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Collecting Haviland Porcelain

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Haviland China is an American based company with production facilities in the Limoges area of France. David Haviland, a dealer in fine china from New York, went to this famous porcelain producing area of France to build his china factory in order to capitalize on the deposits of kaolin in that area. Kaolin is one of the required ingredients to produce hard paste porcelain and is the reason for so many porcelain factories are located there. Mr. Haviland was also able to use trained factory workers from the area to get his own products in production as quickly as possible. With the fine raw materials available, and continual process and china decorating improvements during the 19th and 20th Centuries, the Haviland Company has remained one of the premier china dinnerware companies of the Western World.

The Haviland Company remains in the hands of the Haviland family to this day, and the fourth generation now runs the business. Over the century and a half the company has been in business, thousands of different dinnerware patterns have been produced by the Haviland Limoges facility, and identifying them properly has become something of a problem. In the 1930s, Arlene Schleiger began the process of identifying those patterns produced by the company up to that time, and six volumes of pattern documentation resulted from her efforts. Schleiger numbers are still used to identify Haviland dinnerware patterns to this day, where possible, but there are still hundreds of patterns that have not been included in the documentation. These may well be dinnerware patterns that were produced in small numbers during the years when the company did not see any reason to keep detailed records.

Haviland not only produces hundreds of their own designs, they will also produce a dinnerware set based on a purchaser’s design. These are usually coats of arms or other family symbols, but the company will work with the purchaser to produce any design required.

The secondary market has many Haviland porcelain pieces available. Often these are the little-used pieces of the dinnerware set, like oyster or bone plates. Place settings of various patterns also show up on the secondary market, and there are companies devoted to helping purchasers complete their dinnerware sets. Look for the Haviland Limoges maker’s mark when viewing fine porcelain at primary or secondary china stores.

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Zsolnay Porcelain

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

The Zsolnay factory was established in 1853 in Hungary by Miklos Zsolnay. His early efforts were to develop utility products, but the high-heat firing he used with the local clay lead to architectural ornaments that would weather the harsh conditions of the Northern European winter. The Zsolnay porcelain products were recognized at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna with a grand prize. These ornaments for the outside of buildings are still made today, from the same clay and using the same firing technique.

While experimenting with glazes in 1896, Zsolnay developed one named eosin, which became his other claim to fame. Although the company makes pottery in the usual multi-glaze, decorative styles for decorating the interiors of buildings, especially homes, the vases and animals with the eosin glaze are very different. The shapes are smoothly and gently modeled, just suggesting the subject, if there is one, of the piece. The iridescent, rich color of the glaze brings out the best in the simple shapes to which it is added. Rich red, deep blues and greens, the Zsolnay eosin glaze is so beautiful that it can be put on a completely plain vase and make that vase an object of luxury.

Zsolnay ceramics are available in the US and the prices on the eosin animals are reasonable. Getting one of the architectural items might be more difficult, but as the eosin is the Zsolnay porcelain claim to fame, something covered with this glaze is a better choice by the porcelain collector anyway.

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Collecting Lampwork Glass Beads

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Lampwork glass beads are an up and coming collectible. With only two or three decades of history, it is still possible to get handmade glass lampwork beads by the pioneers of the art, and by current practitioners. After collecting a few glass lampwork beads, you will undoubtedly have learned how to make lampwork glass beads and perhaps even take a class to try it yourself. The method is fairly simple and the equipment finite, but the bead making possibilities are endless.

Handmade lampwork glass beads are made by winding melted glass from glass rods around a mandrel, a steel rod the size of the intended hole of the bead. As the artist winds the glass in an open flame, he or she has opportunities to select colors and make specific shapes. First tries are limited to the regular bead shapes until they can be produced on demand, then the lampworker can expand to experimenting with shapes and colors, and make beads as seen in their imagination.

As lampwork artists progress in skill, they generally find one or a few shapes and techniques that fire their imagination, and which they pursue to perfection. The artist will become known for these beads, and will continue to make them even when they move onto new bead visions. Having the signature beads of each artist is a good way to begin a lampwork glass bead collection, but don’t forget to get some of the beads that have not become their forte yet.

