Friday 23 November 2012

ENCHANTED CHILDHOOD ~ Crown Staffordshire 'Pixie' Bowl

Crown Staffordshire 'Pixies' Cereal/fruit bowl circa 1906

Taken just before the demolition of the Minerva Works
Photo: Aug 2001
website origin

When you live in a tiny cottage what you collect must be small, and it is especially wonderful when you find items which combine some of your 'Objects of Desire' into one. This little bowl which is over a hundred years old has delightfully done just that.  

This is a rare Crown Staffordshire 'Pixies' Cereal/fruit bowl circa 1906, beautifully hand painted and very fine china. Yes, it is cracked, but at it's age a little imperfection is to be expected. We love it.

We do not know who the artist was, (but would love to). They make it looks effortless, and it probably was for them. Some people have the gift of magical creatures and beings appearing at a wave of their hand.




Over the years we have amassed a lot of collections.  Dragons and all things wearing pointy hats being just two of them. Not to mention Mushrooms, Butterflies and Rabbits.

We are supposed to source items to sell, but sometimes they just belong in our cottage.


Gnome with Dragon Hatchling

And this ..... is a gentleman wearing a nicely pointy red hat with a Dragon hatchling. Why?  No idea, but we do like them a lot. It has a mark which says 1994 DHM and it is china not resin. As you can see, they are very happy together. If anyone might know anything more about them please tell us!

Meanwhile all of the Pixies, Dragons and Pointy Hatted ones are dwelling happily ever after in our cavernous display case in a corner.

23 comments:

  1. How very darling is that plate!! x

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  2. What a lovely bowl! Have a nice weekend.

    Hugs

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  3. I Adore that bowl, thank you for showing it to us.

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  4. That bowl is precious and I always enjoy the words you have in your blog to go along... Ann

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  5. Maybe it's because I was a Brownie, long ago - but I am drawn to pixies and elves, fairies and gnomes. The bowl is so very sweet - of course it has to be yours!

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  6. To keep a collection houseable is difficult. Your gnom looks funny - and the pixy plate lovely. One always has to decide what has to go after a while; e.g. I collected glass stickers for punch - they are tiny - but have given up now, only kept a few. Now I 'collect' with my camera - but even that can give problems: have a look at my dilemma on berlinletters.blogspot.com ...

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    1. Love your Berlin blog! Yes, photos can even become difficult to store if you take a lot as we do. xx

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  7. What a lovely garden gnome :) especially so since it is friend with a dragon *lol*
    DHM should stand for Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum) with 1994 the inventory number. I think it would be worth contacting them to find out the past of your gnome :)
    http://www.dhm.de/datenbank/dhm.php?seite=10&db=0

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    1. Thank you so much! I am checking this out, I did wonder if this was German. x

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  8. What a great find!

    Wish you a lovely Sunday! See you on Pinterest :-)

    Madelief x

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  9. What a wonderful find! I can quite see why it had to stay. In fact I think I would find it so hard to part with any finds, how do you manage it! The little creatures remind me a little of the work by Jessie M King, but im sure it would say so if it were by her. Wouldn't it be fab if you could find out who the artist was. Good luck.

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    1. Thank you Ruthie, I agree, it did remind me of Jessie when i first found it. I will keep searching for information.x

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  10. ...Did someone say 'pixie bowl',, was this made for me i wonder?, what a wonderful find, i too live in a teeny weeny cottage and all my collectables need to be incredibly small so i know the feeling..
    ...'But a pixie bowl',,,fantastic.
    Pixie x

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    1. Hee hee! I know, thought of you at once! Sadly a lot of things which we fall for are not Pixie sized, so our cottage is rather full. x

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  11. Oh, I could never have parted with this pixie bowl either. Can you imagine all the stories it could tell and all the children it has known? This is a treasure indeed!

    Bises,
    Genie

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    1. genie, You are right, it would be so wonderful to know who had owned it, and what it meant to them.

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  12. Minerva,
    What a cute and graceful "Pixies Bowl" it is. I am not familiar with this story, but I can guess mothers tell the story to children before bed. The pixies will bring children sound sleep.
    Imperfection is more appreciated in tea ceremony in Japan than perfection. A crack or flaw will add even more tastefullnes to the pottery.
    Gnome and dragon are a very interesting combination. Does the dragon symbolize some vegetation?
    All of them look smiling and happy in the display case.
    keiko

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    1. Keiko, This is most interesting! I did not know that inperfections were valued in the china used in tea ceremony. Thank you. x

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  13. What a Delightfully Graphic piece! It makes me sad though when any Architectural Treasure like The Minerva Works is demolished... but Thankfully, those of us who are Keepers Of The Past can Save just a tiny fraction of the History and Preserve it for Future Generations to Enjoy and learn to Appreciate the Workmanship and Creativity of. Thanks for stopping by for a Blog Visit and leaving such sweet words! I Adore Wearable Art as well as other types of Art, so that was a lovely compliment you bestowed. Feasts for the Eyes is what Enchants and Inspires me most. The World can never have enough Beauty and Creativity.

    Blessings and a Merry Christmas from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  14. What an adorable little bowl - such exquisite little sketches. I can understand whay it will be staying with you - it wouldn't have left my cottage door either if I had found it!

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  15. Thank you for popping over to see me. This is a return call - and what a delight to see that pixie bowl. I too love old items that fit into our farmhouse - and new items too. I especially love brown hares - sculptures, pictures, anything which shows a brown hare to perfection. All portrayals are not right - some just do not have 'hare-ness' and I expect it is the same for you - some things attract and some do not. Do call and see me again.

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