Ozzie goes down under...
.....no, not to Australia but to my basement. ☞
For those of you who watch the BBC's Antiques Road Show, remember Ozzie the Owl? Ozzie is a 17th century Staffordshire slipware jug and cover which came to the Road Show back in 1990. The ceramics expert Henry Sandon was lost for words when he saw the rare piece of pottery, which he then valued at between 20,000 and 30,000 pounds.
I never forgot that piece of pottery which was slightly odd and you might even say a bit ugly, but oh so charming! Then last month I was at the show in Apeldoorn, visiting Karon Cunningham's stall, and what do I find? A miniature Ozzie the Owl slipware jug and cover! Of course I could not resist buying it.
The miniature version was made by Duncan White. The body of the owl is the jug, while the head lifts off and can be used as a (tiny) drinking cup. Little Ozzie is not very photogenic but só very cute!
It will live in my Arts & Crafts inspired room in the basement of my first Canal House. I am making slow progress on this room, but I have found some great pieces to furnish it. A few months ago I bought these Voysey dining chairs, made by Kim Selwood. The Godwin table and Morris chair in the background were also made by Kim Selwood, I bought those a couple of years ago at the Kensington show.
The Voysey carver chair (also by Kim Selwood) matches the dining chairs. I love the design with the little heart shape cut out of the back.
At Louise Meertens stall in Apeldoorn I found another slipware jug. Unfortunately Louise was unable to tell me who the maker of this one was. I just thought it was funny I found two slipware pieces I liked on two different stalls.
I thought I was going to need your help in establishing the maker of this jug, but after examining the marks underneath both pieces I concluded that they are by the same maker, Duncan White.
Who knows, this weekend I may be able to find some more slipware pottery pieces as am I heading out to London tomorrow. I will be visiting the Kensington Dollshouse Festival! Anyone else going? Maybe we can meet in person there!
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Dear Josje,
ReplyDeleteHave a lot of fun at Kensington Dollhouse Festival! I'm very curious what you buy and see there.
I like to read your experience of this visit.
Hugs Dorien
Thank you Dorien. I hope I will take lots of photos, but I get so drawn in by all of the things I see that I usually forget!
DeleteHello Josje,
ReplyDeleteNow I have to look into Duncan's work. It is absolutely beautiful and so unique. you have a great eye! THe chair is also beautiful. I could spend hour admiring the exactness and detail of your miniatures. you are an incredibly talented artist.
Big hug,
Giac
How absent minded of me, have a great time at the show!
DeleteThank you Giac! Unfortunately Duncan doesn't have a website that I could find. I think Karon told me he doesn't go to shows either. Which is a pity as I'm sure lots of people would like to see and buy his work. Try Karon Cunningham's website, she may have something on there: http://www.karoncunningham.com/en/pages/default.aspx
DeleteDag Josje, jouw "Arts&Crafts'-kamer wordt werkelijk schitterend met deze kostbare miniaturen die qua stijl zo perfect aansluiten. Heerlijk om te kunnen bewonderen in deze post. Dank!
ReplyDeleteGraag gedaan Liduina. Ik hoop in London dit weekend nog een paar mooie Arts & Crafts stijl miniaturen te vinden. En die zal ik dan natúúrlijk hier laten zien!
DeleteWhat fun & interesting pieces of slipware. I love the furniture!
ReplyDeleteHave fun at the Kensington Dollshouse Festival.
Thank you Catherine! I'm not looking forward to the traveling, but I am looking forward to the show and seeing loads of beautiful miniatures. And maybe buy a few ;-)
DeleteI love Ozzie! Both pottery pieces are great finds!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brae! I love Ozzie too! Not sure why but he just speaks to me. I love finding these unexpected miniatures.
DeleteVeel plezier in Londen, ik ga ook ooit nog eens naar de voorjaars beurs van Kensington, lijkt me helemaal geweldig. Je zult je vast goed vermaken, ben benieuwd wat je allemaal voor moois tegenkomt.
