POUNDWISE Padrayla Holdsworth answers readers’ letters May/June 01

Dear P.H. Dear D.P. In April 1999 I acquired this Yemeni I can see why you have drawn a blank Jambiya silver dagger for £280. The story with ‘Delton Ware’. The firm responsible was goes that the hilt is a resin replacement for Deans (1910) Ltd. who operated at the one in bone or rhino horn, apparently Newport Pottery, Burslem between 1910 and wagered and lost in gambling. I was told 1919. By the look of your lidded vase, they that such a large decorative piece must have must have been at the cutting edge in design been owned by a tribal leader/chieftain. I for the time. was assured that a belted jambiya of this Yours P.H. quality and weight is a rarity in Yemen, and that sans hilt would not detract from its Dear P.H. intrinsic value. I have no idea of its age. The I have a small swan shaped porcelain blade is machine made. I simply liked the flower posy stamped ‘Made in Occupied intricate, decorative silver and embroidery Japan’. Can you tell me anything about work. I would like to know if I spent my this mark please or where I could find money unwisely! Indeed, would there be a more about it? market for such an item in the U.K? Yours A.W. Gloucester. Yours T.D. Sharjah, U.A.E. Dear A.W. T.D. from the United Arab Emirates bought Dear T.D. Items with this mark were produced between this jambiya dagger for £280. Was this a I feel this dagger, scabbard and belt are 1945 and 1952 during the occupation of bargain, or not ? probably fine examples of modern local craft Japan by United States forces. There are work rather than antique pieces, and as such several recent books e.g. ‘The Collectors would be of decorative value. Any wear on Encyclopedia of Occupied Japan’ (5 the silver items need not mean they have volumes in paperback) by Gene Florence. much age, especially when you consider that c1996/8. ‘Collecting Occupied Japan with Arab silver is usually pure and softer than values’ by Lynette Parmer (pub. 1996). sterling silver. The various decorative items ‘Occupied Japan for Collectors’ and silver containers also tend to point to the Archambault c1992, Schiffer Publishing. likelihood that the jambiya is a tourist piece, Yours P.H. possibly made in the last twenty years or so. It makes perfect sense to buy such items from the area of origin, in order to have a Dear P.H. romantic reminder of your time there. I have been given a Devon Pottery inkwell Somehow it is not the same if you come to which I am told is quite old, possibly about England and buy from a specialist auction. 1920. It has impressed on the base H M However if it is age and authenticity which EXETER and possibly the number 1. The concerns you, I feel you’d have been better motto reads ‘A ye min thaim that’s away’. served spending your money in the U.K. It also has a wooden stopper. I am inter- In UK specialist sales Arab silver jambiya ested in establishing its exact age and with some age and original horn handles possible value. regularly sell for £150-£250 each. Of course Yours K.M. Newton Abbot my opinion is based on a not very clear or detailed photograph, and to be certain, you Dear K.M. should have it checked out by a specialist. H.M. stands for Hart and Moist, who in 1896 The following auction houses specialise in took over the Exeter Art Pottery premises for militaria and can advise you: Sotheby’s their Devon Art Pottery. Between 1903 and South, Summers Place, Billingshurst, West 1905, Charles Collard, who later founded RH14 9AD. Tel: 01403 833500. Honiton Pottery, worked for Hart and Moist. Wallis & Wallis, West Street Auction Mysteriously Hart and Moist’s pottery does Galleries, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2NJ. Tel: not appear in pottery mark books. Your pot 01273 480208. looks to date from the early twentieth century Yours P.H. and would have a retail value of about £15. Yours P.H. Dear P.H. I wonder if you can tell me anything Dear P.H. about ‘Delton Ware’ Burslem. I cannot I am very interested in Victorian glass D.P of Saffron Walden found the elusive mark find a mention of the factory in any of dumps. Please can you tell me how they for ‘Delton Ware’ hard to track down. our books of marks. were made? What is the French equivalent Yours D.P. Saffron Walden. of “What is the best price?” Lastly, if a Lalique piece is stamped Sometimes it refers to the town from which ‘R. Lalique France’, what dates is it likely the pattern was derived. For that reason, to fall between? many Desvres pieces have only ‘Rouen’ on Yours P.T. Newcastle the bottom. Perhaps it was for