This past weekend I attended one of my favorite kind of estate sales: a very old Washingtonian family in a very old grand house. The family bought said house during the great depression after selling their huge estate and literally never touched the house again: not paint, no adding furniture, etc. Shabby chic would be a great term (if it wasn't already attached to something quite different). I wish I had some pictures to share with you of the house but I never thought of taking any snapshots unfortunately.
Sloans and Kenyon, a local auction house, hosts the best estate sales of the oldest families here in town. If they're hosting you know you need to be there! I had a huge haul (including literal armfuls of linens which I spent all day Sunday oxy-cleaning, laundering, and ironing) and just a few of the items are shown here in this post.
One item I purchased remains a bit of a mystery. This small pitcher reminds me of belleek ware - the collectible paper-thin Irish porcelain, but is unsigned.
Notice it is double walled, the outer wall being pierced with a continuous inner lining. The only marking is an S.72. and an LS scratched into the glazing. I can't figure out who made the thing.
Any idea who could have made my new treasure?
Stefan if it is small the obvious would be a cream pitcher and maybe had been part of a set; or syrup server, I love the pierced look! Knowing the maker, though, I have no idea as I've not seen this double walled design before..
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
jealous of your opportunities for those delicious estate sales...
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a Third Republic Sèvres date-stamp. If it's black (as it appears) it was made out of the "new" hard paste.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous - I did some quick internet research and it is indeed Sevres -I found an nearly identical teaset up at auction which featured some gilding but otherwise identical. see it here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chadelaud.com/Royal-Sevres-Manufacture-Reticulated-Sevres-porcelain-Tete-tete-service-white-and-gold-color-DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=6&tabindex=5&objectid=157608&categoryid=5781
Looks like you found out what is it - it's really very beautiful with the outer pierced layer. Great tip too on which sales to go to!
ReplyDeleteHi, Stefan,
ReplyDeleteI understand that there's a Saturday flea market in Georgetown where items from some of the estates you've described end up. Have you ever looked into that?
Mark - we go to the fleamarket occasionally. It's better to go direct to the source of the estate sales if you enjoy them. Seeing the houses is the bonus! cut out the middle-man dealer (most of them are really kind of crazy)
ReplyDeleteHow satisfying to have your mystery solved. The wonders of the internet and knowledgeable commenters!
ReplyDeleteIf you enjoy flea markets at all, the next time you visit San Francisco, make your way over to the Alameda Flea Market on the first Sunday of each month. You won't be disappointed and the prices are very reasonable.
No mention of whose estate sale this is from?
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