A Mother's Love

Stella Dallas is about many things but above all it is about the sacrifice of motherhood.
What more appropriate film to write about on Mother's Day than this.

Actually I'm not writing this post as a paean to the glories of motherhood, though I'm sure it has its moments. Stella Dallas is about a woman from the wrong side of the tracks who convinces a wealthy sophisticate to marry her. They quickly have a child, a daughter. It's not long however before the difference in class makes the marriage unworkable. The husband then takes off for New York and Stella is left to raise their daughter alone.

One of the interesting things about this movie is how it uses the character's surroundings to tell us all we need to know about the differences in the classes between them. When we first meet Stella she is living with her parents in a run down shack. As Stella moves up in the world and marries her husband they live in an elegant townhouse. After the two separate, her husband continues to live in an elegant manner while Stella lives not quite so elegantly. She lives well of course, as her husband continues to support her, but Stella's taste starts to dominate. It becomes clear early on that Stella is a boorish vulgarian with appalling taste. Her home isn't exactly a junk shop but it is certainly not Park Avenue. This becomes apparent in an important scene in the movie: her daughter's birthday party. Stella starts to then learn that her common manners are having an effect on her child's life.

Much of this scene takes place in the dining room around a table set with party favors. As the place settings and party favors are taken away one by one as guests cancel, the dining room goes from a place of joyous celebration to a foreshadowing of the tragedy to come. It was here, with mixed feelings that I saw a complete continental majolica fish service on one of the shelves in Stella's dining room.

Here was another majolica sighting, in this soapiest of soap operas, but here the director King Vidor used the acknowledged vulgarity of majolica to make a statement about the character of Stella.
A plate from the service is visible in the photo below.

Once again we are reminded how in 1937 when the film was made and up until relatively recently majolica had a reputation for excess and bad taste. It took decades before attitudes towards majolica changed to an appreciation of the forms we love so much today.

Collections and Collectors

I came across a lovely little photo essay in the NY Times Magazine about some long time antique collectors in NYC. The couple collects a wide variety of things including majolica.

There are some very nice pictures of their collections and reminiscences about collecting in the post war US.

If you get a chance, you should stop by the Times Magazine Web site and take a look.
You can find the article here.

Albino Majolica

The very first thing I need to say is that I hate the term "albino majolica."

I don't know who coined the phrase "albino majolica" - I've always attributed it to Charles Rebert - but for all I know it was a term in use before the publication of "American Majolica 1850-1900". One thing is certain though: his use of the term in his book was picked up by Mariann Katz-Marks in her original soft cover books on majolica, which were extremely influential in the formation of the American majolica market. From there it entered the collecting lexicon.

What I dislike most about it is that it is a misnomer. "Albino majolica" is not majolica at all; it is decorated earthenware. A loose case can be made for describing luster glazed earthenware as majolica but it too does not fulfill one of the simple definitions of majolica: an earthenware body covered with an opaque tin glaze; covered again with colored glazes and fired a second time at a high temperature to fuse the colored glaze to the opaque under glaze. Decorated earthenware is covered with a white slip and a transparent or opaque glaze. Lusters are applied on top of the glazed ware and fired at a low temperature. They wear off easily because they don't fuse with the glaze underneath, they sit on top of it.
The same can be said of plain decorated earthenware. This is glazed then covered with firing enamels which are heated to fix the enamel color to the body. In neither case are these true majolica.
The ware we call "albino majolica" is actually a copy of the decorated earthenwares made in England by companies like George Jones. Many of these used the same molds that produced majolica which may account for some of the confusion.

With all that said, decorated earthenware can still be very beautiful.

Probably the most famous decorated earthenware came from the Etruscan Works of Phoenixville. The Ivory Ware line is usually placed under the umbrella of the "albino" name along with the decorated earthenware Venecine, from the company.

Ivory Ware was the company's version of the Belleek wares so popular at this time. Made with an eye towards capturing some of this market, the ware was a blatant imitation of Belleek in both glaze and subject matter. What the company could not capture with the thick earthenware body, was the translucent quality of porcelain that made Belleek so desirable. In spite of not marking most Ivory Ware - in the hope of confusing the consumer into thinking it was fine imported ware - it proved to be an unsuccessful product and never achieved the success their majolica and creamware would achieve.

The Etruscan decorated earthenware line Venecine, was among the most beautiful pottery this or any American company was making at the time.
It's well known that the "majolica girls" took great pride in work that they did on this line since it required so much more skill than the majolica wares. The results speak for themselves.

It's unfortunate than none of these pieces are appreciated much by majolica collectors today. The prices they bring are always just a small fraction of what a majolica example would bring.

Other companies whose work is often included under the term "albino majolica" is Haynes' Avalon Faïence and Clifton Decor of the Chesapeake Pottery and Edward Bennet, both of Baltimore. These too are decorated earthenware although the French term "faïence" is sometimes used to describe this type of over-the-glaze enamel decoration as well.

Like the decorated earthenware of the Etruscan Works, prices and demand for these is generally quite weak.

So where does this leave the modern collector?
Like any other antique, I would suggest buying what you like. There are great bargains to be found in these types of wares if the savvy collector just keeps his eyes open. Although they'll never achieve the prices nor the popularity of true majolica, they are still beautiful and an integral part of Victorian pottery history.

Friends, Family and Collecting

A couple of weeks ago, one of my best friends passed away suddenly. We had been close friends for 25 years.
The most difficult thing about losing someone close to you is that a part of you is lost as well. All of those shared memories that brought you so close to each other are now yours alone. There is no one left to laugh with over the silly things that the two of you experienced together. It is a terrible loss of love.

