Keeping abreast of the ongoing onslaught of majolica reproductions is not easy but I recently saw five that were new to me that I want to bring to my reader’s attention.
The first of these is a copy of a George Jones fox compote. The reproduction bears all the familiar signs of an Asian export: thick modeling, muddy semi matte glaze and crude manufacture.
Another reproduction that is new to me is a copy of a pitcher attributed to Shorter & Boulton and copied by the Eureka pottery in Trenton during the 1880's. This reproduction lacks the crisp detail of the Nineteenth Century pieces and has glazing that would never have been used in Victorian majolica.
I also recently saw an appalling copy of the George Jones oyster plate. The glazing is done using a peculiar glaze treatment, probably in an attempt to reproduce the iridescent glazes used by antique majolica.
The next reproduction is actually two different reproductions of the same piece, one worse than the next. The piece being copied is a bear pitcher made by the Skey Wilnecoate Works. The reproductions are of different quality from each other. One is poorly modeled with a pink glazed interior. The second is even more poorly modeled. The one with a blue lining and green paws is so poorly done that it's hard to imagine anyone thinking it is antique, yet I have seen them offered for sale for hundreds of dollars. It is clearly a recent product of Southeast Asia.
