Easter Majolica

For the upcoming Easter holiday I thought I'd post some pieces that may be appropriate to your Easter table.

Of course the ultimate Easter centerpiece would have to be the GJ "full nest" Quail game dish, replete with chicks and bunnies galore!

Not everyone can afford a "full nest" game dish so the "empty nest" version will have to suffice for some.

Although some might prefer the Minton Hare and Mallard tureen.

Then there are the Minton and George Jones bunnies on which you can artfully arrange your peeps!

Minton majolica rabbit center

Minton majolica rabbit server

George Jones majolica double server

A Luneville vase to hold your Easter lilies.

Luneville hare jardiniere 

The Choisy-le-Roi rabbit plates would be perfect for appetizers...

... as would some of the Choisy game bird plates!

Of course you'll need something to hold the flowers or decorate the table. How about something from Massier or Brown-Westhead Moore?

Massier majolica vase

Brown-Westhead Moore majolica spoon warmer

You’ll need something to hold all those jelly beans and chocolate eggs! How about a nice humidor or pitchers from France or box from T. C. Brown-Westhead Moore & Company or butter dish from Eureka?

Orchies majolica rabbit pitcher

Brown-Westhead Moore majolica box

Eureka majolica butter dish

Let's not forget something to hold all those pretty eggs. Maybe a nice egg basket or server?

Majolica quail egg server

Sarreguemines majolica egg basket

Choisy-le-Roi chick and egg terrine

When dinner is all said and done set out the first strawberries of the season in a wonderful strawberry server!

George Jones majolica finch strawberry server

Minton majolica strawberry server 

Or give each of your guests their own strawberry portion on a plate from George Jones.

Then sit back and relax with a sweet liquor from your German bunny bottle and try to forget the clean up!

Enjoy your holiday everyone!

Chicken’s Feed

The first time I ever saw a George Jones tea tray was in a photograph in a magazine. The article wasn't about majolica, it was about how a man decorated his home.

The man had a farm and this big expansive kitchen. One wall was covered with shelves full of majolica. On his kitchen island he had a Minton beehive cheese stand. I believe there was also a Minton monkey teapot somewhere nearby. He owned a turquoise GJ tea tray and he kept it on the shelf with the other majolica. Once a day he filled it with dried corn and seed and fed his chickens off of it.

Yes, you read that correctly--he fed his chickens off of it. This is the same tea tray that George Jones made to match his monkey handled tea set. Similar to the one above from the Madelena Web site that is retailing for $4150. These chickens ate in style!

It reminds us that not too long ago majolica was considered a disposable remnant from a garish age.

I'd love to see that article again. If any readers know where it appeared please drop me a line.

Oh by the way, years later I was at a flea market and I saw a GJ tea tray in terrible condition that had the entire center covered with little nicks, like a bird had pecked at it.
Now I'm not saying that was the same tray I saw in the magazine article, but I couldn't help but wonder.

Think Pink!

When I hear the phrase "Think Pink", the very first thing that comes to mind is the opening number in the movie "Funny Face" where Kaye Thompson proclaims:

Red is dead, blue is through, green's obscene, and brown's taboo!"

It's the first line to a raucous musical number where Thompson, playing a Diana Vreeland type character decides the fashion for the coming season, and the color for that fashion is pink!

She could just as well have been speaking about Victorian majolica. Pink is so strongly associated with majolica that the color "majolica pink" has come to describe that vibrant lavender-pink hybrid that we all know so well.

Pink was used as a lining color by most of the English and American majolica manufacturers and as result is probably the most common of all majolica colors. Pink as a ground color wasn't quite as common though George Jones, Holdcroft, Minton, Wedgwood and the Etruscan Works all used it. Sometimes it was closer to dusty rose, sometimes a vibrant magenta and other times closer to lavender -- regardless it was all gorgeous!

What better way to start a new Spring week then to kick back and immerse ourselves in that loveliest of all majolica colors, pink!

George Jones majolica grape leaf and fern plate

George Jones majolica daisy jardiniere and stand

Minton majolica oyster plate

George Jones majolica chestnut plate

Holdcroft majolica grape leaf plate

Schramberg majolica lily of the valley plate

George Jones majolica chestnut 

George Jones majolica dove center

George Jones majolica sardine box

George Jones majolica ribbon jardiniere

Etruscan Majolica Shell teapot

Etruscan Majolica bamboo syrup

Etruscan Majolica sunflower cuspidor

Shorter & Boulton majolica fan dish

Wedgwood majolica dolphin oyster plate

Etruscan Majolica Shell mustache cup and saucer

Etruscan Majolica Shell cake plate

Etruscan Majolica sunflower syrup

Wardle majolica pedestal

Minton majolica jardiniere

George Jones majolica butter pat

Etruscan Majolica butter pat

Zolnay majolica strawberry server

Strawberry server attributed to Adams & Bromley

Holdcroft majolica fern and grape leaf platter

George Jones majolica oyster plate

Etruscan Majolica sunflower pitcher

Majolica banana leaf pitcher

Etruscan Majolica bird spooner

Etruscan Majolica grape plate

George Jones majolica plate

Wedgwood majolica jardiniere and stand

George Jones majolica foliage bowl

George Jones majolica jardiniere

Holdcroft majolica oyster plate

George Jones majolica basket

George Jones majolica wheat and acanthus jug

George Jones majolica iris jug

George Jones majolica apple blossom mug

Shorter & Boulton majolica fan ice cream plate

George Jones majolica wild rose graduated pitchers

George Jones majolica strawberry plate

Etruscan Majolica oyster plate 

George Jones majolica strawberry server

Minton majolica strawberry jardiniere and stand

Shorter & Boulton majolica fan butter pat

George Jones fence cheese dome

George Jones acanthus Stilton cheese dome

George Jones majolica game dish

Adams & Bromley five well oyster plate

Wardle majolica Shell bowl

George Jones palm and grape plate

Holdcroft majolica shell butter pat

George Jones majolica fox grape dish

Holdcroft majolica oyster plate

Delphin Massier majolica card holder

Delphin Massier majolica basket

Etruscan Majolica maple leaf plate

Forester majolica rope and acanthus cheese dome

Bernard Bloch majolica jardiniere

Holdcroft majolica game pitchers

Pink majolica is one of the most sought after colors available so expect to pay a premium for it... but isn't it worth it?