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The style of decoration here is typical of the art brass hanging plaques produced by the metalworkers of Thanjavur, formerly known as Tanjore, from the late eighteenth century onwards. A Tanjore Art Plate consists of three components: the base plate (brass), a circular central relief panel of a deity worked in silver surrounded by relief panels in copper and silver often depicting flowers. Various deities are depicted here including the well known many armed Shiva. All the reliefs have milled borders but the wells are finished differently, some with engraved designs and one with circular bosses. Dating is probably to the mid C20th but the style of these pieces was continuous and relatively unchanging so an earlier period of manufacture is quite possible.

NB Stands for display purposes only and not included

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Print 1: This print depicts the weddings of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and on the bottom depicts the marriage of Mary of Teck to the then Duke of York. The portraits surrounding these images are of the two brides and other royal family members. (numbered Plate 17)

Print 2: This print depicts the development in the modes of transportation during her reign. Clipper ship to steamer, carriage to train, walking and carriages to bicycles and automobiles. The portraits will be the inventors and visionaries of these developments. (numbered Plate XI)

Print 3: This print depicts the House of Commons with Prime Minister Salisbury and the House of Lords. The surrounding portraits are politicians of the day. The bottom centre is of Gladstone. (numbered Plate A)

Print 4: This print depicts the development of the Royal Navy during her reign. it starts with tall mast sailing ships (1836 fleet) and proceeds to steam ships (1853 fleet) and then finally to the most modern ships and even submarines (1897 fleet). The portraits are a bit random - but probably are naval officers and Royal family members. (numbered Plate IX)

Print 5: This print depicts three important battles during her reign. The portraits depict military officers and other influencers during these wars. (numbered Plate VIII)The portraits depict military officers and other influencers during these wars. (numbered Plate VIII)

Print 6: This print depicts the christenings of Victoria's first two children, Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, Princess Royal and Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. The large portrait on the upper left is the Arch Bishop of Canterbury. (numbered Plate V)

Print 7: This print depicts the Queen's marriage to Prince Albert and the image below is a well known family portrait. The portraits are members of the Royal Family such as parents and possibly siblings. (numbered Plate IV)

Print 8: This print depicts Victoria's accession council, the opening of parliament and a royal procession. The portraits are very difficult to pinpoint but they would be politicians and influencers of the day. (numbered Plate III)

Print 9: This print depicts Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838. The top image is the ceremony followed by the procession with Buckingham Palace in the background. The portraits depict monarchs that came before here. Edward the IV is the large central top portrait. (numbered Plate II)

Print 10: This print depicts a later family portrait and three of her residences, Windsor, Balmoral and Osborne. The larger portraits are Edward Prince of Wales, George Duke of York and probably Prince Edward Albert.

Bertel Thorvaldsen (born Nov. 19, 1770, or Nov. 13, 1768, Copenhagen, Den.—died March 24, 1844, Copenhagen), sculptor, prominent in the Neoclassical period, who was the first internationally acclaimed Danish artist. Prominent in Roman intellectual and artistic circles, he influenced many emerging artists from Europe and the United States. Most of Thorvaldsen’s most characteristic sculptures are reinterpretations of the figures or themes of classical antiquity. The Alexander frieze of 1812 in the Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome, modeled in only three months in anticipation of a visit by Napoleon, is an example of the feverish energy with which he could at times work. Religious sculptures include the colossal series of statues of Christ and the Twelve Apostles (1821–27) in the Vor Frue Kirke in Copenhagen. He also made numerous portrait busts of distinguished contemporaries.

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Galalith is a a synthetic plastic made out of the interaction of casein and formaldehyde and was introduced to the fashion world by Coco Chanel in 1926. The commercial name is derived from the Ancient Greek words 'gala' (milk) and 'lithos' (stone).

Pieces combining glazed terracotta with polychrome enameling were one of the designs produced by the well known Watcombe pottery based in Devon. Production commenced in the mid 1860s when a fine red Devon clay was discovered in the grounds of Watcombe House near Torquay, prompting its then owner G. P. Allen to establish the Watcombe Terracotta Clay Company off Teignmouth Road, St. Marychurch in 1869. Classical styles of the period like terracotta busts, figures, urns and jugs were produced first, followed by terracotta glazed pieces some in the style of the famous designer Christopher Dresser. Not all of the pieces were marked and the appearance of ‘Watcombe Porcelain’ on some of their wares seems to post date the first years of production. Various mergers followed and the range of designs developed, adapting to changing tastes, but finally the business was forced to close its doors in 1962.

While the decoration is typical of Watcombe, the shape is typical of Dresser and also loosely follows a Chinese shape as did so many of his pieces. Allowing for the fact that the Devon potters introduced their own individual ‘twist’, one example of the Dresser prototype for this piece is included in the collection held by the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Watcombe, in common with other potteries at the time, aimed to produce pieces which, while they followed the ‘best’ designs were more accessible to a general audience. This vase is in no way inferior to the ‘real thing’ and maintains a charm of its own.

'Crackleware' glazed pieces, usually with 'bronzed bands, were a staple output of the Chinese potteries from the mid nineteenth century onwards and were produced in a wide variety of mainly vase shape forms, both in polychrome and blue and white and intended as decorative pieces for the Victorian rooms of the West. As with other ceramic types, the quality deteriorated and this piece is typical of late nineteenth century productions of a more modest level of craftsmanship but still retaining a naif charm. As with many ginger jars, this one lacks its original domed cover which would have been decorated to match.

Inverurie is a town in Scotland where Pictish carved stones are found in the graveyard dating from the 7th Century. The Picts were a tribe of peoples living in the East and North of Scotland. Little is known of their origins but they were called 'Picts' by the Romans because of their painted and tattooed bodies. The Inverurie horse is the inspiration for this brooch. The actual design of the three horses was created by George Bain (1881-1968) the Scottish artist and teacher, famous for chronicling Celtic Art.