sale in the Netherlands, Dear P.T. perhaps it was destined for Emmanuel in Green glass dumps are thought to originate London. But the faïence (i.e. tin glazed from Wakefield, with the larger ones serving earthenware) bearing that name was made as door stops and the smaller as paper- only in Desvres and, occasionally, neigh- weights. bouring Boulogne.” A variety of different methods were used to Ivor Hughes can be contacted at: Mayfair Mosanic faience candleholder 4” high. U.K. produce the intriguing enclosed decoration. Antiques, 26 Cross Green, Otley LS21 1HD. value of £40-£60 not affected by mark being The earliest technique involved piercing the Tel: 01943 463380. ‘Mosanic’ and not ‘Desvres’. hot glass core with a metal rod creating air email: [email protected] spaces. The later manufacturers chalked a Yours P.H. design on a metal table known as a marver, and then rolled hot glass on top of the design. Dear P.H. Then another layer of glass was cased over it, Are there any books on the subject of either which caused the chalk to oxidise and form Edwardian oak furniture or indeed oak bubbles. Dumps produced recently are furniture of the early part of the last distinguishable from nineteenth century ones century, say 1900-1930/40? by their brighter tone of green. Yours S.C. St. Albans French antique dealers are as likely to be prepared to negotiate as are English ones. Dear S.C. Phrases to remember are ‘Combien?’ (How The following contains Edwardian examples: much?) and ‘Le dernier prix?’ (The best ‘Victorian And Edwardian Furniture: Price price?). Guide And Reasons For Values’ by John Glass marked ‘R.Lalique France’ should Andrews, published by Antique Collectors’ date between c1927 and 1945. After Rene’s Club (1993). Mark on base of candleholder. Photographs death in 1945 his son’s products were marked The following may be of help but will prove courtesy of Ivor Hughes. ‘Lalique France’. Sometimes unscrupulous difficult to track down. Try ordering through people have added an ‘R’ to these later pieces. your local library. Yours P.H. ‘Modern English Furniture’ by J. C. Rogers, published by Country Life (1930). Dear P.H. Yours P.H. I would like information about ‘Mosanic’ ceramics as produced by north French Dear P.H. fainceries e.g. Desvres. I have a bronze bust of a Roman senator on Is this related to the firm of Emmanuel marble. It stands around 10” tall and is based in London between 1900 and 1914? signed P. Motmile, (or the ‘t’ could be an ‘r’ Yours A.M. Tonbridge. or ‘y’). Would you have any info please? Yours P.B. Isleworth. Dear A.M. There is more than one pottery using the Dear P.B. A clear frosted and blue stained vase name Mosanic. One was a porcelain Your bronze appears to be the work of with semi-circular applied handles decorated manufactury in Mitterteich, Bavaria, owned Gaetano Mormile. He and his brother with circular leaf motifs. Wheel carved R. by Max Emmanuel, a leading London Salvatrone originally came from Naples and Lalique France signature. 14.5cm high. importer of continental ceramics in the late were both painters and sculptors. Gaetano’s Photograph courtesy of eBay. nineteenth and early twentieth century. This signature is quite difficult to read, and the enterprise, employing 400 people, was funded continental way in which he forms a ‘G’ with the help of British money. The French could easily be mistaken for a ‘P’. His work faience bearing the name Mosanic is unlikely is first recorded in Naples in 1839 and he to be connected. died in 1890. An exhibition including work Ivor Hughes, a specialist on French faience, of his went on show in Milan, then travelling tells me: “World Desvres authority, François on to Turin. He is known for carrying out Piton (Belgium), attributes Mosanic to the restoration work in Italian churches. Netherlands, but only for the reason that Your Roman senator is most likely to have there is a Dutch town of the same name. initially been exhibited in marble in one of In my view it is unquestionably Desvres. The the Paris salons, where the original will have glaze, lettering and colours, particularly the been sold along with the rights to reproduce pea green, cannot be anything else. Dating it to a foundry, probably in the Paris area. from around 1900, it is impossible to say In the late 1870s the foundries obtained the which of the Desvres faïenceries were technology to accurately reduce the images, responsible. It may have been several of causing a boom in the production of bronzes them. based on marble originals. Yours is most The name on the bottom of many French likely to