Beautiful galah by Grace Seccombe. Purchased January 22, 2010.
This is one of the gems I wanted to acquire this year. She is a lovely example of Grace’s galahs…the colours are rich and lifelike and she is in perfect condition.
Detailed crossed tail feathers. She stands 19 cm tall and 12 cm deep.
Grace's signature on bottom of galah: Grace Seccombe Australia
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Koala napkin ring by Grace Seccombe. Purchased on ebay, December 2009. Length 8 cm, height 4.5 cm.
Signature on koala ring: Grace Seccombe NSW
With another Seccombe napkin ring purchased earlier
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Purchased December 29, 2009
I found this at an antiques shop on the central coast of NSW. It’s a large piece, measuring 15 cm x 11 cm x 7 cm, with rich glazes of chocolatey brown, butter yellow, apple green and koala grey. The green veins on the leaves inside the dish are all raised, and the koalas are nestled together in a charming pose. It has a good weight and a natural flow to the shapes and colours and it’s in marvellous condition.
Close-up of the nestled marsupials
Rear view...note the overlapping ears
Signed Grace Seccombe Australia ... an early signature
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Salt and pepper shakers in the form of finches by Grace Seccombe, circa 1930. Purchased December 2009.
I won these at an Australiana auction conducted by Mossgreen at Tocal in the Upper Hunter, NSW earlier this month. They are very rare and stunning. The glaze on the body is a rich, striking cobalt blue; the glaze on their chests is a fine powder blue and they have yellow beaks and claws and yellow and black eyes. They’re in beautiful condition.
Rich cobalt blue glaze...very rare
The auctioneers described them as “A pair of Grace Seccombe pottery early bird salt and pepper shakers Australian circa 1930.” I think they’re finches, because in July this year a small Seccombe dish with four finches sold at auction in Melbourne. The birds on that piece are the same shape and have the same proportions as my cobalt blue models. Here’s a pic of that piece:
(Not in my collection--I won't make a habit of publishing pics of pieces I don't own)
As you can see, Grace painted the finches above in realistic colours. I’ve been through our Field Guide to the Birds of Australia and I can’t find any cobalt blue finches, or any other birds that resemble them. So I think perhaps Grace made the salt and pepper shaker finches as a try-out for the finches on the dish, and maybe she took a bit more artistic license with their glazes. Note that in the above pic she used the same cobalt blue in the centre of the dish…maybe my finches were made at the same time as the dish finches? Who knows? At any rate, my two new additions are gorgeous and typical of Grace Seccombe’s work in that they have distinctive characters all their own.
…oh, and they were a Christmas gift to me from my small dog, who sat on my lap and supervised them being photographed.
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Purchased December 2009; 14 cm high, 10.5 cm wide
I’d had my eye on this beauty for a few months and decided to buy it before it crawled away. This is one of Grace’s 14 cm spill vase models. I particularly like the realistic pose of the little fellow (the fur is beautifully textured, and the expression on its face is charming) and the rich green, butter and brown colours on the tree stump. A lot of the stumps for this size model are of the darker brown variety; the yellow and the green lift it a bit for me. It really is exquisite.
When I was photographing this, I saw that Grace had added a few daubs of blue onto the fellow's black nose...very subtle and almost undetectable
Very realistic and finely textured fur
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Sliprails by Grace Seccombe
I was lucky at the weekend to win this iconic piece at a Sydney auction. These are considered to be some of Grace Seccombe’s most charming pieces, and this one is in absolutely marvellous condition. I’ve seen a number of these over the last few months, and have noticed differences in the pieces–some of them don’t have a lot of colour beneath the sliprails and at the base of the posts, others have the legend sitting not exactly in the centre of the base, and other little variations. But when I saw this, I was determined to try and win it. The greens and browns at the base are lovely and the legend is centred beautifully. And the two little birds are in stunning condition, with beautiful gloss glazes which are typical of the piece as a whole.
