Ascot Hall

Used for the production of household and other items in Britain since Roman times, pewter is an alloy consisting mostly of tin which has been mixed with small amounts of other metals such as copper, lead or antimony to harden it and make it more durable.

By the 15th century, the Worshipful Company of Pewterers controlled pewter constituents in England. This company originally had two grades of pewter. The first type, known as “fine metal”, was used for tableware. It consisted of tin with as much copper as it could absorb, which is about 1%. The second type, known as “trifling metal” or “trifle”, was used for holloware and is made up of fine metal with approximately 4% lead. In the 16th century a third grade was added for items that were not in contact with food or drink. It consisted of tin with 15% lead. Ancient pewter contained darkened greatly with age, and the lead readily leached out in contact with acidic foods.

During the 17th and 18th centuries pewter would have been found in every household. Jugs, plates, buttons, pilgrim badges, tankards, wine cups, inkwells, candlesticks and spoons are just some of the many items for which it was used.

Pewter from the 17th and 18th centuries was made from an alloy of tin with a small percentage of lead to harden the metal. With current understanding of the effect of heavy metals such as lead on the body, it is not advisable to use them for drinking purposes. If antique pewter has become very dark, experts from the Antique profession STRONGLY RECOMMEND against re-polishing as this could actually reduce the value.

Towards the end of the 18th century a new alloy called Britannia metal was discovered which could be used for large scale manufacture of teapots and tankards through its ability to be rolled pressed and worked on wooden formers and cold stamped. Up to then pewter had been cast in expensive moulds. This change in tooling with Britannia metal gave resurgence to the industry and new centres were created in Sheffield and Birmingham.

As Britannia metal is an alloy of tin, antimony and copper there are no restrictions on its use for drinking. All pewter of modern manufacture meets the same standard.

From the mid nineteenth century pewter alloys were often used as a base metal for silver plated objects.

Royal Selangor designers and artisans continuously expand the limits of pewter design while staying true to the heritage of craftsmanship. Design collaborators include the award-winning Erik Magnussen and Jamy Yang as well as cultural organisations such as the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum).

Modern pewter is about 91 percent tin, 7.5 percent antimony, and 1.5 percent copper; the absence of lead makes it safe to use for dishes and drinking vessels. The surface of modern pewter is bluish white with either a crisp, bright finish or a soft, satin sheen. It resists tarnish, retaining its colour and finish indefinitely.

Pewter is perfect for everyday use and with the minimum of care it can retain its wonderful finish . It should be NEVER be washed in a dishwasher (the chemicals in the detergent will react with the pewter and ruin the finish). For this reason we recommend washing by hand in hot soapy water and dried with a soft cloth. When drying your pewter, keep the direction of the cloth in a straight up and down motion, never in circles. Pewter is a soft metal and will easily scratch with a hard cloth.

Antique prints surround 19th century Scottish dresser in a small Nantucket house, built in 1828.

Wine Bottle Holder/Pourer.

EPNS, engraved heraldic device to sides, cane bound handle.

The heraldic device is three Lozenges on a diagonal strip called a Bend between two sheaths of wheat.

Lozenges symbolize honesty, constancy, and noble birth.

Wheat Garb or Sheaf: The harvest of one’s hopes has been secured.

The supporters are unicorns, a symbol of purity and Scotland’s national animal. Unicorns have been linked to Scotland for centuries.

Unicorn: Extreme courage; virtue and strength.

Founded in 1735 by the Florentine Marquis Carlo Ginori, the early pieces he made were primarily destined for the court of the Medici family. Richard Ginori was established in 1896, when the company merged with Milanese ceramics manufacturer Augusto Richard.

First created around 1790. Insignia of rigor and refined simplicity, the “Impero” shape, with its cylinder outlines, brings back similar models of the late 1700s characterized by the neoclassical style of elegance. Impero is essential and defines style and exclusive sobriety. Its minimal line, equilibrium and measure expression, allows decorations of absolute and original elegance. Superb and precious platinum profiles, decorations in gold pate-sur-pate style on the tailor made tableware set for important creations for the most famous fashion houses around the world. Impero is sophisticated essential aesthetics. The collection, which expresses Richard Ginori’s savoir-faire and craftsmanship, is available in a complete assortment of tableware, tea and coffee settings.

Richard Ginori porcelain needs two firings to gain the right translucence and resistance at 1000°C and 1400°C.

Richard Ginori’s Impero White is available from European Porcelain, the suppliers of fine porcelain figurines, dinnerware and giftware.

6 small dishes measuring 10cm across.

These small plates were made for holding individual servings of butter.

