April 6, 2013
We were told this Kutani (Japan) bowl was from ‘around’ 1900. Since the bottom is only marked with the Kutani mark we’ve no way of knowing how much ‘around’ there is. My guess is that around is a pretty roomy place.
Following the McKinley Tariff Act of 1891 all goods intended for import to the United States were supposed to be marked with the country of origin. This is not marked however but there is a good chance it originally had a paper label or it was made for domestic use.
About 9 3/4 inches in diameter.
It is in very good condition. As shown in the gallery pictures below there is some wear to the over-glaze paint but it is generally localized.
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Posted in $51-$75, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Ceramic, Dishes, Drawing / Illustration, Painting, Vintage |
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February 20, 2013
An interesting set of three advertising cards which proclaim “I use celluloid eye-glasses” and featuring children as little flowers.
These are patented* eyeglasses and can be found for sale by W. W. Martin of Salem, Oregon.
Since there are others out there with nationwide range (including Jacksonville, Florida; Claremont, New Hampshire; and Danbury, Connecticut)these cards were likely provided by the glasses maker.
W.W. Martin was William Willard Martin who opened a “jewelry” business in Salem soon after emigrating from Pennsylvania in 1865. He operated his store until about 1904 when he was “obliged to give up his business interests owing to failing health. His condition became weaker day by day and he finally spent most of his hours in a small study on the second story of his home where he could tinker with his jewelry instruments and optical paraphernalia. When physicians finally decided that his malady was tuberculosis he began the study of optometry to occupy his mind and during the past few years received diplomas conferring upon him the degree of doctor of optics and doctor of optometry (passage is from his obituary).
His declining health ultimately resulted in his death in 1914. There is a good possibility that his store carried eye wear before his retirement so these probably date to the turn of the century plus or minus a decade or more.
The cars are mounted on a green background and secured between a piece of glass and foam-board. This display measures 9 by 14 1/2 inches. Each card is 2 3/4 by 4 1/2 inches; they are in very good condition and are blank on the back (except for some light pencil arithmetic on one).
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*It appears the patent was for the manufacturing process.
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Posted in $26-$30, 19th century, 20th century, Antique, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Paper, Print |
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November 13, 2012
I hadn’t thought about brass rubbings in a long time. My next door neighbor when I was a kid had some but I’d pretty much forgotten them until I saw these.
I’ve fully intended, for several weeks now to take a walk to my wonderful local library, get a few books on brass rubbings and figure out who these people were. Unfortunately there have been other things to do and now that my house has been inspected by a local energy efficiency remodeling program* I won’t be seeing the inside of a library for quite some time.
So, we have two brass rubbings for sale. These are part of a tradition of copying funerary brass monuments onto paper using graphite, chalk or colored wax.
This st was done with heavy black paper and gold colored wax and probably were done in the 1960′s or possibly the 1970′s (before government agencies banned the practice due to excessive wear).
The smaller one, pictured on the left above, is an ecclesiastical male figure and measures 15 inches by 31 1/2 inches. The larger one is of a woman with a belt with emblems that look similar to Tudor or Yorkshire Roses and it measures 18 3/4 inches by 41 1/2 inches.
They are both in good condition and we’re selling them separately. $50 each, framed.
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*The take aways were that the “house breathes well”, the inspector when we bought it was a hack and that our house is really weird. Apparently when it was built they had a nearly flat roof and then added the peaked roof later, which is something that may be unique in Portland. Obviously whatever the story is, I’ve got a lot of work to do.
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Posted in $41-$50, 20th century, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-century, Paper, Vintage |
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March 24, 2012
Unfortunately it was the “smooth-textured sausage of minced beef or pork usually smoked” rather than the mathematician and founder of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener, who was way more fun than a giant wheeled sausage.
Oh well.
Another in our recent series of Wallyware items, this time featuring Wally, a tube-meat shaped car (there’s a bit of symbolism for ya’) and a possibly illicit government grant.
Next time: Wally and the Beaver.
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Posted in $1 to $5, 20th century, Ceramic, Contemporary, Dishes, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Seemed like a good idea . . . |
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February 20, 2012
I can’t decide if I should attribute this to the Arts & Crafts movement of the early 20th century or the Art Nouveau style of the late 19th century. Let’s consider the pragmatic solution to be calling this a turn of the century (plus or minus 20 years) piece and move on.
It shows a frog and lily pad in a hand hammered copper basin that is reminiscent of a flower. The edges are crimped over to create a nice rolled (and not sharp) edge. It’s the sport of detail that speaks of craft pride. The radial lines were punched with a largish chisel however the fine detail of the frog and lily pad were done with smaller punches, or possibly even a nail.
Given the small size of only about 3 3/4 inches in diameter I‘m calling it a pin tray although it could be used as a coaster.