Close-up of the sliprails kookaburras
...and another
The legend reads “To you the open sliprails, and a waiting friend”. I don’t know where this saying comes from, or how far it dates back, but I’ll start researching its origins. If anyone has any info on this, please feel welcome to leave a comment at the end of this post.
The view from behind...all tails intact
The piece measures 10 cm tall and 14.5 cm long. I think Grace made larger models of the sliprails also.
Grace's full autographed signature on the base of the sliprails
Purchased November 22, 2009
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Grace Seccombe miniature kingfisher. Signed GS AUS. Purchased November 2009.
Here’s the first kingfisher I’ve bought for my collection. Grace made different sizes of the kingfisher; the tallest ones stand about 17 cm tall (on a tall trunk) and about 7 cm wide. My little beauty is about 6.5 cm tall and the base is about 3.5 cm wide. The bird measures 5 cm from tip of beak to end of tail. These were not slip-cast, but completely hand-modelled.
The colours are superb: bright kingfisher blue on the top of the head and down the back, vivid green on the wings and a warm yellow belly. There is also some red under the wings and towards the tail. It stands on a stump that’s richly glazed in green, red, yellow and brown hues, and when the light changes–in the early evening–you can detect some blue in the stump as well.
These are becoming harder and harder to find…I’m thrilled to be able to add one to my collection, especially one in such superb condition. I’m going to look out for a little friend for it, so there might one day be a pair…
Another view showing the yellow tones on the belly
...and subtle red leading to the tail feathers
Grace's signature on the base of the mini kingfisher
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
A dozen pieces in the first four months, all of them exquisite...the collection as at November 1, 2009
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
No, I’m not about to present a vegetarian cooking recipe. I found this gumnut dish at a Sydney auction almost by chance. One of the few Grace Seccombe pieces without any animals on it.
Gumnut dish by Grace Seccombe. Purchased at auction, Sydney, August 2009, 10 cm in length.
The signature on the gumnut dish
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
…that in the 1930s the Japanese started making copies. There were so many potteries in Japan and materials were so affordable there that these pieces could be made very inexpensively. Consequently, they were able to retail for less than Grace’s originals which were selling through Prouds.
Examples of Grace Seccombe Japanese replica koalas and kookaburras were widely available, including copies of her bookends (the Japanese even did a Seven Little Australians bookend), bowls with koalas and kookaburras on them and standalone figurines. But these replicas don’t stand up well next to the real thing; they do not have the pleasing weight that a true Seccombe piece has, nor do they have the rich depth of paint or glaze. Nevertheless, some of the Japanese knock-offs are still charming in their own right.
Below are two pics of a c.1930s Japanese koala and baby I bought, knowing that it was a Japanese copy. I wanted to have this piece in the collection to highlight the difference in quality between the real thing and the copy. I also wanted it because, while Grace did sculpt koalas and babies on their backs, they are very hard to come by nowadays. A genuine GS koala and baby is on my wish-list, though…
Japanese copy of Grace Seccombe koala and baby. Purchased August 2009. Height 14 cm, depth 12 cm. This is modelled on Grace's 14 cm spill vase but, unlike her spill vase models, this one is not hollow in the tree trunk.
Another view of the same piece. The dealer from whom I bought this advertised it as a Japanese copy. Some dealers and auction houses are less up-front when they are selling a Japanese replica, so it pays to do one's research beforehand.
The underside of the Japanese copy. No signature, no "rough" kiln swirls, no tiny skewer hole.
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Later on in her career, Grace made various pieces which were sold in the souvenir shop at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, NSW, Australia. These pieces are small and delightful and, while they are not anywhere near as detailed as her other work, they are still very collectable. The koalas on the two pieces below have a stipple-finish, and each little marsupial has a character all its own.
Grace didn’t sign the Taronga pieces; it’s thought that this is because she had an agreement with Prouds, a Sydney jewellery and gift shop for whom she made many of her other pieces, not to sign the Taronga tourist items.
