Philadelphia Antiques Show 2016_

W 128 W From the Collection of… From the Collection of… James Kilvington James M. Kilvington, Inc., Dover, DE The first chest I saw with this type of decoration was in a collection in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, about 30 years ago. It was offered to me by a family originally from the SW corner of Sussex County (the very bottom corner of the most Southern county in the state). After examination I chose not to buy the chest as I felt the decoration was later than the chest. Both that chest and the chest in this exhibit have an oxidized robin’s egg blue base color and the over-painted free flowing asymmetrical floral decoration. The style of the decoration reminded me of floral still life painting that was popular around 1900. My conclusion was the chest had its original base decoration and later someone added the flowers. Years later I discovered this chest in a collection. I knew it was not the same chest since the owner told me he bought it in the 1950s. A short time later the Biggs Museum of American Art had an exhibition of Delaware blanket chests. Included was a miniature blanket chest that had a recessed front panel. Although the chest was refinished, the same floral decoration remained in the panel. At this, I decided the same hand had decorated all three pieces and that the flowers were original. To prove this, paint analysis was performed showing all pigments of the same age. My next thought was, why? Thinking I would never know the reason I put my mind at rest and just enjoyed the chest. A few years ago I was visiting the International Show in New York. I walked into an English dealer’s booth and discovered an oak cupboard (c. 1800) with raised panels decorated with the same floral motifs. I asked the dealer if he had ever seen this decoration before and if he knew where the piece originated. He said he was aware of other examples and the origin was Wales. Mystery solved—many of the inhabitants of SW Sussex County were from Wales. I wish I had bought the first chest. Robin & Arthur Kaplan Arthur Guy Kaplan, Baltimore, MD Over thirty years ago Arthur and I were at an auction when an unglazed pot featuring two bunnies caught my eye. I had no idea what it was, I only knew I had to have it. Breaking the first rule of buying at auctions, I bid on it without having first examined it. Luckily, the pot was perfect. Once home and after a little research, I learned that it was a caneware unglazed game pot. Popularized by Wedgwood in the late 18th century during a flour shortage, the pots were designed to look like the pastry covered pies that adorned the sideboards of the English manor after the hunt. The pots remained fashionable through the 19th century and were produced by several firms. This pot was made by the Austrian firm of William Shiller & Son in the mid 19th century. The pots created by WS&S are extremely whimsical, often with hatching chicks, birds in flight, bunnies in cabbages and, like this pot, full figural animals. The typical game pots, oval in shape, and varying in size, and made by Wedgwood, are not terribly difficult to find. The more unusual ones made by WS&S are very hard to find as they were not as popular as the ones made in England. Having found most of our examples at antiques shows, when our daughter was young we would bribe her with a finder’s fee if she found one. It served the duel purpose of keeping her busy and having an extra pair of eyes looking. In fact, she found some of the most interesting examples we have. Not long ago we found a beautiful pot with delicately carved clam shells and a dolphin on top tucked away in a corner of a South Florida flea market. It was a very rare one for a great price! Forty some pots later with overflowing shelves, we are still finding examples that we’ve never seen.