ReplyDeleteHet is een erg mooie show Inge. Als je de kans krijgt zou ik er zeker eens naar toe gaan. Ik hoop dat ik niet zal vergeten foto's te maken zodat ik hier het een en ander kan laten zien.
DeleteHi Josje,
ReplyDeleteOzzy is just delightful.....one of my favourite shows is Antiques Roadshow but I don't get to watch it as often as I like. Fancy Ozzy being valued at 20,000 pounds quite incredible. So nice that you can at least have a miniature version. Duncan Whites work is lovely. You are so fortunate to have such fine miniaturist at your Fairs. The Kensington one will be fantastic, have a great time!
ML Fi XX
Thank you Fi! I do watch the Roadshow regularly, I like how the experts always have something nice to say about the objects, even if it is rubbish. It always surprises me how much treasure people have just laying around the house.
DeleteYes we are pretty lucky here that there are some very good shows fairly close by. I wish Australia was a little bit closer!
Pues a mi también me gustan esos jarrones. Y las silla del corazón me parece una delicia.
ReplyDeletePodrías haber cambiado la feria por la de Madrid, así hubiera sido posible conocernos (ja,ja)
¡Qué lo pases fenomenal en Kensintong! ¡Haz buenas compras!
Un saludo
Thank you Raquel! Maybe I'll come to Madrid one day as well, it's a bit further than London for me! I had a wonderful time there and did a 'bit' of lovely shopping as well ;-)
DeleteI'm a huge fan of both the American and BBC versions of 'Roadshow,' and often longingly look at all my junky brick-a-brac and wonder if any of it's worth anything. Can't say I recall the 'Ozzie the Owl episode' but I love, love, LOVE watching those shows when people gasp and faint while clutching their pearls when they find out the old nic-nac they have been using as a door stop for twenty-five years turns out to be some priceless object d'art! How cool you got to get a mini Ozzie of your own! Wish I could meet up with you in Kensington --OMG that would be so cool and if you ever make it to the Chicago show, Josje, it's def a date!
ReplyDeleteAh yes, those are the best shows! A few weeks ago there was one where some things went to auction, being valued at a few hundred pounds. Two museums in Australia picked up on it and recognized it as being authentic Australian tribal 'stuff'. An Internet bidding war started and the things eventually sold for something like 20,000 pounds! Everyone was speechless and the expert kept apologizing he didn't know the value of the pieces. Such fun!
DeleteJohn I would love to come to Chicago one day, I nearly did this year but found it all too expensive. After all, I don't want to come to that show and then just LOOK ;-)
Josje vos trouvailles sont superbes, je trouve aussi qu' Ozzie a beaucoup de charme, la seconde céramique aussi.
ReplyDeleteChaises, fauteuil et table forment un très bel ensemble.
Bonne journée ! rosethé
Thank you Rosethé! But of course here I did use a lot of pieces made for me by someone else. I am working on some lights now, I always find it a problem finding the right ones so I end up having to make a lot of them myself.
Deletewhat an unusual item Josje, I love it! it's quirky and funny and a bit ugly yes, haha, but it's what gives it it's charm. So great that Duncan White decided to make this great looking replica of the real thing. It's these things that make a miniaturescene even more interesting, great find! I love Duncan's jug and the furniture too, but am most fond of Ozzie the Owl!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun? Yes I love it too! Strange how something a bit ugly can be so attractive at the same time! I looked for similar things in London but didn't find any. Funny I should find two of Duncan's pieces at the Apeldoorn show.
DeleteHa! Ozzy. Do i recall him?! Of course, what a great episode that was. He was the paradigm of bric a brac (as John so wonderfully described :) that turned out to be so valuable. Most of all because of his shabby looks that made lots of people assume he was worth little.
ReplyDeleteBut let me say that finding him in miniature is simply amazing! You have a great eye when strolling fairs, im always amazed with what you manage to pick up from the overwhelming offerings. Of course it helps to shift excellent dealers out from the good dealers. Still... super find! He'll have a happy home with you :)
Yes I thought it was a pretty cool find! I was quite excited when I found him, leaving my friends a bit baffled ;-) Thankfully it cost only a fraction of what its big brother fetched when it was sold!
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