Ask an Expert
Do you have a charming ceramic or heirloom piece of furniture you’d love to know more about? Or perhaps you’ve recently acquired an intriguing antique that’s missing its backstory? Our experts are here to enlighten you
Have you seen this dog?
This is a photo of one of !ve French cartoon-style pictures we were given many years ago that I recently found in our lo". They all measure 38cm x 28cm. We can’t quite make out the signature, but it’s something similar to ‘O.K.Pein’. We would be very interested to !nd out more about them. Bridget Turner, via email The illustration you’ve sent us an image of appears to be by Arthur Boris O’Klein, a French artist and cartoonist. O’Klein is known for his prints and watercolours of dogs – o!en with recognisably human characteristics – ge"ing into a series of scrapes. His works have been o#ered primarily in France and the USA at auction, with a few in the UK. They typically fetch between £100-£300, depending on the subject. JB
From the Orient?
I’ve always wondered about the history and age of this sweet water jug. I bought it around !ve years ago in an antiques shop in Morpeth, where we live. Thanks to its bright colours and chinoiserie style, I feel it may be Victorian. It’s around 13cm tall with no chips or cracks and the base is marked with an ‘R’ in a starburst. I paid £8 for it and would love to learn more about this pre#y piece. Lindsay Robinson, via email The mark on the base is one used by William Ratcli#e, who was active in the Hanley area of the Sta#ordshire po"eries between 1831 and 1840. So the jug may date from the very early years of Queen Victoria’s reign, or more possibly from that of William IV. This example is in the oriental style, being printed in underglaze blue and then hand-coloured over the top in an Anglicised version of the Imari pale"e. Although the style is very much Far Eastern, the jug in fact was probably produced as a copy of the stone china wares being produced by the highly successful Mason’s factory at the same time. It may once have been part of a graduated set of jugs, or perhaps came with a basin. At auction, I would expect it to make less than £30. CD