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Bone china is a type
of porcelain that is composed of a
minimum of 30% bone
ash, (feldspar) and (clay). Developed by English
potter Josiah Spode, bone china is known
for its high levels of whiteness, very high mechanical
strength and chip resistance. |
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Cloisonné is an
ancient technique for decorating
metalwork objects, in recent centuries
using vitreous enamel. The decoration is
formed by first adding compartments to
the metal object by soldering or
adhering silver or gold wires on their
edges. These remain visible in the
finished piece, which are often of
several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects
are worked on with enamel powder made
into a paste, which then needs to be
fired in a kiln. |
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Cameo: Is an item of
jewelry or such that has been carved
from a natural stone or shell. It nearly
always features a raised (positive)
relief image and is carved to accentuate
the different colors in the stone or
shell used. In contrast with Intaglio,
which has a negative relief and is found
in genuine signet rings. |
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Depression Glass: Is
clear, colored or translucent glassware
that was distributed free, or at low
cost, in the United States around the
time of the Great Depression. Depression
glass can be found in many colors and
styles. |
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Flow blue is a style of white
earthenware or porcelain, that
originated sometime in the 1820s, among
the Staffordshire potters of England.
The name is derived from the blue glaze
that blurred or "flowed" during the
firing process. Most flow blue ware is a
kind of transferware, where the
decorative patterns were applied with a
paper stencil to often white-glazed
blanks, or standard pottery shapes,
though some wares were hand painted. The
stencils burned away in the kiln.
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Folk Art:
encompasses art produced from an
indigenous culture, peasants or
other laboring trades people. Antique
folk art is distinguished from
traditional art in that while it is
collected today based mostly on its
artistic merit; it was never produced as
a category to be art.
Examples include: weathervanes, old
store signs and carved figures,
itinerant portraits, carousel horses,
fire buckets, painted game boards, cast
iron doorstops and many other similar
lines of highly collectible antiques.
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Jasperware, or jasper ware, is a type of
stoneware first developed by Josiah
Wedgwood. It
is noted for its matte finish and is
produced in a number of different
colors, of which the best known is a
pale blue that has become known as
"Wedgwood Blue". The term "jasper" (in
Jasperware) is derived from an opaque
crypto-crystalline variety of quartz. |
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Jewels in
a watch movement: are not what you see
on the outside. In fact: polished jewel
"bearings" are made for the moving parts
inside the watch. If these jeweled parts
were "metal on metal", the watch would
wear out fast. Watches that have a
“jeweled movement” have a much longer
working life.
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Lithophane: Is
molded artwork in thin very translucent
porcelain that can only be seen clearly
when back lit with a light source. No
pigment is used rather the thickness of
the item renders the variation in tone. |
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Micro Mosaics: Are a
special form of mosaic that uses
unusually very tiny mosaic pieces of
glass, or in later Italian pieces an
enamel-like material, to make small
figurative images & jewelry. |
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Moriage: is a
special type of raised decoration used
on some Japanese pottery. Sometimes
pieces of clay were shaped by hand and
applied to the item; sometimes the clay
was squeezed from a tube in the way we
apply cake frosting. One type of moriage
is called Dragonware.
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Nielloware Siam: Niello is an alloy
(black metallic) containing sulphur,
copper, silver & lead - it's used as
inlay on base metals which are typically
engraved - Niello can be used as a
filler & usually is seen in cut-metal or
reticulated design work. Siam was
the name of Thailand before 24 June 1939
and again from 8 September 1945 to 20
July 1949.
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Occupied Japan: Was
printed on pottery, porcelain, toys, and
other goods made during the American
occupation of Japan after World War II,
from 1945 to 1952. Collectors now search
for these pieces. The items were made
for export. |
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Repoussé: Is a
metalworking technique in which a
malleable metal is ornamented or shaped
by hammering from the reverse side.
It is also known as embossing. Chasing
is the opposite technique to repoussé,
and the two are used in conjunction to
create a finished piece. The term
chasing is derived from the noun
"chase", which refers to a groove,
channel or indentation. |
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Trench Art: Is
commonly defined as any decorative item
made by soldiers, prisoners of war or
civilians, where the manufacture is
directly linked to armed conflict or its
consequences. |
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Uranium Glass: Or
Vaseline glass is a glass once made into
tableware and household items, which has
had uranium added to it prior to
melting to obtain the unique green
color. The proportion usually varies
from trace levels to about 25% by weight
uranium in some 19th-century
pieces. Uranium glass turns neon green
when exposed to ultraviolet light. |
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