ARTICLES

A FOCUS ON COLOURED STONES

RUTHERFORD

18ct yellow gold necklace set with a cushion cut peridot of estimated weight 1.66ct set into a crimp setting (remade) fixed to a length of 18ct yellow gold chain which fastens with a bolt ring the necklace hallmarked for items made in Egypt of 18ct gold in 1919.

Circa 1890, 18ct yellow and white gold ring claw set to the…

AAADA PARTNERS WITH THE JOHNSTON COLLECTION

The Johnston Collection is delighted to announce a new partnership with the Australian Antique and Art Dealers Association (AAADA). 

The Johnston Collection (TJC) is an award-winning house museum located in leafy East Melbourne at the historic 1860s townhouse, Fairhall. The museum holds a superb collection of English Georgian, Regency, and Louis XV fine and decorative arts and hosts a unique program of guided tours, lectures, workshops, and events. 

Fairhall and the Collection were a gift to the people of Victoria from…

MAXIMALISM & THE DECLUTTERING TREND: CAN THE TWO COEXIST?

Tira Lewis, Australian Antique & Art Dealers Association 

Let’s first dissect these two ideas. Maximalism is the art of pairing bold colours, bright patterns, various woods, and patinas with silver, gold, and glass of every colour and style! If this sounds like visual overload, the trend may not be for you, but you can still incorporate elements of it.

Start with something you love, like a set of silver cutlery you’ve had tucked away. Begin by setting the table for dinner, then layer it with additional elements such as a bunch of…

A boxed set of four silver candlesticks mounted on large matched blocks of greenstone.

J.B. HAWKINS ANTIQUES

Between 1885 and 1905 Frank Hyams ran a watchmaking and jewellery business in Princess Street, Dunedin. When his first wife Elle Hallenstein died in 1895, he married her London-based cousin Hilda in 1897 and he moved to London in 1898. The Hallensteins founded a clothing, retail and manufacturing empire in Otago with 34 stores throughout New Zealand by 1900. In New Zealand in 1901 he had made the gift…

AN IMPORTANT GOLD RING by CHARLES JONES of HOBART

TRINITY ANTIQUES

Charles Jones was a jeweller and silversmith from Birmingham who was transported to Tasmania as a result of an altercation in his workshop. He arrived on the ‘Georgiana’ in 1833 and was assigned to David Barclay.

Previously recorded work by Jones includes the ‘Mezger’ silver snuff box c. 1848, the ‘Williamson’ silver snuff box c. 1850 and the ‘Allison’ silver presentation cup c 1850.

This ring, crafted from Tasmanian alluvial gold features natural gold nuggets…

THE FASCINATING AUSTRALIAN CAREER OF WORLD WAR II REFUGEE, ARTIST ERNEST MARCUSE

BY ROBERT (BOB) METSELAAR

Just like the Harbour Bridge, this is an iconic painting about the construction, prior to its accidental partial collapse in 1970 of Melbourne’s Westgate Bridge, used by millions of motorists every week, and currently being expanded.

Born in Berlin, Ernest Marcuse (1900–‘85) studied at the Berlin School of Interior Design & Cabinetmaking and at the Reimann School (1) before working as a freelance commercial artist, specialising in architectural, industrial and figurative drawing. When Ernest Marcuse fled…

DELICATE, ELEGANT, AND COLORFUL KAKIEMON

ETRURIA ANTIQUES

Kakiemon decoration is a distinctive style of Japanese porcelain that emerged in the late 17th century. Named after its creator, Sakaida Kakiemon, this style of porcelain is characterized by its delicate, elegant, and colourful designs featuring motifs such as birds, flowers, and landscapes. The decorations are typically set against a milky-white, translucent background called “Nigoshide.” Kakiemon porcelain became highly sought after in Europe, particularly in the 18th century.

GOOD, BETTER BEST. SILVER FOR EVERY POCKET.

SILVER SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA

One of the nicest things about collecting silver is that you can find objects that you can actually use without fear of chipping or breaking them. Furthermore, you can find useful items in almost every price range.

If you come from a generation that eats avocado whole, you can enhance the pleasure of eating it with a Georgian teaspoon at a cost of well under $100. The shape of an early George III fiddle pattern teaspoon…

JESSIE SCARVELL 1862 – 1950

LAURAINE DIGGINS FINE ART
diggins.com.au

Scarvell was a student of William Lister Lister and exhibited regularly with the Art Society of New South Wales in the 1890s. She was an exponent of Australian Impressionism and painted en plein air and her work is represented in the S.H. Ervin collection and the Art Gallery of NSW. Scarvell was selected to be included in the Exhibition of Australian Art in London organised by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South…

TOFT WARE

CERAMIC COLLECTORS SOCIETY

English brothers Thomas Toft and Ralph Toft were early exponents of the English slipware-style, so much so that the practice is sometimes referred to as “Toft ware” regardless of who produced the piece.

Thomas and Ralph Toft created large slipware plates, dishes and platters, boldly decorated with trailed-slip decoration, and are now highly prized pieces held in several museums around the world.

Thomas, whose work is most prevalent to see in museum collections today, potted in Staffordshire, England, in the mid- to late-1600s. He…

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