Guidelines for Shipping Antiques: Avoiding Tragedy

One of the most heart breaking experiences in my 40+ years of buying antiques occurred 20 years ago when I purchased a rare Brown-Westhead Moore garden seat from a dealer in Great Britain. 

Brown-Westhead Moore majolica sphinx garden seat

The piece arrived in a broken box re-taped by US Customs after the bottom had broken open during shipping. 

The top of the seat was broken into pieces and the base was almost completely missing. There was so much damage that it could never be repaired without major reconstruction.

What the seller could have been thinking in shipping this heavy piece in such a flimsy box I can't imagine. Fortunately he took complete responsibility for the poor shipment and gave me a complete refund for the seat, but it still didn't compensate for the heartbreak of receiving such a wonderful thing in such a terrible state. The garden seat had survived 130 years only to be destroyed by poor packing.

The importance of packaging breakable items properly cannot be overstated. I learned the hard way how to ship things properly when I worked in a retail shop and lost some things along the way, but I've learned my lesson. Here are some suggestions from the professionals.

Shipping Guidelines for Domestic Shipping

Here are the guidelines posted by UPS on their web site. To download a PDF of this chart from UPS go here:

Further they recommend:

Use a new rigid corrugated double wall cardboard box and choose the right size for the content. A box that is just the right fit for the size of your products will be too small as you won’t be able to wrap your items properly and use cushioning material.

If you are reusing a box, you need to check that the box isn’t damaged (all flaps are intact, outer box not ripped or compressed) and you should remove any old labels to avoid errors when the barcodes are scanned automatically on sorting belts. Note that cardboard boxes with dangerous goods labels should not be reused 

International Shipping Guidelines

For international shipments you need to take addition precautions. Here is a link to guidelines posted by the USPS for international shipping which require addition precautions. Once you’ve learned the right way of doing things it will become second nature whenever you ship.

Remember, you can never adequately recover an antique that is broken. As temporary custodians of these historic objects we are responsible for ensuring their survival for future generations. Don't take that responsibility lightly. 

George Jones Majolica Tree Comports

Among the most beautiful and rare George Jones wares, the series of compotes designed as a tree with branches spread against a blue sky are the most sought after. These tree compotes have among them the rare and wonderful Jones Continent series. These four Continent centerpieces are decorated with detailed animal figures representing the continents on which they stand… but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

The basic tree comport consists of exactly that— an oak tree with leaves and branches spread against a sky that forms the bowl of the comport.

George Jones majolica oak tree comport

What distinguishes the others from this one and from each other is what sits at the base. The smallest of the comports are the hound and quail, and the fox and hare, both positioned under oak trees. Whether these were intended as a matching proper pair is not known but their design with the figures mirroring each other certainly implies it.

George Jones majolica Dog Comport 

George Jones majolica Fox Comport

The next largest of the comports are those in the Continent series. These are four different centerpieces representing continents of the world illustrated by the animals and vegetation that are indigenous to them. 

Europe is represented by a Fallow stag and doe sitting underneath an English oak tree.

George Jones majolica Europe-Park Centre

America is represented by a pair of American Bison underneath a birch tree.

George Jones majolica America Centerpiece

Asia is represented by a pair of Dromedary camels under a banana tree…

George Jones majolica Asia Centerpiece

…and Africa is shown as a pair of lions under a palm tree. 

George Jones majolica Africa Centerpiece

The largest of the tree comports is identified only as Giraffe Centre in the Jones pattern books. It shows a giraffe on one side and a large European Red Deer stag on the opposite.

George Jones majolica Giraffe Centre

Jones also made a charger design that plays off these comports with leaves from all of the comports intertwined around the border. Although all of the comports were made with either turquoise grounds or cobalt grounds, I have only seen the plates with a turquoise ground.

George Jones majolica charger based on the Continents centerpieces

As you might expect from such rare and charming designs all of the pieces shown command high prices on the antique market, so naturally there are reproductions playing off their desirability and demand. 

One is a copy of the Dog Comport.

Reproduction dog compote

Another utilizes the European Red Deer stag from the Giraffe Centre with a Fallow doe from the Europe-Park center.

Reproduction stag compote with a doe replacing the giraffe

The quality of these reproduction compotes is exceedingly poor as you can see. I doubt that they would fool anyone familiar with the antique originals, but that isn’t really the target market for these things. They are aimed at decorators and people ignorant of genuine Victorian majolica. Unfortunately they still end up in the antique market, sometimes commanding absurd prices.

