Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

You are here: Home / Archives for china and pottery

Collecting: A Wee Bit of Madness

at by

3-1 white rose 1

This is what happens when you’re completely and utterly enchanted by something…say, Roseville Pottery…and you’re sad most of the time and your back hurts and you’re stuck in your chair and you need something to cheer you up. And you figure that this particular something, which is on eBay and is a new pattern for you, might be a neat addition to your collection. And then you are the only bidder, so, come on ! It’s a no-brainer.

This pattern is White Rose. The vase is 7 inches high.

3-1 white rose 2

The other side. I really love the shape, which is different from any other piece in my collection.

3-1 shelf

On the shelf in my office.

It’s a wee bit of madness this infatuation I have with Roseville Pottery. And I fully recommend a little madness of this sort for everyone. It’s so much fun!

3-1 priceguide

Also in yesterday’s mail was the price guide for Roseville that I ordered through Amazon. It’s clearly self-published and simply lists prices by the numbers assigned to each style and pattern. For instance, this particular vase has “Roseville – U.S.A” and the numbers 983-7 in raised script on the bottom. 983 denotes a specific vase in the White Rose pattern and 7 indicates the height of the vase.

No photos. Just updated, and that’s the key, prices for every item in the Roseville Pottery line. The many reference books I already have are full of gorgeous and very helpful photos, but the prices are out of date. This particular little book is updated every year.

I couldn’t help but check out the pieces I’ve purchased and the amount I paid for them against the price range given in the pamphlet. I’m happy to say I’m doing extremely well! Always less than half the amount given, sometimes much  less than that.

Check out the font used on the cover of the pamphlet. I must admit it makes me chuckle.

We’re most likely heading to Florida sometime next week for a visit with my family. We need a break. We need sun and sand and the smell of the ocean. We especially need my sister and her family, including Little Z and Max, her dog.

It will be nice to have a little vacation. That’s an understatement.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

My Favorite Vase

at by

As I hobbled around this morning, moving carefully (my back seems to be at its worst when I first get up) the morning light was shining on my vase of flowers. It was if they were under a spotlight. So I grabbed my iPhone and took a picture.

2-26 vase

And then it occurred to me: Have I ever talked about this – my very favorite vase – before? If I have, it was only in passing.

As a collector of pottery, you must surely know that I have a LOT of vases. (A quick count of what I can see from my blogging chair results in at least 15 – and there are a lot more of them in various cabinets and on various surfaces. Maybe I’ll count them someday.) So, when I say this one is my favorite, that’s saying something.

I found it years ago, when I was living in Cambridge, in a little shop I used to frequent. It was run by two ladies who often had vintage Fiesta on hand and I used to collect Fiesta. They were so helpful and would call me when they found pieces of Fiesta they thought I would like. (I often wonder what happened to that shop.) This was in the late eighties – early nineties, so we’re talking at least 25 years ago. I saw this vase and was immediately taken by its form and function.

2-26 vase closeup

It was made by Red Wing Pottery. The outside is a matte white glaze and the inside is an apple green glaze. I looked it up on eBay and I didn’t see any pieces like this one, though I saw other designs in this white/green combination.

What makes it work is the simplicity of the design. It’s geometric in design; a four-point star. Those four corners formed by the star are the key. When I take a bouquet of, say, alstroemeria, and put it inside the vase, the stems automatically fall into the corners while some remain in the center and the bouquet looks beautiful. No arranging required. It looks utterly natural.

Genius.

2-26 vase closeup corner green

I have a feeling I was initially drawn to this by the white/green combination, which I find striking.

It’s the perfect vase. It’s the one I always go to. I don’t know what I’d do without it.

I have no idea what I paid for it at the time, but I was on the strictest – and I mean strictest – of budgets, so it can’t have been much.

2-26 vase 2

I just looked at the marking on the bottom: Red Wing USA 412. (Made in about 1952. We share the same birth year.) In searching for that particular number, I see that it was also made with a pale blue exterior and a coral interior. That would be pretty, too. (Hmmm. I’d have two of them! I’m filing this thought away for future eBay searches.)

Yesterday: I realized that vacuuming is entirely different now that Scout is not with us. There was hardly anything to vacuum. I stood there looking at the rugs and the floor which used to be a treasure trove of her beautiful hair and sadness overwhelmed me.

We still don’t know what to do with ourselves.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Adding a Backdrop

at by

Rain, torrential rain, thunder, and lightning which seemed to go on for hours – we were part of that same devastating storm that has wreaked so much havoc. Fortunately, we are soggy – very soggy – but safe. I’m thinking of all those who were in harm’s way. This one was and is dangerous.

I’ve done something to my lower back and I’m hobbling around the house. I don’t know how it happened, but it just seems to get worse, so I’m sitting here in my blogging chair with a heating pad. Yesterday, I hung around upstairs in the office for quite some time and my desk chair, though charming, doesn’t offer the best back support for this kind of problem. In other words, it made it worse, though I didn’t realize it until too late in the game.

Crap.

I think I stayed upstairs because the downstairs reminds me too much of Scout and I was alone all day, missing her companionship. I didn’t break down until Don came in the door – then I lost it. But I got through the day. Small victories.

I browsed online, looked at the Top Secret Project, noodled around and then I actually did  something. I decided the color inside my pink cabinet left something to be desired. No, I didn’t start painting, though that may happen in the future. I grabbed some scrapbook paper that I had on hand.

2-25 roseville

And I pieced it together (I only had a few sheets) to create a backdrop for the Roseville Pottery.

2-25 mccoy

And the McCoy Pottery.

It’s clearly pieced together and you can see the seams, but I don’t much care about that. This is for me. Now that I have the idea, if I see some wrapping paper that I like I may replace this with something seamless, but for now, I’m happy.

2-25 twoshelves

That pink candy box contains letters written to my grandmother from her younger sister, Rhoda. Rhoda died at the age of 15 during the flu epidemic of 1918. My grandmother’s sister, Maggie, also died. I can’t imagine how devastating that must have been. I’ve read many of the letters. Rhoda was full of life, charming and delightful. My grandmother never got over losing her sisters.

2-25 closeup

I think the pattern and color really help to frame the pottery – the paper functions as a backdrop.

2-25 cabinet

The bottom shelf has yet to be sorted through and arranged. I have to clean out the craft/crap closet first. And I don’t have any more scrapbook paper. So don’t look at that shelf, ignore it. Cast your eyes upward.

That’s better.

Doing something was nice. It was simple, but I made a little change that makes me happy.

Hold on a minute: there’s more McCoy on that second shelf than there is Roseville on the top shelf.

Hmmm. That is a problem that needs to be addressed ASAP.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives