Articles by Maurice Robertson
Antique Lamps – Nyonya - The Phoenix and the Peony -
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Maurice Robertson
Peranakan, Baba–Nyonya and Straits Chinese are all names used for the descendants of early Chinese traders, mostly from the Fukien province of China, who can trace their migration to the 14th century. Southern Malaya, Malacca, Penang and Singapore Peranakan, all translate from Malay as descendant,...
Antique Lamps with a Royal Story -
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Maurice Robertson
The importance of interior lighting is an undisputed fact with the table lamp making a major contribution. The illumination of a room, hall or living space, is only half the story, for a lamp, when viewed as more than "just lighting" can serve, along...
Antiques - Are There Really Bones In Bone China? -
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Maurice Robertson
Conventionally, the development of bone china is attributed to Josiah Spode II (1754 – 1827) who introduced it in 1797, but like many stories, bone china goes back a lot further than that. We must first acknowledge China as the first country to produce porcelain, a...
Antiques - What Does Soft Paste Porcelain Mean? -
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Maurice Robertson
Every niche subject has its specific, descriptive words, its recognised terminology. These are words of international understanding, conveying a clear picture of the object being described. In the world of antiques this is extremely important, particularly when the object is not able to be seen...
Antique Lamps – Blue and White Is Always Right! -
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Maurice Robertson
Why is blue and white so popular? Blue & white has been popular for hundreds of years, with its fresh appeal never being out of fashion. It’s interesting, but when we speak of blue and white, we nearly always think of blue and white “china”...
Behind Every Good Lamp is A Good Lamp Shade! -
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Maurice Robertson
Your beautiful lamp sits in just the right corner in your favourite room providing a welcome glow each evening. It may have once belonged to mother or that of a favourite aunt or perhaps you spent years hunting through antique shops & finally found it?...
Tea For Two -
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Maurice Robertson
The tea we drink and know so well is actually a camellia, Camellia sinensis. First discovered as a tea, or, dried leaf tip that could be added to boiling water as a drink. Its discovery was due to the ancient Chinese culture of herbal medicine...
Antique Lamps – Papier Mache -
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Maurice Robertson
Antique lamps, you would expect to be made of porcelain, glass, wood, or brass, but not paper! But, yes, there are papier mache antique lamps. Papier Mache is a French word, which literally means, mashed paper, or, sometimes, chewed paper. There is a story that...
Antique Lamps - In Peking Glass -
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Maurice Robertson
In our modern world, glass is an every day part of life, but this was not always so. The elegant and ethereal medium known as "glass" is simply and basically made of sand and, or, silica and a flux; sodium or potassium. These elements fuse...
Antique Lamps - A Classic Paris Accent Lamp -
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Maurice Robertson
When we speak of early 19th century "Paris" porcelain, we think, smart. For smart indeed, was this period of smart, sharp design. A period of neoclassic design, the return to the classic, or, “with a high regard for classical antiquity” Historically speaking, the period finds its...
Antique Lamps – A Renaissance Man -
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Maurice Robertson
Ulysses Cantagalli, is recognised today as a major 19th century Italian potter. Hardly anything is known about him prior to 1878 when he is recorded as taking over the family factory in Florence. Florence, of course, was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and Cantagalli's early...