When I think of my friend Phillip, I am reminded of his outrageous sense of humor.
 
Phillip hated majolica.
As a joke he once bought me a reproduction of a piece of majolica, but this wasn't just any reproduction. He went out of his way to find what he described as the most over- the- top ridiculous majolica type object he could find.  I will never forget the fiendish glee that overtook him when I opened the gift. He laughed so hard when he saw my blank reaction he was doubled over.
What he didn't realize was that the reason I didn't get the joke was because he had given me a faithful reproduction of the Eureka triangular owl and fan teapot. To him it was a ridiculous modern interpretation of what was worst about majolica.  When I told him it was a reproduction of a real piece of majolica it confirmed for him how absurd majolica really was. It was an affirmation of his hatred of the stuff.

Now, I'll admit that Phillip is not the only one of my friends who hates majolica, because practically all of them do. ( I can't say all of them because one of my friends has actually grown to like it. I wrote about his turn around here.)
Most of them can't understand what I see in it. To them it is everything that was bad about the Victorians: it's garish, old fashioned and ostentatious. They come into my apartment, which is full of the stuff, and totally ignore it; that is when they're not talking about how ugly it is. I'll admit that I wish that at least a couple could appreciate why I like it, but they don't.

The same is not true about my relatives. While none of the younger generation like it, both my sisters and my late Mother love it. My Mother actually encouraged me to collect it. She saw it as a nice way of getting me to invest my money in something.
One of my sisters even started her own collection and now has a much larger collection than I do. Of course none of her daughters like it but she doesn't care because it brings her joy.

The bottom line is that is my feeling as well. That is why we collect, regardless of what it may be we are collecting. When I look at my majolica I feel happy. I have surrounded myself with things that bring me joy and because it does that it has fulfilled its obligation to me.
You really can't ask for more.

Actually, I take that back. I can ask for more.
I wish I could hear Phillip's laugh again.

Strawser Spring Auction 2012: Day 2

As usual the second day of Strawser's Spring Auction in Hatfield, PA, proved to be worth the wait. An eager crowd online and in-house brought their checkbooks but weren't too willing to spend big money as many items failed to reach reserve. Bargains were to be had if you had the patience to wait for them.
Still, this auction proved to be better than the previous one.

As anticipated the big sale of the day was the George Jones giraffe and stag centre. After an intense bidding war between an online bidder and an in-house bidder, the auction house bidder was the winner as the compote brought a price of $33,000 + commission.

The other George Jones compote did not fair as well, going unsold after the top bid of $16,000 failed to reach reserve.

The unsold Jones "full nest" game dish from the fall auction sold this time around as the consigner lowered their reserve. It brought $10,500+

 The monumental Minton Ewer and stand brought $9,500+, a good $5,500 below the low estimate.

A revolving Minton oyster plateau brought $8,250+.

The Jones Punch bowl brought $6,500+.

Other big sales went to a Minton monumental wine cooler, $4,100+...

... a Barbizet palissy tray, $3,700+ ...

... a GJ double leaf and fern server with a rabbit, $3,200+ ...

... a Minton heron and fish ewer, $2,200+...

... and a GJ dresser tray, also $2,200+..

Strawser Spring Auction 2012

Today was such a lovely Spring day I decided to take a trip to Pennsylvania to attend the first day of the two day Strawser Spring Auction. Held in a northern suburb of Philadelphia called Hatfield at Alderfer's Auction Gallery, it is an auction house I know well, having attended events there for well over 25 years.

My first response upon arriving was how much Hatfield had grown in the time since I left Philadelphia. When I first went to Alderfer's, its location well away from the center of town, gave the impression that it was built in the middle of nowhere; around it was nothing but farms, empty fields and mud roads. It certainly isn't that way anymore!
The auction house is now surrounded by tract houses and businesses as the city center has grown outward to join the gallery . It made me nostalgic for the good old days when you were more likely to run into a tractor than another car on your way to the auction.

Inside the auction house has aged gracefully. What a great location for Strawser's auction... and what an auction it was! Hundreds of pieces of majolica -- two day's worth -- laid out on tables waiting for the gavel. It was a glorious sight to behold.

As auction time neared the excitement of the audience was palpable as the gallery slowly filled with collectors and dealers, eager to get their hands on majolica gold.

Finally the time arrived and Michael Strawser took the podium to welcome the crowd. Michael usually doesn't call the Friday auction. This one is handled by seasoned Alderfer's staff.
Michael alone handles the Saturday event, usually an all day siege. You can't say the man doesn't earn his commission!

Bidding was conservative at first but it picked up as the day went on.
When all was said and done, prices were somewhat higher than last year though still on the low side with about 35-40% of the lots selling below estimate.

The biggest sale of the day went to a group of seven Samuel Alcock trays which sold for $1300 + commission.

Another large sale went to a group of Choisy-le-Roi rabbit plates which sold for $1100+.

Other large sales were a group of 19 continental vases that sold for $800+...

... a 14 piece set of Continental asparagus and artichoke plates that sold for $1100+...

 

...and a cat handled teapot that sold for $650+.

It was a blast to be there and mingle with the other majolica collectors. I really would recommend it to anyone with an interest in this pottery.

Saturday the big bucks start to flow with the name brand English pieces up for sale.

We'll be here to report on that at the conclusion of the auction.