Big Box o' Roseville and Hull?

Ah, the happy Hull and Roseville family o' pottery above... You folks would just not believe the good fortune I had in the past week in finding some of these little lovelies!

I had found the Hull bow style cornucopia on the right below when I was antiquing with my buddy Josette over the Fourth of July holiday...

It had been on the floor, of all places-- easily kicked, I feared-- in the first booth of an antique mall. I almost hesitated to look at the price, because bow style Hull pottery is crazy expensive. Only the price reflected a piece that was carelessly placed on the floor and not prized, so I had it in my hands in about three seconds flat.

But the real treasure chest came along with the Hull waterlily piece on the left above. And that's where a stop at an antique mall I almost had decided not to even check out presented me with more Hull and Roseville options that I even knew what to do with. And at prices, well-- I actually thought I was reading it wrong when I saw the waterlily vase and this blue and pink wildflower vase below were $15 a piece.

 $150, I figured. $15, not so much. Then there was this gorgeous Roseville bleeding heart vase...

Admittedly, this one has a repair on the top, but the price more than reflected that. Plus, where it sits, no one but an NBA player would ever see. I just loved the look of it.

I also got this (blurry, sorry) other Roseville piece. This one's in perfect condition.

Anyway, I walked away with four pieces in a cardboard box, feeling like I was Indiana Jones having just found some amazing ancient temple of treasure. There were even others, but I didn't care for the look of them so much. It was very strange to be able to pick and choose of items I normally can't touch with a ten-foot barge pole.

Here's wishing you all find the coming weekend full of favorite things, friends, family, food and even some fun finds. Cheers!

-Jenn

Treasure Box Friday: Things Coming Up Roseville

 You know, I love books on collecting and for the things I do amass I find I peruse those collectors' books like I'm pre-shopping. "Oh, if I found that one some day, it would be nice." And interestingly, I have been able to get some of the pieces I scoped out, and at thrifty prices.

This past weekend, I found one I never, ever imagined finding-- a Roseville Foxglove bowl from the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

I had seen this in my Roseville book with no hope of ever owning it myself due to Roseville's steep prices. But on Saturday, the thrift store came through for me, with a piece that is now a real star in my collection of Ohio pottery pieces.

Nice, too, the soft mint green and pink happen to perfectly match my diningroom. :)

So, that was the real treasure for me this week. Now that the humidity and high temps have swept in, my mind is just on staying cool. Alice below has been as affectionate and lazy as if she were a character in a Tennessee Williams play. :)

(And yes, you COULD scratch the fluffy belly pictured there. She doesn't mind at all. She's shameless.)

Well, hope you all are able to keep cool and find some fun this coming weekend. TGIF to you!

Pretty as a Picture

I haven't had a ton of time to post this week, but I did want to share with you all my fave find of an excursion into the hills and fields of Western Pennsylvania, where I popped by an antique mall in Apollo, PA. 

I had seen this before at the mall called We Miss Back When. But thought it was a print. It turns out it's a painting, and it was not only a good price, but it was 15% off. Which made it about $29.00 plus tax.

The artist's name is M. Giordano, and a little online research turned up a few other paintings-- one a tree-lined road, another an Italian marketplace scene. But a little research shows that M. Giordano didn't come up with the original idea for this painting-- this is a close copy of an existing painting from the Victorian era called "La Madonnina" (Little Mother) by an artist named Roberto Ferruzzi. It's also called "Madonna of the Streets." 

Interestingly, though the original painting is popularly considered to be of Jesus and Mary, it was in fact painting of a young Italian girl who was caring for her baby brother. She was only eleven when the portrait was done. (You can read more about that here on Wikipedia.)

I love the colors and the sweetness of both subjects' faces. There's a real Pre-Raphaelite wistfulness about it all and the artist did a bang-up job on capturing the original.

The painting now hangs in my entryway, along with a couple of other Victorian-styled paintings.

Well, hope the weekend ahead of you all is picture-perfect! I will talk to you next week.

--Jenn