bit of wear on the gold handle.

If anyone knows the name of the pattern, I would love to hear from you.

 

Denby Ode

I managed to pick up some more Denby Ode from a reader of the blog in Adelaide who contacted me. I see odd pieces of this design from time to time but have never had the plates with their beautiful Greek key sgraffito design in white - its very striking. I havent seen this shape of Salt & Peppers in Denby before either.

Ode is recorded as having been designed by Glynn Colledge, and issued in 1961 until about the late 1970's.

 I love the colour of the matt mustard glaze - referred to by Denby as Antique Gold. 

Gill Pemberton tells me that the shape was actually designed by Kenneth Clark who also designed the Gourmet range, a shape that was later used for Studio, as well as Ode and Echo ( a blue version of Ode)

See my previous post on Ode  with more pieces here

Denby Ode - Designed by Glynn Colledge and Kenneth Clark

Salt & Pepper - Denby Ode - Designed by Glynn Colledge and Kenneth Clark

Oatmeal Bowl - Denby Ode - Designed by Glynn Colledge and Kenneth Clark

Creamer - Denby Ode - Designed by Glynn Colledge and Kenneth Clark

Denby Troubador

I had a bit of a clean up over the weekend, and found these at the back of one of my storage cupboards. It's another of my Denby favourites called "Troubador" (sic)

It is beautifully simple in design, with superbly hand painted magnolias with leaves in soft greens and pale browns with the faintest touch of dusty pink, on a simple stone coloured stoneware.

One shape Denby always get right is the shape and size of their bowls - they are so lovely to hold in your hands and always the perfect size.

Denby Troubador Bowl

Denby Troubador Coffee Pot

Denby Troubador  Tea Cup & Saucer

Denby Troubador Gravy Boat

Midwinter Sienna Pattern - Jessie Tait

I picked up this coffee pot on eBay a few weeks ago and its simply breathtaking.  Ever so slowly I'm trying to build together at least a tea/coffee set of this pattern - I have 3 pieces now. It seems pretty easily available in the U.K. but for some reason, here in Australia it's not for sale very often at all.  The others I have are Here.

Sienna was designed by Jessie Tait and in the Fine Range (1962-1978).  I have to say I rarely come across quality and attention to detail such as this in production ware. Every aspect of this design and pattern is superb - even the detailing on the lid which you can see in the photo. The lid is also shaped in quite a complex manner underneath so it will not fall out when being poured. This sort of quality you only see these days from producers like Royal Copenhagen, Rosenthal and so on.

Every shape I have seen in this range is also so beautifully elegant and well proportioned - a fantastic example of industrial design at its best.

Midwinter Sienna Coffee Pot - Jessie Tait, U.K. 1962

Hornsea Contrast - Midas

I first saw this variation of the Contrast shape by Hornsea - Lancaster Vitramic at an auction last year and I was blown away by the beautiful gold decoration.

I put in what I thought was a high absentee bid - but it was obviously not high enough and I missed out. After a year or so I found out where the beautiful set has ended up - in a store just down the road from me! I'm still very tempted, even at the price.

The pattern is called Midas, and is on the Contrast shape - it was introduced in 1981- but I cant find out when it was discontinued. The pattern is in 22 Carat Gold! There seems to be a reasonable amount of Midas for sale on eBay and other sites in the U.K at pretty reasonable prices.

Dybdahl Hedgehog

I though it was time I started recording every piece of Dybdahl I come across to built up a more complete picture of the repertoire of this much loved but little acknowledged pottery.

This gorgeous hedgehog I found on eBay U.S. in a very impressive store called 20th Century Art & Design HERE. The shop has so many covetable and droolworthy items I've been glued to it for the past hour. (At the time of this posting the Hedgehog is for sale - at what I think is an appropriate price)

Anyway back to this cute Dydahl hedgehog. Dybdahl animals are so enchanting and each one is completely different - you probably have seen my Dybahl cat and small birds previously, and Karen's very cute horse money box on Monday.

Each has their own particular character - even though they may have been formed from a mould in some cases they always have a handmade appearance, and you can see the potters technique and method of working in the marks on the clay.

Dybdahl Hedghog c 1960 Via 20th Century Art & Design

Telecom Cups

Not much in the way of auction purchases so far this week, but I did pick up a box of interesting looking cups and saucers, mainly out of curiosity. Amongst the box were 7 of these "Telecom Australia" Cups which have the logo used between 1975-1993, designed by British expat Pieter Huveneers who designed a whole swag of national and highly significant logos.

Telecom was (partly?) privatised in the early 1990's, and became Telstra as we know it today.  I'll bet Pieter Huveneers never thought his logo would be turned into a pattern - but I quite like how the logo has form a simple pattern on the saucer and cup.  I would love to find the whole matching set of china (assuming there was one)

Also in the box was a stack of saucers, without cups unfortunately - of the very early Australian Post Office - they appear to be around 1930 by the colour and design - I will hang on to them and hopefully one day find some cups to match - unless anyone in Australia has the matching cups by chance?

The china for Telecom was made by Bristile - a supplier of quality hotel and commercial ware still going today in Melbourne.

Telecom Australia China Ware - logo designed by Pieter Huveneers 1975.

Early Australian Post Office & Communications Logo