St Justin of Cornwall is well known for the production of 'craft' pieces in a variety of forms and materials. This piece probably dates to the 1980s and certainly cannot be found in their current catalogue.

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Each of the ten characters are described in a double page spread, the right hand containing texts in both Chinese and English and the left hand with hand coloured illustrations on silk , delicately rendered. The book 'works' from right to left and the reverses of the pages are left blank. At each end are fabric covered boards, the front board with a pasted paper inscription in Chinese with a small red seal mark. Other examples are finished with boards in wood, but these are, perhaps, not original or a more deluxe version of the volume.

The illustrations are in excellent condition with the colours still bright. The yellow finish to the paper is original and perhaps intended to give an 'antique' effect. Each of the end boards are very slightly scuffed at the borders. The pages, including the title page and the two end papers, suffer from varying degrees of 'worm hole' perforation. There are also various tears. A selection of illustrations can be seen above and further images (and a more detailed condition report) are, of course, available on request. But these condition issues should not necessarily detract from the charm of the item which is an Englishman's attempt to capture some of the folk lore of China, a land which attracted such popular interest during the Victorian period.

Various pieces in this style where amber glass panels are combined with elaborate gilt metal work can be found. Most were intended as dressing table ornaments, as here. Sometimes termed 'Hollywood' these items were designed to add a touch of luxury to the bedroom. They are usually regarded as French and thought to have been made between the 1920s and 1940s. This is a particularly nice example with no damage either to the glass or the metalwork.

Wade Ceramics Ltd was a manufacturer of porcelain and earthenware, headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Founded in 1867, it was run by various members of the Wade family until the death of George Anthony Wade in 1987 after which there was a succession of management buyouts. Despite substantial investment in 2009, the firm eventually went into administration in 2022. Wade produced a wide variety of ceramics, including the well known Wade Whimsies animal figurines.

Many of their pieces were designed to act as small containers for flowers and trinkets and this piece is a particularly amusing example of the type. Two colour ranges exist, one as here and one with much darker tones which is held to be later. Dating here, then, is most likely to the 1950s/1960s when the Wade production lines were in full swing and enjoying considerable popularity.

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The factory mark, a shallow dish superimposed over the letter 'H' inside a circle, is that of the East German pottery VEB Haldensleben. VEB stands for 'Volkseigener Betrieb', meaning a people-owned enterprise and used in relationship to the state owned workplaces in the GDR. Haldensleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany and a ceramics factory was created there in 1945 with the nationalization of the Carstens Uffrecht plant that followed the division of Germany at the end of WWII. Halsdenleben focused primarily on the manufacture of vases. Its output tended to be of superior quality and employed more restrained glazes than those used by its West German counterparts. Upon the reunifucation of Germany in 1990, the factory was returned to its original owners, the Carstens family. The pattern number here is found on other pieces with the same shape but the abstract decoration used is quite individual and evocative of 1950s and early 1960s designs.

While close to the Chinese originals, many features indicate European and indeed English manufacture, in particular the drawing of the ladies’ heads, the palette of colours used, the borders employed and, most importantly, the glaze and paste of the reverse. The most likely producer here was the Worcester factory whose ‘Mandarin’ pieces were well known and a circa date in the second half of the eighteenth century is reasonable. The saucers would have come from a small tea service with matching bowls and various serving items, including, of course, a teapot. Not so likely to be used now, they provide an elegant example of the vogue for Chinoiserie in England at the time.

It has been suggested that the form of the stone indicates it was intended as a handling token, some sort of a 'pass key', but this may well be apocryphal, although it does indeed sit comfortably when gripped. But the decorative qualities of this piece are clear and the maker clearly saw that this was a stone to be exploited and displayed. A contemporary wearer now would certainly attract attention! The weight and quality of the bronze suggest a reasonably early dating, perhaps to the late eighteenth century.

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Chippendale glass was designed and patented in the USA in the early years of the 20th Century and imported into Britain. The moulds were purchased by a Charles Pratt and Davidson’s used them to produce this range of glassware purchasing the exclusive rights to manufacture Chippendale glass when they realised its popularity. Various forms were included in the range and manufactured by the pressed glass technique for which the firm had become famous. The mould marks of this pair can be clearly seen at the bases (see image 4). The clean angular lines are typical of art deco designs and Davidson’s produced here a model which was both practical and decorative.

While not stamped with a maker's mark, vases of this type are attributed to the West German Ceramics factory Marei which produced pieces from 1949 to 2016. Marei was the commonly used abbreviation for the firm's name which was Majolikafabrik Rheinbach Jean Fuss and Sohn. The pieces are distinguished by the use of a reddish clay but this was sometimes more brown or dark brown depending on the suppliers used. Marks are usually impressed into the base although these are often just pattern numbers, as here. Many pieces are unmarked and some are stamped 'MADE IN GERMANY' or 'W.GERMANY'. The pattern number here is '7104'and is found on similar pieces with the same shape but different decoration. This vase was probably made in the 1970s and is typical of the striking designs the firm produced.

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This model can be seen in the firm's catalogue for 1931 where the bowl and stand are combined with a separate pierced flower holder in the same style. No doubt the size of the ‘frog’ was up to the purchaser who could choose from a range of dimensions which probably explains the slightly different proportions here to the catalogue image which otherwise illustrates our example extremely well, even down to the milled edging to the rim of the bowl. With its archetypal shape and colouring this piece would be an excellent addition to any Art Deco collection as well as providing a striking and decorative item for a contemporary interior.