Incredibly Bad Minton Majolica Reproductions

The majolica reproduction market has been going strong for almost as long as I've been buying majolica. That would be around 35+ years. Some reproductions are excellent–difficult to distinguish from the antique originals. On the other hand there are those reproductions that are so incredibly bad that it's difficult to believe that anyone would be fooled by them. This post is about those reproductions.

Minton has always brought good prices in the antique market so it’s no surprise to see many fake pieces around. Sometimes these are marked MINTON in unusually large letters on the underside, something Minton NEVER did. The quality is uniformly horrendous. Minton is known for its detail and craftsmanship, qualities these reproductions lack. For example, look at the three reproductions below, followed by the Minton original.

Reproduction Minton Flower Bearers

Reproduction "Vintage" Flower Bearers

Reproduction "Vintage" Flower Bearers

Minton Majolica Flower Bearers

One thing that all of these share in common is the awful craftsmanship of the work. Glazes are often dull or runny while modeling is usually so amateurish it's likely that the sculptor had never seen the real thing in person. Sections like interiors and undersides are often left unglazed. Some of these also show signs of artificial distress and crazing to give the impression of age. 

Some of these reproductions are worse than others but they are all pretty terrible, certainly not worth the prices that some of them command on the antique market. I show the reproductions with the original posted below for comparison.

Reproduction flat iron teapot

Minton majolica flat iron teapot

The Minton rabbit centerpiece has apparently established its own little industry of reproductions as there are so many different ones available. There are even reproductions that replace the rabbits with monkeys, elephants or frogs.

Reproduction rabbit center

Reproduction rabbit center

Reproduction rabbit center

Reproduction rabbit center

Minton majolica rabbit center

Minton lions head jardiniere reproduction

Minton majolica lions head jardiniere

Reproduction marine center

Minton majolica marine center

Reproduction monkey handled teapot

Minton majolica monkey handled teapot

Reproduction vase

Minton majolica Reader Vase

Reproduction oak pitcher

Minton majolica oak jug

Frog pitcher reproduction

Minton majolica frog pitcher

Modern cherub figure

Minton majolica cherub vase

Reproduction putti centerpiece

Minton majolica putti centerpiece

Reproduction bee skep cheese keeper

Minton majolica bee skep cheese keeper

Reproduction pineapple pitcher

Reproduction pineapple pitcher

Minton majolica pineapple pitcher

Reproduction mermaid jug

Minton majolica mermaid jug

Reproduction dolphin compote

Minton majolica dolphin cream boat

Reproduction game terrine

Reproduction game terrine

Reproduction game terrine

Reproduction game terrine

Minton majolica hare and mallard game terrine

Reproduction putti handled jardiniere

Minton majolica putti handled jardiniere.

The classic Minton monkey holding a coconut teapot has inspired a number of reproductions, one worse than the next. First the original Minton piece followed by the copies.

Minton majolica monkey teapot

Reproduction monkey teapot

Reproduction monkey teapot

Reproduction monkey teapot

The Minton oyster plate is another that has fostered several reproductions. Some are good, most are bad. This doesn’t include companies like Fielding who copied the plate in the 19th century. 

Reproduction oyster plate

Reproduction oyster plate

Fielding reproduction of a Minton plate

Minton majolica oyster plate

Reproduction putto riding dolphin vase

Minton majolica putto riding dolphin vase

Reproduction ram's head vase

Reproduction ram's head vase

Minton majolica ram's head vase

Reproduction dove bowl

Minton majolica dove center

Then there are those reproductions of designs made by other potteries that are spuriously marked MINTON.

Reproduction fish game dish

Reproduction with fake MINTON mark

George Jones majolica fish terrine

Reproduction cat compote. Note that the bowl is taken 

from the reproduction bee skep cheese keeper

Reproduction false MINTON mark

Brownfield majolica cat box

These things are usually dumped into auctions where they cannot be returned. A reputable dealer will always give a refund on a piece falsely represented. Auctions are almost always final sales–buyer beware. Online these are usually listed as "vintage." That’s usually code for “brand new but meant to look like something old.” Occasionally they are listed as "mid-century" which is also absurd. There was absolutely no market for majolica reproductions in the middle of the twentieth century. Most of these shown have been made in the past 10 years.

A  knowledgable buyer would never be fooled by these, but that isn't the target audience for these pieces. It's usually either the general market dealer whose understanding of majolica is limited or those in the general public who aren’t familiar with the original pieces. I’m undecided if it’s incredible ignorance, audacity or simple mendacity that allows antiques dealers to sell these things as authentic majolica but there is no doubt the market for them continues to flourish. These reproductions have limited value on the decorative market and no value in the antique market, so don't find yourself spending hundreds of dollars for something that originally sold wholesale for under $20.