date from the latter part of the faïence pieces and Desvres in particular, nineteenth century. relates not to the town where it was made, but Yours P.H. Edwardian oak settle £795. Photo courtesy of to the town or shop in which it was to be sold. Hingston of Wilton, Salisbury. Dear P.H. Dear P.H I would be grateful if you could give me This is my first time on your website at any information regarding a clock I have. www.antiques-info.co.uk and I don’t know Could it be of North American origin what to do. I would like a valuation of an because on the breast of the boy lion, original photograph of the first allied ace stamped in the form of a type of hiero- in I, Rene Fonck. The item was glyph, is a fish and the stamp U.S.A. autographed by him. He appears in front I do not know if from the photograph you of one Nieuport 28 French airplane. are able to give me an opinion of the metal Mr F.B. Buenos Aires. used for the boy lion and the winged tigers. They look like brass or bronze. Looking at Dear F.B. the front of the clock it gives me the The information you have given makes a impression of an Egyptian tomb. The base precise valuation difficult. However I can The American clock in Egyptian style owned measures 19.5” long. tell you that the U.S. auctioneers by Mr S.D. of Great Yarmouth. Yours S.D. Great Yarmouth. Butterfields recently sold a signed Rene Fonck photograph for a hammer price of Dear S.D. $400. Thanks to Henry Bailey of Several different manufacturers made this www.butterfields.com for his help. type of clock in the late nineteenth century Yours P.H. in the U.S.A., copying an earlier French type. The lion figure is in the form of an Dear P. H. Egyptian sphinx and looks to be made of Having recently emptied my loft, I brass. The level of quality of this clock does discovered the following: not appear to be very high, especially when 1. A Willcox & Gibbs hand sewing machine you bear in mind the lack of crispness to the (dated 1880). casting of the sphinx. I would expect it to be 2. A George Formby banjo, made by worth £200-£300 retail. George Cummings of London SW19, in its Yours P.H. original case and bearing the signature of Mr Formby. Dear P.H. Have these items any value and if so where I have five paintings of flowers by Edward can I dispose of them? Bentley, all dated about 1865. The one Yours T.B. West Malling, illustrated measures 19” x 14” excluding the frame and mount. Could give me some Dear T.B. idea of their value? Also any information Willcox & Gibbs are a volume sewing about the artist would be helpful. I machine manufacturer, along the lines of thought them to be original watercolours, Singer. They began in 1857 and are still on Front view of the sphinx on the clock. but the slightly rough text of the flowers the go. Between 1877 and 1904 over 260,000 makes me think they could be oils. They machines were produced. Sewing machines originally hung in Barcote Manor, were notoriously overengineered (built to Oxfordshire and were the property of the last) and lasted they have. West family, who gave them to my mother. This means that although they may look Yours D.C. quite exciting, they will not interest serious collectors who will already have one (or Dear D.C. more). I would advise against entering yours Edward Bentley was a watercolour artist, in a specialist auction, for it is likely to do far exhibiting, from 1866 at the Society of better in a local catalogued antique sale, British Artists, Suffolk Street, London, and where people who like old things but do not in 1883 at the Royal Academy. He died in understand about the market for old sewing about 1882. Flowers were a speciality, as machines will take a fancy to it. I would well as fruit and landscapes. It sounds like expect it to sell for between £60 and £100 at your pictures are in gouache, a watercolour auction. medium, which gives a slightly textured Your banjo is also suitable for entering in Mr D.C of Oxford inherited this flower effect. Small examples come on the market such a sale, where it should fetch £150- painting by Edward Bentley plus four other frequently, selling for £300-£500 each. £250. similar ones. Bentley’s pictures are usually Yours are larger than usual, and the local Gorringes, 15 North Street, Lewes, Sussex. smaller than this one. Is it an oil or a water- provenance suggests they would fetch in the Tel: 01273 472503. Lambert & Foster, 102 colour, and how much is it worth? Could the region of £600-£800 each if sold at auction High Street, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6HT. Tel: connection with a well known local family in your area. 01580 762083. boost the value? Yours P.H. Yours P.H. Interesting point s raised through our Subscriber

