Some of my most favorite pieces are Pearlware. I love the light feel, the grayish white background and the soft blue pattern on each of these pieces. At some point I ordered this beautiful set and it was shipped from the UK. It was marked as having damage but to my surprise this is what I saw when I unpacked it. It was the first time I had laid eyes on a piece where metal staples had been used to repair a piece of china.
I was so happy to get an almost complete set. It is missing the center piece but I used a potted meat willow container simply to keep the pieces in line in the wooden tray. The piece is unmarked but is probably late 1800’s. It is simply gorgeous. I fell in love with the stapled pieces!
I was simply amazed that pieces of china would be repaired using staples. In my research I found they actually use a small drill to drill through the china to put the staple in, size the staple (often brass) and then they fill in afterwards with a glue or filler of sorts. This set truly has a special place in my heart due to those staples. Someone really loved and cherished this piece. I fell in love with the finale as well.
Next up is one of my favorite items. My collection is geared towards very old English pieces as well as toby jugs, cows, cats and figurines. Toby jugs are a huge passion of mine, although my friend Mason has me beat with a collection that will knock your socks off!!!!
To the naked eye, he looks to be in great condition with some minor paint loss but upon close examination you can see they used metal staples to reattach a broken handle. Again this is amongst my favorite pieces because someone loved it so much they repaired it! He had to be special. I call him Cliff….no idea why but he is now Cliff.
Now, if you are interested in seeing the technique used to repair pieces like this take a look at the video below:
I can’t imagine putting a small hand drill or a hammer near my precious willow items. BTW… I love that he has a blue willow cup and saucer sitting with his coffee or tea in it!!!!
For now, lets all enjoy the fact that we all have some brokenness in our lives. We all need some mending somewhere. Enjoy your stapled pieces of willow and share on my Facebook page (Blue Willow Treasures)!!!! I love seeing other people’s finds.
Happy willowing!
Christine
Blue Willow Treasures - A collectors showcase 