Handmade lampwork glass beads are small, and not really expensive in the world of art. You can carry an entire collection in a suitcase, if needed, although there are more and more lampwork artists every year. You can find the beads at bead shows and online. Often these beads are featured as the focal point of a beading project in beading magazines, so subscribing to these magazines can be a way to find new artists and help you find the beads of established artists as well.

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A Quick Look at Zsolnay Porcelain

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

The Zsolnay factory was established in 1853 by Miklós Zsolnay. The products from this company were recognized for their quality at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna, when the jury praised the Zsolnay products as unique and awarded the Grand Prix to the company. In 1896, Zsolnay created one of its most famous glazes, called eosin, which provides an overall color to the glazed piece with the addition of an iridized finish. Zsolnay also adopted the Art Nouveau style at the end of the Nineteenth Century in order to keep up with the times. The company technique of high temperature firing remains unique even today, and this process makes the architectural ceramics the company makes impervious to the weather.

In spite of two world wars, the Zsolnay Porcelain Factory holds on to its great traditions, while at the same time stressing the importance of a continuous renewal. The company continues to produce eosin figurines and decorative ceramic accent pieces. Since the 1950s, the Zsolnay factory has invited modern designers to try new styles, and to revive the use of older forms and glazes. In addition, visiting artists revitalized the production of the architectural ceramics for which the company is known.

The Zsolnay eosin glaze comes in several strong, deep colors, including red, green and blue. There are even ceramics using two or more colors of eosin on one piece, which makes them quite colorful when you add in the iridescent finish. The firing process is complicated, but also provides each piece with a unique glaze result and finish. Many of the forms glazed with the eosin glaze are simply modeled and show the glaze off beautifully.

The technical practices used at Zsolnay created frost-proof architectural ornaments that were, and still are, in demand in Hungary and Northern Europe. The architectural embellishments are still produced from the local clay and with the original techniques that made the resulting ceramics stand out when first produced. Ornaments from the earliest production are still in place today.

The Zsolnay ceramics products include regular china dinnerware in the style of Europe and North America, as well as porcelain decorative items, like vases and decorative plates produced in normal glazes. But the highlight of the Zsolnay production is the eosin figurines.

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A Quick Look at the State Gemstones

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Each state in the United States of America has chosen a gem or semi-precious stone, found within its borders, to be its official gemstone, stone, rock, or mineral. The materials so designated range from diamonds to jade to turquoise, and can usually be found in charms and other jewelry or represented on state souvenirs. Let’s see which states have which stone material as their state gems and minerals.

Quartz, being the second most common mineral on the surface of the earth, is well represented in the state gemstones. In gem form, it is found as amethyst in Georgia as state gemstone, and in South Carolina, where it is actually the state choice for both gemstone and mineral. Rose quartz is the state mineral of South Dakota, and smoky quartz is the state gemstone of New Hampshire. Star blue quartz is the gemstone of Alabama.

Garnets, topaz and forms of beryl are relatively common in the US as well. Garnet is the state gemstone of New York and the state mineral of Connecticut. Grossular garnet is the state gemstone of Vermont. Topaz is the state gemstone of Utah, while Texas blue topaz is the state gemstone of Texas. The beryl family includes aquamarine, state gemstone of Colorado, emerald, state gemstone of North Carolina, and undefined beryl itself, which is the state mineral of New Hampshire.

Diamond, rare in the US, is the state gemstone of Arkansas. Black coral is the state gemstone of Hawaii, and black fire opal is the state precious gemstone of Nevada. Tourmaline is the state gemstone of Maine, and Montana has the Yogo sapphire as its state gemstone. Turquoise is favored by three states, as Arizona’s state gemstone, Nevada’s state semi-precious gemstone, and as New Mexico’s state rock.

Minerals which can appear in massive deposits and that are state gemstones include jade, fluorite, and other stones. Jade is the state rock of Alaska and state stone of California. Nephrite jade is the state gemstone of Wyoming. Fluorite is the state mineral of Illinois, and rhodochrosite is the state mineral of Colorado. Both of these make beautiful beads and beaded jewelry. Oregon has Oregon sunstone as its state gemstone, and the state gemstone of Florida is moonstone. These last two also make beautiful beads and beaded jewelry. California’s state gemstone is the rare but beautiful benitoite crystal.