Below are two pieces I have: the first is a pencil holder and the second a little trough vase…
Pencil holder, purchased June 2009
Taronga trough vase, 11 cm long, purchased July 2009
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
A vase, about 10 cm high, c.1930s. It has the original paper label underneath from Primrose Pottery Shop. Unusual and not widely found...
The glaze on the trunk is rich and deep, and the colours are far more vibrant than in this photo
The underside with the original Primrose Pottery Shop label, c. 1930s
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Below is a small kookaburra napkin ring in excellent condition. It is only about 8 cm long and the branch to base is 5 cm tall. The kookaburra is 3.5 cm tall and 4.5 cm from tip of beak to end of tail feathers. I’ve published the photos below at large sizes to show the exquisite detail of the glaze and painting.
Kookaburra napkin ring with majolica glaze by Grace Seccombe, excellent condition; purchased early September 2009...very rare.
Another view of the kookaburra napkin ring
...and another. Note the end beneath the ring, which is in perfect condition. There is another kookaburra napkin ring currently for sale from a dealer, which has the end chipped off, and the ring is in the deeper brown glaze.
Tail view
Close-up of the beauty on the napkin ring
The kooka napkin ring is signed Grace Seccombe NSW and it has the original label from Primrose Pottery Shop in Melbourne, which sold Australian art pottery in the 1920s and 1930s
Here’s another small set of items: a koala salt and pepper condiments set, both signed GS Aus on the bottoms. Circa 1930s:
Purchased on ebay, September 2009, each 7.5 cm tall
Signature on the base of the salt shaker (the pepper pot is also signed)
I rescued the little koala below through an internet auction from a woman in Oregon, USA. She found it in a thrift shop! Many of Grace’s pieces are to be found overseas from Australia; in the 1930s and 1940s they were bought by tourists, as they were considered higher-end tourist pieces:
Seven and a half centimetres tall, signed GS Aus; purchased August 2009
Grace's signature on this piece. The hole is a skewer hole she made in many of her pieces to avoid explosions in the kiln. More often than not, you'll find a skewer hole underneath or on the side of a true Grace Seccombe piece.
Below is one of the first pieces I bought: a 12 cm high kookaburra. Beautiful condition. Rare because Grace mostly made this design at about 14 cm (and then of course there are smaller and much larger kookaburras in all sorts of different designs and poses):
Purchased July 2009; beautiful condition
Another angle. This beauty has a gorgeous blue beak with yellow underneath, blueish claws and subtle blue spots and streaks through her plumage.
The 12 cm kooka from the rear
And here is a very tiny Kookaburra pepper shaker. It’s about 4.5 cms tall and exquisitely painted, as are all of Grace’s pieces:
Purchased October 2009
View from the other side. This little fellow arrived full of ancient pepper, so old it had lost all of its smell! It took me over an hour to shake it all out.
The original cork stopper in the base of the kookaburra pepper pot
Here’s a delightful koala, 10.4 cm high, bought at a Sydney auction in July 2009. Signed underneath: GS AUS. I especially love the lighter glaze on the tree stump…it’s gorgeous:
Bought July 2009, Sydney, from Shapiro Auctions. Often called Billy Bluegum (as are the bigger, 21 cm tall models).
Another view. This fellow has the typical Grace Seccombe crinkly ears.
...and from another angle because he's so superb
The signature on the Billy Bluegum koala
…and this splendid dish I bought at the AAADA Show, held in Sydney in September 2009…the green in the dish is rich and strong, much more vibrant than in my photo. The dish is about 10 cm long and the little fellow stands about 4 cm high:
Koala pin dish, signed GS Aus
Another angle
Grace's signature on the koala pin dish
I’ll post more pics of my collection soon. Meanwhile, enjoy!
To see the full collection (so far) piece by piece, you can also click on the heading at the very top of this page and then scroll down.
Original post: October 11 2009
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jan | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | ||||||
g s collector