Some of the points raised by readers, via our Subscriber Valuation Forms, seem of sufficient interest for me to share them with you. I also intend in this Column to draw attention to any particularly confusing reproductions that have recently come to my notice and let you know of anything else worthy of comment. Beware of apparently Edwardian oval inlaid mahogany trays, in such immaculate condition that they appear to have never been used! There is a good reason for this: they have never been used because they are brand spanking new and made from MDF. If you look at the underside, you should see very fresh looking round green felt protective pads, and a complete absence of any scratches! Pot lid prices have rocketed in the last year but there are a lot of reproductions about and the one shown here may be one of them. If genuine, it dates from c1870s and is worth £120-£150 at auction. Recognising a pot lid reproduction: Pot lid repros are slip cast, giving a slightly rounded bottom edge, not squared off like the old examples. The gold band is very crisp on the reproductions with no defects. Thanks to Alan Blakeman of British Bottle Review for help with this query. Alan Blakeman, BBR. Auctions, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Nr Barnsley. S.Yorks. Tel: 01226 745156. 3” pot lid for James Atkinson’s Bears Grease People, including vendors, often attribute anything decorated with pink lustre to Sunderland. belonging to a reader. Is it genuine? Most frequently described incorrectly are early nineteenth century Staffordshire bone china table wares. A subscriber wondered whether his plaques illustrated here could be Sunderland lustre. They were in fact made in Germany and are porcelain. Any resemblance to Sunderland lustre is superficial, as Sunderland Ware was always pottery and never porcelain. They date, as the owner correctly assumed, from the late nineteenth century. This type of porcelain is frequently seen here, but usually in the form of souvenirs of English seaside resorts. There is very little market for these. The plaques, however, are more commercial. But the fact that the portraits are not contemporary counts against them. The men represented are French kings Louis XIV (The Sun King) 1638-1715 and his grandson, Louis XV, 1710-1774. I would expect these to retail for £50-£60 for the pair. Also on the subject of ceramics, a subscriber asked for adjudication on the subject of which Doulton artist, using the initials ES was responsible for this stunning glazed stoneware water filter. A dealer friend of the owner, from whom it had been obtained, was convinced Are these 4” wide plaques Sunderland lustre? the highly acclaimed Eliza Simmance had initialled it, making it worth £950-£1,200, while 1f not, where were they made? Who are these an expert brought in by a local auction house put it down to the less desirable Elizabeth gentlemen, and when and where did they live? Shelley and a value of £600. With the aid of a representative of the Sir Henry Doulton What is the value? Gallery, I have teased out the probable but not incontrovertible answer. Elizabeth Shelley put a dot between the E and S of her monogram, while Eliza Simmance did not. Unfortunately Doulton did not record the artists responsible for specific numbers, and so ‘8535’ did not clarify the matter. However there is further evidence suggesting the piece is by Eliza. Elizabeth Shelley worked in faience rather than stoneware and left Doulton in 1889. The presence of the word ‘England’ suggests a date after 1891. That gives three reasons why the piece is more likely to be by Eliza than Elizabeth, and the dealer’s valuation the closest. Thanks for help with this to: The Sir Henry Doulton Gallery, Nile Street, Burslem, Staffordshire. Tel: 01782 292433. I am beginning to think that people are becoming increasingly suspicious about appar- ently old items. Sometimes of course their suspicions are justified. Not always though! At a recent viewing of an auction, which is noted locally for containing genuine house clearances, I overheard two men discussing whether a typical nineteen twenties typewriter might in fact be a reproduction. I mean, I know labour is cheap in some third world countries, but I doubt whether it is economic to produce anything to undercut the miserly going rate for a genuine example! Padrayla Holdsworth

Which talented lady was responsible for this 16” tall Doulton water filter, shown here without the lid?