I haven't counted the pitchers we have, but here are a few, in the china cabinet I inherited from my dad. Any oak furniture we inherited were pieces my dad picked up. (The other wooden heirlooms were from my mom's parents or grandparents, or even great grandparents).
The little Belleek (bowing) lady in the top and second photos is one of my faves, given by my sister Nancy.
This little madonna is not a pitcher (obviously), but a soft stone sculptured piece from our days in Turkey. Don't recall exactly where we picked her up, out East I think, maybe Cappadocia.
The stacked pitchers below are for sauces and gravy. The bottom one, along with the stacks of plates and bowls here, are from the Johnson Bros set I bought at auction for $55 - service for 12! Later the set was appraised for $2,000. :)
12 comments:
I think that a lot of people have china that they really like and even know on what occasion they got it, so that means it is kept with great love, dusted with great love, touched with great love and brings out a smile when we think about the people who gave it to us, or that we know where we were when we got it, thanks for sharing, I think it is a nice collection.
You're right, we did buy her in Cappadocia. A Turkish lady was sculpting chunks of rock into different shapes and selling them on a kilim. I actually wanted to buy the kilim, but she wouldn't sell it because her grandmother had made it. I bought the sculpture instead. I wish I had bought the sheep she was carving too!
Thank you, Astrid, for your nice words. Family china does have such nice memories. Sometimes pieces break, and there is a small heartache. An old farm woman had these for many years before I "inherited" them.
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Don, your memory is so much better than mine. I don't recall any of that! I do remember that women harvesting painting we didn't get and regretted.
The little figure is gorgeous! The primitive feel of her design coupled with the porous stone gives her a such an earthy primitive feel. I'm 9 hours from the nearest decent museum (and am not a big traveler) so it is really great to see something brought from so far away. Thanks!
All those inherited things tells their own precious stories.
I have been already thinking, whom I will give my own inherited things to.
It is extremely difficult, you can guess.
I have to take photos and tell stories of my inherited things for grandchildren. Thank you for an idea, Ruth!
Sharon, thanks, and you're welcome. The stone, which is volcanic ash, is what the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia are made of, and people carved out rooms for themselves to live in, quite incredible.
Leena, it must be challenging to think about that, but nice to do while you're still around and have them close to you, and know their personalities. Glad you got the idea!
I read this the other day but forgot to comment. I enjoyed the trip through the china cabinet.
your photos have a real warmth about them.
Oh that lovely old china is so special, What a crazy deal... one of those times when you took a chance and it worked out...
love the contrast in the photos...
what a sweet collection of pitchers too.. loving hands passing it on from one generation to another
Gwen, I like pitchers for so many things: flower vases, holding feathers we find on the farm, as well as sauces, cream, etc. I have a hard time resisting them at yard sales, flea and antique markets. But this house is much smaller than our last one, so I don't have room to display them outside of this cabinet. I think I collect pitchers the way you collect shells.
Now that Donica's mom has died and we have inherited some of her dishes and crystal, I want to take the time to find special places for them. Thanks for this inspiration, Ruth. I will take careful time to set them all apart!
Boots, ohh, that's good that you found an idea that inspired you here. Those will be precious items to remember her by.
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