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Word of the Week: Repousse and Chasing

July 17, 2014 in Uncategorized by hdavis

Victorian sterling silver kettle on stand, Richard Martin & Ebenezer Hall London, dated 1877, floral repousse-chased vessel with bird finialThis week, it’s two for one! Malleable metals – copper, gold, silver, for example – primarily exhibit two essentially opposite techniques of shaping: repoussé and chasing. Repousse, a French word which means “pushed up,” is accomplished by hammering the back side of the sheet of metal to “push up” a design in relief. Chasing, also from French – chasser meaning to drive out or chase around – is simply the opposite: pressure applied to the front of an object to create a design by lowering portions of the metal below the surface. Most objects have both repousse and chasing (like the Martin & Hall Victorian sterling silver kettle on stand pictured here) as well as the third primary method of metal decoration, engraving.

There are a variety of techniques for accomplishing repousse and chasing, but traditionally, the work was done with the aid of pitch or resin. The object would be placed on or, in the case of hollowware, surrounded by (or in the case of chasing, filled with), pitch, which would help soften and regulate the impact of any force applied by hammering. Then the pitch would be removed, the work would be reviewed and adjusted if necessary, and the pitch would be applied again for subsequent workings. Despite the time-consuming nature of the work, repousse and chasing are very cost-effective, as no metal is actually removed.

Traditionally, this was done with the aid of pitch or resin. The object would be placed on or, in the case of hollowware, surrounded by (or in the case of chasing, filled with), pitch, which would help soften and regulate the impact of any force applied by hammering. Then the pitch would be removed, the work would be reviewed and adjusted if necessary, and the pitch would be applied again for subsequent workings. Despite the time-consuming nature of the work, repousse is very cost-effective, as no metal is actually removed.

John Dee Wareham Rookwood Pottery at Auction

February 10, 2014 in Uncategorized by hdavis

Rookwood Pottery; Wareham (John D), Vase, Iris (Thistle), 12 inch.Rookwood Pottery, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, began as a small pottery shop in 1880, and grew to a company acclaimed internationally for the beauty and quality of its ceramics. Rookwood artist John Dee Wareham joined the Rookwood decorating department in 1893, became the director of the art department, and ultimately, the president of Rookwood Pottery, a job he held from 1934 until his retirement.

Wareham’s technical skills and artistic ability are evident in a rare grouping of his work from the Lillian C. Hoffman Collection of American and European Ceramics, on sale at Rago Auctions on March 1, 2014. The collection is notable for both Rookwood Pottery and Martin Brothers, and comes to market for the first time in nearly four decades.

The online catalog can be browsed in its entirety as of February 13 at ragoarts.com, and the exhibition opens on February 22. For more information, please call 609.397.9374 or email info@ragoarts.com.

Word of the Week: Monteith

December 9, 2013 in Pottery & Porcelain, Silver, Uncategorized, Word of the Week by hdavis

A Chinese Export porcelain blue and white monteith, circa 1690A monteith is a large center bowl (usually silver, occasionally porcelain, rarely glass) designed to be filled with ice and with a scalloped, shaped rim to allow a set of wine glasses to be suspended around the rim by the foot of the glass, so the bowl of the glass can be chilled. While extant silver monteiths can be dated to as early as 1666, the more “modern” version of the form, which is essentially a punch bowl with a removable rim, saw the height of its popularity from the 1680s to the 1720s. Obviously, the silver forms were often reworked as they lost popularity and the porcelain versions would of course have been quite vulnerable to damage, so as a result, the form is relatively rare.

Frame Job: Newcomb-Macklin Company

October 14, 2013 in Decorative Accessories, Fine Art, Uncategorized by hdavis

A watercolor and ink on illustration board by Arthur Rackham (British, 1867 to 1939), illustration from Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle in Newcomb-Macklin frameTracing its beginnings to S. H. McElwain’s entry into business in 1871, the Newcomb-Macklin company gained its famous name when McElwain introduced his bookkeeper, Charles Macklin, to John C. Newcomb and they became partners in 1883. The Chicago firm would go on to employ many designers and craftsmen to produce some of the most beautiful and original Arts & Crafts frames in America as well as to purchase the rights to reproduce the famed architect Stanford White’s frame designs after his assassination in 1906. Drawing from a wide variety of frame designs, Newcomb-Macklin crafted frames for many important American painters including George Bellows and John Singer Sargent, often working directly with their premier artist clients, especially the American Impressionists, to develop frame styles and finish treatments to compliment their paintings. Newcomb-Macklin frames came to be highly sought by the discriminating public, and in order to meet this demand, the company maintained showrooms in New York and Chicago, as well as employing traveling salesmen to represent their wares in the early years of the new century. In 1979 the Newcomb-Macklin company was purchased by the Thanhardt-Burger Corporation. The acquiring company had specialized in producing hand-made frames since 1927 and is now considered to be the oldest continuously operated frame-making company in the United States.

It is fairly easily to distinguish Newcomb-Macklin frames, as they have the unusual construction technique of perpendicular corner splines. They are also usually factory stamped and occasionally labeled as well. Newcomb-Macklin frames appear fairly regularly at auction, sometimes on existing paintings as the original frame, sometimes empty, and they fetch fairly steady prices, because they are still considered quality frames of good construction and good resale value.

Historic Sale of Historic Blue Transferware at Pook & Pook

October 10, 2013 in Pottery & Porcelain, Uncategorized by hdavis

An early 19th century historical blue Staffordshire transferware decorated soup tureen and undertray, the cover and undertray with a view of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Connecticut and the tureen with a view of the Boston Almshouse.Traditionally, porcelain wares were handpainted, giving them an expensive look and price tag, but in the mid-18th century, a factory in Worcester, England began using a process that allowed them to print designs on porcelain bodies, thereby making “the look available for less.” By inking a copper plate, transferring the design to a sheet of tissue paper and then firing the piece to fuse the ink to the body, it was possible to transfer any design to porcelain pieces and the growing middle class snapped up the new affordable option.

Early offerings mimicked the subject matter of the Chinese handpainted pieces that inspired them, but by the early 19th century, British factories were exporting a great deal of transferware material to the American market, pandering shamelessly with designs featuring famous Americans (George Washington and Thomas Jefferson) along with quintessential American scenes of the landscape and landmark events, including views of cities and important public buildings. (The piece pictured here shows the Boston Almshouse.)

Today, collectors chase these pieces, particularly those with historical subject matter or landscapes. From the Battery in Charleston to the Catskill Mountains, from the landing at Plymouth to the landing of Lafayette, the glimpses these offer of American life are wonderfully detailed and prized. So there’s no doubt they’ll be watching along with us today when Pook & Pook sells the Goldberg & Brown collection of historical blue Staffordshire!

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