Good as Gold
I purchased this lovely piece of porcelain recently in a charity shop. Having done some po"ery myself, I realised the quality of the workmanship. I would like to know the function of the piece and if it has a value (despite there being a small piece missing from one of the feet). Win Clason, by email
It is rather lovely and a lucky "nd (I am not at all envious!) This is a Bough pot: a vessel o$en used to decorate a
"replace in the summer with stems of %owers and branches. Essentially it is a vase with small openings to the top. It is a term we rarely use now, but was very common in the 18th and 19th centuries. I suspect this was made at the Royal Worcester porcelain works as the quality of the gold and platinum lustre against that rich blue ground really is superb. It is very similar to pieces in the Aesthetic style made during the 1860s and 1870s. At auction, I would suggest £ 200 to £300. AS mahogany but it also has inlaid details on the top and drawer fronts in another wood. I recently used it as my project for a French polishing course and feel that it has come up very nicely with a fantastic patina and lustre to the wood. There is a label in one of the drawers that reads ‘ Wolfe & Hollander Ltd, To"enham Court Road’. I believe all the handles and #" ings are original. It is the sister piece to a large wardrobe of the same design.
Gertrude Wells, Somerset
I love the label on your chest. Wolfe & Hollander was a large store on To!enham Court Road in London. Founded in 1896, it also had branches in Bromley, Kingston and elsewhere. The company mainly specialised in home furnishings but, as your label says, it also o#ered other services. This chest is typical Edwardian, c 1910–15, and would have been part of a larger suite, perhaps even with a matching washstand, bed and pot cupboard. It is mahogany with machine-made inlaid borders and it may originally have had a mirror back. Although not currently fashionable, it obviously has strong family ties. Retail value would be around £ 80. LL
The style hints at south- east Asia. When your father bought it in 1944, it was probably typical of a wide range of handmade objects from many countries aimed at the souvenir market. At that point in the war, many British and Allied military and civilian men and women were serving in India, and they all wanted things to take or send home that felt exotic. It is hard to specify the function, however, cigarette boxes were very popular. The financial value of the box is not great, probably under £50, but the link to your father and mother is much more important.