ARTICLES

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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…

BY JOHN HAWKINS

A gold and Scottish river pearl Celtic Cross marked Kildonan, probably made in the workshop of the Edinburgh goldsmith, Peter Westren, circa 1869, who advertised such crosses for sale. The brooch commemorates St. Donan who founded the kirk at Kildonan in the 7th century on a tributary to the Helmsdale River in Sutherland. Mined for only one year using the Australian system of a Digger’s Licence, in this case issued by the landowner, the Duke of Sutherland. The…