there has been so much on the go here in switzerland with all the soccer so exciting and yeah tons of people.The heat has been too much and found myself eating so many icecreams...like that would really help to cool down,,but my favorite summer snack so why not.
i was on one of my grand tours of the shops and markets and came across this delightful russian silver milk jug dated 1908-1926 by vasilii ivanovich andreev who worked in moscow.it stood behind an ugly metal bowl and for some reason i just had to move the bowl and lo and behold when i saw the handle i recognized what presented itself...went to find out the price and to my delight it was a dismissive price so i dashed off with my little treasure eager to get home and research the maker and date.It is in such wonderful condition and has hardly been used...a gold wash interior and fully marked on the underside as well as on the lip of the jug.
the next day i found ...lying in a box of mixed metal ware a tiffany studio bowl...a rather small piece...and it did put a big smile on my face as one mans junk is anothers treasure and to crown off the trip i came across some scandinavian designer furniture at a bargain price and all in stunning condition...i guess if one keeps looking one finds....this does not happen every week but it sure happens from time to time and thats why i love the business i am in.
so this week is the burkliplatz market back at full steam and hopefully there will be some great treasures to be found.visit us there and see what we have to present.
the shop is also full of goodies .....shop
further news as to a new venture so please keep an eye here as in three weeks....we present...The Golden Frog.

So its being some time that i have had a blog entry as i have been travelling for awhile firstly to austria .a villa that welcomed u to extensive gardens and a grand drive way of trees.The host being a perfect gentleman and a delight to share some time with i guess with the wonderful cook(heidi) who took care of us with sumptious meals and prepared small eats the whole day long.dressed rather conservative but yet relaxed she ran the villa like a well oiled clock.the gardener was also a scream and proudly showed off his handy work.
Books music and style filled the villa and i had a smashing time...when i think back my nostrils flair with that smell which filled his home.all over too soon...but yeah perhaps i will be going back.
then back for a day and off to geneva to visit friends...wow the place has changed so much since my last visit and the traffic was crazy.It rained and rained.once again good food and enough french champagne and wine that flowed from the time i arrived till i left.Then was invited to visit a quaint chalet in the french alps and i jumped at the idea so left my car with friends in geneva and was hosted for three days in the alps.An all wooded experience surrounding the house filled with birds and a stunning owl...it was raining, once again, so a large open fire was burning and on the floor was a large black bear rug ...with head and paws...eeegh!! but so uhmmm
welcoming and sexy.champagne was the order of the stay so i was really spoilt.i was then driving back to collect my car for a long 5 hr trip home only to find that someone had smashed my window and grabbed whatever they could.geneva ...geneva!
the charger shown here is really an indication of how i feel after an amaxing time...it is from west germany...the worpspede factory which has an impressed owl as a factory mark.
vist the shop for a large range on german fat lava and other fine antiques....fat lava shopping

It has been some time that i have showed some german ceramics and i thought that this new find deserves a showing as it has a wonderful red fire over glaze lava with the base color being a strong sky blue.Scheurich was started in the early 1950s and achieved great noriety in the market with their stunning glazes and a huge stock of shapes and sizes.They were prolific in consideration of other factories of the time and this also meant that the rivals looked at the glazes being produced and rather designed their wares accordingly to what was being sold on the market.So throughout the german ceramics of the time one can see how competitive the market was as weird and wonderful shapes were created with glazes that no two are exactly the same.here we can say if u have a fat lava piece it is one of a kind and collectors are rushing to find great examples which are getting difficult to find.Collections are awesome when seen the shapes and lava drips that appear giving a glorius color range and even more difficult is finjding the same in different sizes right down to the minatures.i have previously posted an article on minatures so browse through as these are extremely difficult to find...especially those in the fat lava range and fetch a handsome price in the open market.
two years ago i was able to find plentiful but of late there has been very little available and i have noticed that the fleamarkets have up their prices to that of the serious sellers...ok a little cheaper...but then one also has to check condition very carefully as these ceramics are prone to cracking easily.

there will be a new book coming out in three months covering all the german ceramics of this ilk and those who are interested can e mail me for further information.I do believe that this will be one of the early bibles of fat lava.Do visit the shop for a large selection of fat lava.....Shop fat lava

So to the last posting on Roayal Worcester figures...not that justice could be done by three simple posts-...there is so much else to chatter about and as i slowly clear out the back storeroom...all items from my private collection of over 25 years..i would like to share with you...some you may hate and others you will love...guess thats why you are reading this blog.
the figure shown is a chinoiserie figure by ...miss gwendoline(accent on the first syllable) Parnell...guess the name tells all and here is her story written by Henry Sandon.
Miss Gwendoline was related to the Parnels of Ireland.Her grandmother was a lady in witing to Queen Victoria.Her sister Edith Farmoile was an illustrator of childrens books.She had a studio in Chelsea producing figures from 1916/35 and subsequently joined the royal worcester company.She was always very well dressed rather in the victorian style and ...wait for it...carried a parasol.
She was known as.....The Duchess.
A rather delightful figure on a simple white base with little great detail and i think that is why i rather like it as a figure.This figure 3348 is rather rare and comes at a price.She made several other styles in this figure

Once again a figure by the famous Royal Worcester factory and designed by Freda Doughty who came to england as a young child and later modelled figures from the children that filled her house.here it is noted that she did not have children of her own.She has a sister who also manufactured a great series of naturalistic birds of America which sent sales flying.
so in depth was her skills that she persuaded the owner to set up a special section to help with the perfection of the models and also had mr.davis set the correct paint colorings before the delicate firing process that the blending of colors showed to their best.
these two ladies are a worthwhile read and here is their life story....freda doughty
Freda modelled over 100 figures of children.These figures are still highly sought after today and they call a good price..in perfect condition after all they are nearly 80 odd years old and surely have changed hands a few times inbetween.
The shop has a lot of royal worcester and there are also a few past blogs on the company
shopping......royal worcester

The stlyes of the designer Phoebe Stabler covered a whole spectrum and here is a liitle darling ..named..Sauce.For me it says just that ...a young innocent girl in a cheeky pose with a smile and the off the shoulders gress and dare i mention the blond hair.Barefooted makes this one a favorite and i feel that it speaks a thousand words.History.....Phoebe Stabler
the figure is named(sauce) and modelled by Phoebe Stabler with the worcester factory mark and dated for 1937.When collecting these figures should be in perfect condition so that in years to come a good price is realised also the knowledge that u have a figure that was not reapired.There are different ways to check whether there has been restoration the simple way is..take a coin and gently slide it over the figure doing the places where they are more likely to be restored...if the coin picks up a restoration it will peel the fresh paint away...ooops check with the dealer first if he/she minds.With this method u cannot damage the figure or u can use a blue tramitted light...in a dark room...and should there be any restoration it will show.
once again it is buyer beware and ask for a condition report and written gaurantee.
again i give u the link to a great site......Royal Worcester
visit the shop for Royal Worcester.....Shop