Friday, June 12, 2009

Passion for Porcelain

I have a passion for porcelains. I love the delicately painted florals, birds, and portraits. They are lovely little pieces of art. I have been collecting for a few years now and I tend to be a bit obsessive about it (stop laughing mom)! I actually use most of my pieces as you have seen in my tea party pictures. I believe it is more fun to use and enjoy these treasures instead of just sitting them on a shelf. Here are a few pieces from my collection.
A gift from my mother. I usually do a silk flower arrangement in this vase during the holidays.

This little tea pot caught my fancy with all of it's colorful roses:).

More rose bedecked porcelain!

This sugar bowl is part of a tea set and is signed by the artist:). Most people don't realize that although the porcelain blank may have a hallmark of Limoges, Bavaria, or other European backstamps, many of these blanks were imported to the US and painted by American women.
This large porcelain box was painted by a local artist. I love her roses-they are so realistic you can almost smell the fragrance:).
Now many of you are aware that I am a dealer at a local antique shop. There are several dealers there and we each have our own areas of expertise-one of mine of course is porcelain:).
Yesterday when I went to the shop Lisa told me that there were some pieces of porcelain that she needed some info on.
Oh no-not porcelain-I'm on a budget!
If you can imagine sending a chocoholic to a chocolate shop and forbidding her to eat anything-well that was my day at the shop yesterday! Imagine boxes and boxes of gorgeous antique porcelain just waiting to be enjoyed and I get to help price all of it.
UGHHHHHH!!!
Although I enjoy doing this it is very difficult when one wants to buy it all!
Above (and below) is the first piece I encountered-a gorgeous rose bedecked vase.
Every inch of this vase is handpainted and embellished with a raised beaded design (can't you just imagine fresh roses spilling from the top of this vase?).

How about this beautiful footed bowl with roses on the inside...

as well as the outside.

This lovely Limoges tray would be darling at one of my tea parties:).

How about this bowl laden with garlands of roses?

Isn't it pretty?

This biscuit jar is beautifully decorated with roses, intricate gold design, and a rose handle on the lid.

Beautiful (and very useful too)!

This little beauty has been damaged and repaired and is missing it's lid but is still well worth using. I think a flower arrangement would look pretty in this bowl-don't you?
With all of these beautiful porcelains-how is a girl to say no? (Oh, I forgot, that's what hubby is for:).
So back to pricing these lovelies. Alas, I have enjoyed sharing these wonderful porcelains with you. I will try to picture more pieces in my next post along with some interesting bits of porcelain facts and history.
Happy collecting!

9 comments:

Kathi~Lavender, Lace and Thyme said...

Hello Kim,

How wonderful to drop by for a visit today! It was pure joy to catch up on what you've been doing!

Tea parties to murder mysteries, it makes my heart smile :) and that Kramer, he's a keeper! :)

Your porcelain pieces are stunning! I can count the pieces I have on one hand, I may have to go visit Mom to see what she has :)

Wishing you a wonderful day!
Blessings and hugs,
Kathi :)

Deanna said...

Oh my goodness! Such beauty.
Absolutely gorgeous collection you have.

Kim, Thank you for sharing these pics with us. What a passion to have.

These pieces are so delicate and lovely.

Have a blessed week-end,
~D`

lorhen82 said...

Those are some beautiful pieces! I always said that as much as I'd love to, I could never own an antique shop...I'd want to keep everything! ~Lori

Anonymous said...

My kiddos are always telling me I should have a shop, I enjoy having things to enjoy for a while but then I want to pass on to something else. In a shop I could do that. I do not have room in my home for anymore things. I had an idea you had a shop. I thoroughly enjoy visiting your blog. Seeing the beautiful things is enough for me at this time in my life. Thank you dear friend.
Blessings.
QMM

crochet lady said...

What a great post. I'm with you on using the collections we have. I like dishes for that reason because they can be used practically but are beautiful as well.

Yes, my hubby does his job and helps me to say no too.

I bet you'll have such a great time going through that all, it's a pleasure just to look at them.

Jen

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Kim,

Love all your beautiful China, especially the sugar bowl to the tea set. The delicate pastel colours are so pretty.

How hard it must be seeing all those gorgeous pieces coming in and not to be tempted to buy just one more little piece!

Have a great weekend
Hugs
Carolyn

Fete et Fleur said...

What delectable beauties! I have a love for fine hand painted porcelain too. Thank you for sharing!!

Nancy

June said...

Hi Kim,
Your porcelain collection is beautiful. I love your pieces.
I don't know how you could have kept yourself from some of the other pieces. So many chocolates to choose from.
Smiles,
June

Winchester Manor said...

They're all so gorgeous, I would be so tmepted to snatch them all! I especially love the teapot, can't wait to see your next post of beautiful porcelain treasures. Have a wonderful weekend!