COLLECTABLES
JOHN MCPHEE EVALUATES READERS’ PRECIOUS OBJECTS.
Copper stock pot, $895, copper kettle, $125, French chopping boards, $175 each, from Found. at Hepburn. Ercol Originals Chairmakers chair, $1950, from Temperature Design. Rectangular copper baking dish, $165, from French and Co. Ceramic bowl in Moss, $64, from Luna Ceramics. Strainer, $68, from Found. at Hepburn. Shelley Panton Studio Pottery pourer, $69, from The Shelley Panton Store. Bamboo platter in Black Wash, $152, from Wonki Ware Australia. Flour sieve, stylist’s own. Ausra tea towel in Navy, $29, from Abode Living. FACING PAGE, FROM LEFT Bottle, stylist’s own. Linen napkin in Deep Sea, $49.95 for a set, from Sheets on the Line. Antique banded jug, $68, from Found. at Hepburn. Wooden tasting spoon, $14, from The Shelley Panton Store. Rolling pin, $80, from Found. at Hepburn. Antique copper pan, $154, from French and Co. Ceramic bowl in Stone, from $64, from Luna Ceramics. French bread knife, $160, from Found. at Hepburn. Hario V60 Buono drip kettle in Copper, $180, from Williams-sonoma. Merci for Serax cup, $18, from Manon Bis. Wooden coffee measuring spoon, $12, from The Shelley Panton Store.
THIS CLOCK WAS given to me, as a horse-mad girl 40 years ago, by a couple that described it as “an unwanted, ugly wedding gift” years beforehand. The clock face says ‘Made in Germany’ and the base says ‘To Foreign’ (I think). Regardless of its value, I still love it — and horses. Jane Di Giuseppe, CITY BEACH, WA
Your lively stallion was made by Scheurich and Greulich near Frankfurt in Germany after World War II, which is why the base is marked ‘Foreign’. The clock itself was made by J. Hauser in West Germany. Scheurich and Greulich were manufacturers of all kinds of inexpensive ceramics, including kitchenware. These novelty clocks, which included all kinds of animals, were popular in the 1950s and 1960s. As they were inexpensive, the clocks were often prizes to be won at fairground and circus competitions. The firm still exists as Scheurich and is noted for the manufacture of ceramic vases and planters, as well as a range of plastic items. John Mcphee is an art historian who has worked in art museums for 30 years and was curator of Australian Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Australia.