As you can tell from the various choices above, there is no standard definition of stone, rock, gemstone or mineral in use to decide these state favorites. Sometimes the choice of category depends on how much of a mineral is found in the state, and sometimes the quality of that mineral as found in the state. The choice of category may also depend on whether you can find the mineral when walking around, or if it has to be mined. Whatever the case, these minerals do appear in the states that selected them, and can be found in rock shops and mine-your-own gift shops within the state in question.

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Hagen-Renaker Horses

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Most people have a few, or sometimes, many, favorite animals and they often include horses among those favorites. Horse lovers usually collect or are given artwork, figurines or stuffed toys of horses, and most have Hagen-Renaker figurines in their collections as well, as this company is best known for the animal figurines they make.

The Hagen-Renaker Company was formed to produce small figurines of familiar farm and house animals, including adult horses and foals. The original line of horse figurines were miniatures, from one half to two inches tall, and were so small that they had to be glued onto a square of stiff paper in order to identify the maker and the price for the customer. Thousands of miniature horses and other animals have followed since.

In all, the company has three lines of animal figurines, the miniature line, the Specialty line, from two to five inches tall, and the Designer line, five to twelve inches tall. The animals in each line are shown in natural colors and poses. In addition, the Specialty line includes horse and human pairs in mutual activities like racing and jumping.

The Designer line includes horses among its animals. The Hagen-Renaker horses are reminiscent of the Breyer molded plastic horse models, both being portrayed naturally. In this line even the breeds are identifiable, and the horses are shown in typical color combinations and conformation. The Hagen-Renaker horses in this size generally do not include a human component in the figurine.

The Hagen-Renaker figurines in all the sizes are easy to collect and can usually be found for reasonable prices. The little figurines should remain on the paper tag, even though this makes them more difficult to display. Having the original tags for all the Hagen-Renaker figurines will help them retain their value if and when you need to sell them. Look for Hagen-Renaker animals and other figurines at your local gift stores and toy shops.

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Collecting Salem China Company China

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

Many of the Salem porcelain patterns are the traditional, floral china patterns to be expected from any European or North American china maker. However, the Salem China Company also has some unusual, modern patterns and forms that are not as traditional. Salem employed modern industrial designers to provide them with a number of new shapes of china in the 1930′s and 1940′s, the results of which are lines called Tricorn, flat pieces in round-sided triangles, and Freeform, with organic shapes for the hollow-ware, among others. The decoration patterns produced on these modern shapes are also modern in that most have only one group of flowers or plants arranged which are places to one side on the piece of china. Even when the china pieces seem fairly traditional in shape, the placement and design of the decoration is usually modern on the china patterns introduced in the late-early to mid-1900′s.

For those with more traditional tastes, one of the more famous Salem china patterns is the Godey fashions. These designs come from the fashions shown in the Godey Book of Prints from the late 1800′s. These plates of the female fashions of the day are available on several sizes of plates with plain or ornate rims. Salem also had a number Christmas china patterns, most of which were popular and pieces of which are easily found. There are several sets of plates with pictures of historic buildings in England and and several places in the US among the Salem production as well. And Salem can provide the traditional floral patterns if needed as well.

Salem China is easy to find on eBay: in the Pottery and Glass general category, select Pottery and China, then China and Dinnerware and then Salem. There you can see the various china patterns produced by Salem in their seventy years of production. You can also find this china maker’s wares at flea markets, second hand stores, garage sales, estate sales and charity resale shops, although it may take some looking to find your choice of pattern at these venues. All Salem patterns are only available on the secondary market, as Salem ceased production in the late 1960′s.

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Collecting Carlsbad Porcelain

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Carlsbad is an area of Bohemia/German/Czechoslovakia that has changed hands several times within modern times that is now known as Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic. Porcelain manufacturers have existed in this location since the founding of a kaolin processing plant in 1842. The name Carlsbad has been used on the production of this area since 1848, for those manufacturers that mark their wares. It should not be confused with Victorian Carlsbad Company’s mark “Victoria Carlsbad Austria.”

