A sad reproduction

I've been writing a lot about reproductions lately. Unfortunately they have begun to permeate the majolica scene more than ever before. My last post was about an exceptionally good reproduction that is currently flooding the marketplace. This last post of the year is about the opposite--an exceptionally bad reproduction.

I have to admit I get a little giddy when I see something like this offered on line with a straight face. It's bad on such a cosmic level that it's hard to believe anyone would take it seriously but I need to remind myself that not everyone is familiar with every specialty. I know that I could very easily be fooled by a bad Chinese porcelain reproduction because I know very little about Chinese porcelain. Still, this is an awful piece by any measure.

The above plate is being offered on line as an authentic George Jones piece of majolica in the Palissy style. The price is $700+. The reverse has a GJ "applied pad" signature.

Now, there are several things wrong here.
To the best of my knowledge George Jones never made majolica in the Palissy style. The closest I can think of would be their plates done for the Biarritz resorts and even that doesn't look anything like true Palissy.

The conceit that the reproduction platter is GJ Palissy is absurd.  Of course one look at the reverse should hammer that home for anyone with even the most basic knowledge of majolica.

Compare the mark on the reproduction (top) with the genuine article (bottom).

Not even the glaze is correct, with the repro glaze not being shiny like the real thing.

I would hope that no one who reads this blog would be fooled by anything like this.
I would hope!

A sinister reproduction

I recently found the above plate on eBay. This otherwise innocent looking blackberry plate is actually one of the most sinister reproductions currently scamming majolica buyers across the country. I call the piece sinister because the quality of the reproduction is absolutely top of the line, good enough to fool the most experienced majolica dealer. If I weren't familiar with the original myself I too would have been taken in by it.

The pattern this plate reproduces is one originating, I believe in Great Britain though most commonly it is found within the U.S. as a copy made by the Arsenal Pottery of Trenton, NJ. The difference between the Arsenal examples, shown below, and the contemporary copy shown above is obvious when shown side by side, but collectors rarely have the luxury of being able to make such comparisons in the field.

The difference in the reverse is also striking, the contemporary reproduction shown on top even reproduces the stilt makes of the older plates. The reverse treatment, however is not in keeping with that  of the Arsenal Pottery. That's not to say that all plates with this modeling treatment are suspect but I would take extra care when examining one like this.

These plates I believe are coming from the same pottery in the Carolinas that gave us the excellent reproduction fish head oyster plate about 15 years ago. Those were being retailed as reproductions when new but later appeared on the secondary market as real antiques. These blackberry plates are possibly being distributed the same way though it would not surprise me if the intention to deceive with these is there from the beginning. It certainly seems that way. The plates are never marked and are artificially distressed to appear antique.

I've written about this pottery before. They have reproduced a number of different pieces over the years, all slipping quietly into collections under the radar of most dealers. Until these are revealed as the contemporary copies they are, they will continue to destroy the validity of our majolica pottery heritage and the collections of enthusiasts across the globe.
I would encourage readers everywhere to not purchase these plates and expose them as copies whenever feasible.

Meet Me in St Louis

 

Christmas is the time of year that all the old movie chestnuts with even the slightest connection to the season show up on our TV screens. At the top of my list of Christmas themed movies has to be the wonderful 1944 film, Meet Me in St. Louis.

I've probably seen this movie a hundred times. In fact, I even have a photo of me taken in college watching Judy Garland singing "Have yourself a merry little Christmas", a song from the film on the TV in my bedroom. That was a long time before many reading this blog were born. I watch the movie every year when it finds it's way onto TV. I mention all this to illustrate how one can know a film as intimately as I know this one and still find surprises in it.

The movie takes place in St. Louis as it follows the Smith family just before the opening of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The story is a musical trifle, just an excuse for the wonderful songs, period settings and talents of its stars.

Last night as I was paying my annual homage to the Smith family, I noticed majolica among the Victorian settings of the Smith home. In this case there was in the bedroom of the grandfather a lovely Jugendstil majolica sanitary set on a dresser. The film's director, Vincente Minnelli, was a Broadway set designer before he went west to Hollywood to become a director. He had a remarkable eye for set detail as can be seen in any of his period films like Gigi and Lust for Life. 

What a lovely surprise to find my favorite pottery in my favorite  holiday movie!

See if you too can catch it the next time the movie comes around to your TV set.

Christie's European Decorative Arts Sale

On November 22 Christie's held a large sale of European decorative arts. There were a number of pieces of majolica in the sale but two in particular should be of interest to the average majolica enthusiast.
One of those broke records for the price it brought when the hammer fell and the second was a bellwether for where majolica prices have gone in the past six years.

The majolica sale of the day was a large Hugo Lonitz hawk perched on a rocky precipice. Standing almost 24" tall, the hawk was a gorgeous example of Lonitz animal work. The pre-sale estimate was $3,000 -$5,000 but no one expected the price it ultimately brought: $56,250. I believe that is a record for a piece of Lonitz at auction.

The other big majolica sale was no surprise to seasoned majolica collectors though it was probably a disappointment to majolica investors.
The Minton vulture and serpent teapot has long been the rarest and most coveted of the Minton figural teapots. Only a handful are known to exist and Christie's put a pre-sale estimate of $20,000 - $30,000 on their example. The final price brought was $37,500. That's certainly a great price, but it is only about half the price the vulture and serpent teapot in the Karmason collection sold for in 2005: $71,875.

Both auctions were a good indication of where the majolica market has grown in the past few years. Where good English pieces have always brought a good price, the growth in the market is in Continental majolica. Fine makers like Lonitz and Massier are finally being appreciated for the exceptional work they did. That, I think, is a good thing for the future of majolica collecting.