Since 1753, the famous blue “F” beneath the glazed surface on presentation plates, cups or teapots reveals that the porcelain is from the Fuerstenberg porcelain manufactory. From its inception, the Fuerstenberg brand has stood for stylish tableware. Snow-white porcelain is married with spectacular designs.

Rose Symphony

Founded in 1718, the Augarten Vienna Porcelain Manufactory is the second-oldest in Europe. Now as then, porcelain is made and painted by hand. This makes each piece unique.

The designs of Augarten porcelain have been created in cooperation with notable artists ever since the manufactory first opened its doors. Artists of all epochs have designed masterpieces. The “Viennese Rose” is a famous decoration from the Biedermeier period.

The Biedermeier period refers to an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew and arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the time of the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and ended with the onset of the European revolutions in 1848.

A retro addition to any entertainer’s home.

These dishes were known as Hors d’Oeuvres dishes. Expensive for their time, they are relatively uncommon.

The Sylha Ceramics Studio was run by Artur and Sylvia and was originally located in the backyard at 1 Murrumbeena Parade, Murrumbeena before moving to Natalia Avenue, South Oakleigh in 1950 and then to Warrandyte in 1958 where Artur helped to found the Potters Cottage.  In South Oakleigh they employed two Italian potters and working with them, he learnt the skills of mould-making and slip-casting. Artur learned a lot from one of them, Costantino Bacchini (b: 9 September 1921) who arrived in Melbourne in 1952 under the Australian Italian Migration Agreement.  West-Australian potter Mike Kusnik also worked there in 1959. 

Sylvia Pauline Halpern (nee Black), was born in Kobe Japan on the 25th March 1918 and came to Australia in the late 1930s.  Artek (Artur) (1908-1976) arrived in Fremantle Australia aboard the “Asturias” on the 6th March 1947. His brother Stanislaw born Zolichev Poland (1919-1969) having arrived in Fremantle before the war aboard the “Otranto” on the 15th of August 1939.  The brothers were the sons of Eisig Halpern, engineer, and his wife Berta, née Gutt.

Sylvia Pauline Black had studied at RMIT under Klytie Pate and John Barnard Knight in 1944-45, and used Sylha as a brand. Artur imported great quantities of glaze colours from England and Germany as these were unavailable in Australia at the time.

Like most makers of the day, their sales were made through department stores to whom they sold direct. Artur sold mainly through the Primrose Pottery Shop in Melbourne.

Potters Cottage was officially opened in 1958 by Dame Mabel Brookes, wife of the Governor of Victoria, Sir Dallas Brookes.  It was a small miner’s cottage in Research Road near the Warrandyte Bridge. It was then known as “Moonlight Cottage”, because the gold miner who built it in the 1890s worked in the Caledonia Gold Mine by day, and built his cottage by moonlight. By 1969 the Potters Cottage Co-op had built a restaurant where people were able to have their meals served on and in the pottery that was made by local craftspeople.

The co-operative was established for the purpose of making and selling handmade Australian pottery. The potters produced beautiful, functional studio pottery with attention to shape, decoration and glaze, bringing traditional craft together with modern. Whilst they shared certain principles in their work, the distinctive style and individuality of each artist is strongly evident. Their shared idealistic belief that modern, handmade pottery could enhance the quality of contemporary life was central to their philosophy.  The Co-op built a pottery school where people could learn to make their own pottery.

An exceptional pair of very early Brass Candlesticks.

This pair of Antique 10″ tall candlesticks have their steel push-rods still intact and working.

The push-rods are designed into these candlesticks so that any wax left in the sconce after burning a candle can be easily ejected to make way for the next wax candle.

In 1861 the English designer William Morris started the arts and crafts movement in an effort to improve the tastes of the public.

William Morris hoped to overcome the banality and inferior quality of industrially produced decorative arts by promoting a return to medieval style craftsmanship.

Gothic Revival 1830 – 1880

The Gothic Revival had a great impact on the Arts and Crafts style. The interest in all things Medieval and the use of bold forms and strong colours were particularly inspirational.

Flowers 607016 pattern in the MARIA shape

Rosenthal GmbH is a German manufacturer of porcelain and other household goods.

Founded in 1879 as a family business by Philipp Rosenthal, who moved his porcelain painting from Werl (North Rhine-Westphalia) to Selb in Bavaria.

In 1897, Philipp Rosenthal founded the company Bauer, Rosenthal & Co. in Kronach.

The Rosenthal Archive, a collection of around 15,000 exhibits from 130 years of company history, were purchased by the Oberfranken Foundation on 12 August 2009 and is provided as a permanent loan to the Porzellanikon, the State Museum of Porcelain in Hohenberg an der Eger, Selb. These include nearly all product designs, from the company’s foundation.