Unfortunately this piece is entirely unmarked although I’m sure there was once a good story behind it. I’ve seen pieces sort of like this that were called trench art, but without any evidence I think that’d be an unwarranted naming.
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Posted in $11-$15, 19th century, 20th century, Antique, Art Nouveau (real or inspired), Arts & Crafts, Drawing / Illustration, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Metal, Otherwise useful |
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January 23, 2012
I know it feel like no one knows how it is, but we’ve been there Wally, we have. The first step though is to recognize you have a problem . . .
Eight inches in diameter, by Wallyware.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, Dishes, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack |
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November 16, 2011
To facilitate one’s self-taught home Hindi lessons, the parts of the body, as defined by this drawing, are also labeled in English. Presumably this also works (but in the other direction) for Hindi speakers (and readers) who are learning English.
Given the illustrator’s choice of imagery I’d guess that the original target demographic was grade school age kids, or absent grandmothers who are looking for a quick gift for grand-kids they barely know in a culture that doesn’t have holiday cardigans.
The paper part is backed with cloth mesh for durability. It is 19 inches wide and 29 inches tall. The wooden sticks are 22 inches long.
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Posted in $11-$15, 20th century, Crafter's delight, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Paper, Tools |
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November 14, 2011
There came a point in his career where he looked fondly back on the halcyon days of his youth, when he was just a line drawing in an artist’s sketchbook. He’d remember later in his youth, when he was just a simple, hard-working patrol officer. Then came the day of the foie gras massacre and his sudden promotion to inspector. Overtime his views hardened and he became more negative. Eventually he realized it was time to quit the force and spend his retirement reading newspapers.
He found the advertising supplements irresistible.
This quizzical anthropomorphic pipe smoking and cap wearing pseudo-Sherlock Holmes duck is just under 4 inches tall and 3 inches wide. It was likely used for printing newspaper advertisements. Unfortunately I don’t know what kind. If anyone recognizes this please send an email.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Metal, Vintage, Wood |
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November 2, 2011
It’s tough to see how neat this is in the overview picture above, so check out the detailed pictures below.
This is a big piece (62 3/8 inches wide by 17 tall in frame) made by Portland artist and jewelry maker Skyler McCaughey.
Given the prejudices of museums against working artists (i.e., craftspersons) you may never see her work in one, but go to First or Last Thursday and you’ll find her there. She’s developed a great line of items that marries naturalistic and industrial metal forms. In the recent past she’s been concentrating on making jewelry and smaller pieces so this could be the last big piece that will be available for a long time*.
If it suits your tastes it could be perfect for that wide but not tall space you’ve been looking to fill.
The ants are deeply etched into stainless steel. Above them is another band of etching (the ground surface) and topping this are the the storm funnels (with added enamel paint).
* Until my estate is someday sold. I was lucky enough to buy one of her works at a yard sale this summer. It didn’t have a frame and is sort of smallish, but it’s cooler than a 5000 year old frozen alpine man. Since I plan to live for several more decades it might not be advisable to wait.
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Posted in $251-$300, 21st century, Contemporary, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Metal, Modern, Sculpture |
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October 29, 2011
The use of really low angle lighting in the picture above is not intended to make this spooky or to inspire awe in unbelievers. Instead this is where the only large unoccupied piece of wall is and it is a dark corner and the only bright light I had around was a work lamp.
Even considering the dodgy lighting, this is an awesome piece. It’s a rubbing done in many colors (pencil signed at the bottom) and I’m presuming it is from some sort of temple or ceremonial complex*. As you can see in the picture, it’s big, about 109 inches tall and 38 inches wide. It’d be a great piece for that tall, skinny wall you’ve been looking to put something on, or it’d make an impressive stairway entry piece.
The main figure is Vishnu, carrying him is his traditional steed, Garuda. The creature at the bottom of the pile may be one of the Naga serpent deities. Since this is outside my typical knowledge base I’d appreciate being corrected if I’m wrong.
The rubbing is surrounded by an old 3 1/2 inch wide mat border. This could be removed to squeeze the image into a smaller space (or tore-mat it).
The rubbing itself is glued to a paper fiber backing board with an intervening layer of material. A very limited test suggests it may be possible to separate the layers, suggesting that this piece could be rolled and shipped without the backing board. Note the equivocation and use of limited test, may be possible and suggesting . . .could be in the previous sentence. If this is something you’d want done we’ll have to discuss the details.
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*I’ve done a fair amount of looking and haven’t found this exact image. This made me wonder if the scene above might be the result of combining multiple panel rubbings into one. On further examination I don’t think this is the case as the linear boarders are continuous and the bits used to fill the negative spaces between images fit properly. All this means I’ve still no idea what this is from. The best guess I came come up with is that it is from somewhere in Cambodia but that’s only a guess.
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Posted in $300-$350, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, Paper |
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