The Carlsbad Porcelain Company’s production consists mainly of porcelain dinnerware. Their patterns are pretty typical for an European china maker, and included many floral patterns and a few geometric ones, including a nice Greek Key pattern. The plates themselves are either plain, embossed or scalloped, just like other European porcelain makers. The company also introduced a more modern coupe line of china shapes in an effort to stay up to date in the Twentieth Century. The china patterns include serving pieces to match the china pattern, and there are a few vanity table boxes, vases and shoes among all the dinner china.

The porcelain from this area has a fine, white body that shows up very well no matter what pattern is applied thereafter. The floral patterns may be more average than most, but the prices for this dinnerware is pretty low. You might find someone selling a complete set of dinnerware, but piecing one together will be the work of a lifetime, if it can be done at all. If you have a sentimental favorite pattern, by all means get a few pieces for your china cabinet, as they will not set you back much, although you may have to search if you want a specific pattern.

Carlsbad, as the name for an area of china production, may be found on the wares of any number of manufacturers. Be careful to learn the different marks, and who didn’t use a mark beyond the place name, before you invest a lot of money in this china. Also, buy it because you like it, because it will probably never be worth more than what you paid for it.

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An New Approach to Native American Souvenirs

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

The Native American souvenirs available today are not like the cheap bows and arrow and Indian dolls of the past, and are well worth a good look when traveling areas where Native Americans live. The offerings may seem the same, with shelf upon shelf of kachinas and rows of turquoise rings, but these tourist offerings are more in touch with the Native American way of life and belief systems than the souvenirs of yesterday.

Buying Native American clothing or reasonable facsimiles of it is one way to get closer to the real Native American experience. Purchasing this clothing allows you can begin to understand the cultural and natural worlds that lead to clothing in this form, and your purchase will help the Native Americans keep their traditions alive. Why are velveteen shirts the preferred wear of the Dine? When does the rickrack on the Seminoles clothing mean to them?

Granted, most of the items for sale around any reservation are made for tourists, but there is more of an effort by the Native Americans to teach outsiders some of their culture, and these artifacts do have cultural value. More and more the Native American is using real symbolism on items they make for passing visitors, and make an effort to educate the outsider. On the cheap end of the spectrum, the items will not be hand made, but they will still embody the native customs and spirit even if made elsewhere. If you are willing to spend a little more, you can get souvenirs from your trip that will have the genuine flavor of the culture it came from.

Native American art is so popular that now it is available across the country all the time. There is no need to wait for a trip to buy prints and other art, as it is found easily in galleries across the US. This two-dimensional art may use European perspective and strive to recreate the three dimensional in two dimensions as is the European tradition, or you may find the painting conventions of the Native Americans more to your liking. Whichever you prefer, there is sure to be something interesting in your local galleries.

Native American souvenirs and art are less kitsch and more educational than in the past. Look for the art locally, and pursue genuine souvenirs when you travel near reservations.

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Collecting ACEOs

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

ACEOs, Artist Cards, Editions and Originals, are a new format of art that allows the average person to collect the works of their favorite artists without having to take a second mortgage. These works are also small in format, so the collector can have many ACEOs in a small space. Here is the deal.

ACEOs are original works of art or prints of original works of art made by the artist for trading or for sale. The originals, Artist Trading Cards (ATCs), allowed artists to trade works of art between themselves without having to use money better spent on materials, rent or food. Artists like to own works by their favorite artists just like non-artists. When non-artists showed considerable interest in being allowed to join in, the ACEO was born. Now artists and non-artists can share their love of art.

ACEO art is strictly limited to the size of baseball cards for baseball card storage solutions work for the ACEOs as well. They are 6 by 9 cm. (2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches) and must fit in the stiff plastic sleeves or 3-ring binder pages made for baseball cards. In fact, the original artist trading cards showed famous artists and their works on cards like baseball cards, with statistics on the back. Now the backs are usually plain, unless the artist, writes the name and signs the back.

ACEO cards are readily available online, both in online stores set up by the artist or on eBay. The terms of production are usually clearly laid out, whether the card is an original or one-of-a-kind (OOAK), or a limited edition print, with how many in the edition, or an unlimited edition print. The ACEOs are usually sold in a stiff plastic sleeve unless you get in touch with the artist and let him or her know you don’t need it.

You can learn more about ACEOs and ATCs at the following sites:

Look for artists whose works you like, and have fun collecting ACEOs and supporting you favorite artists.

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