Writing by hand took time and skill long ago, before letters were written with pens dipped in ink, with fountain pens or typewriters, or via e-mail on computers.
Most of us can still write with a fountain pen, and a few of us could get clear results with a pen and ink. But Asian scholars of the past used a more complicated method of writing.
Until the early 20th century, many wrote with a brush, not a pen. The brush was stored in a brush pot that was carefully decorated, as was everything connected to the art of Asian writing.
The pot was made of carved bamboo or glazed pottery. A dry cake of ink was kept on a specially shaped inkstone in the pot. A special water dropper was used to dilute small crushed pieces of the cake, and the resulting mixture created a smooth, black ink.
Today few people recognize one of these water droppers. The oldest examples were shaped like small teapots with a hole at the top instead of a lid.
Some were just a cylinder that held the water. The favored shape was that of a peach, the symbol of longevity. Other forms were used, too, and even today you can buy new water droppers shaped like animals, birds, snails, peppers, insects or groups of objects.
Droppers are usually less than a few inches high or wide. Antique examples sell for hundreds of dollars, but new ones can cost as little as $9.99. They are used today by some calligraphers and are sought by others as collectibles.
Q: I was given a trinket box that has a note inside saying “Bennington Parian 1845.” The box is blue with raised white decorations and an applied bunch of grapes on the lid. What can you tell me about it?
A: Bennington pottery was made by two companies, the Norton Co. and the Lyman Fenton & Co., both located in Bennington, Vt. There has been a lot of confusion over Bennington pottery, and much of the pottery identified as Bennington in the past is not really Bennington.
The problem began when a major museum expert in the 1920s assumed that all pottery found in the area around Bennington was made there. Some of it actually was made somewhere else and imported into the United States.
Real Bennington pottery was marked with the name of one of the two potteries that operated in the area and with the name of the city. Both companies were out of business by 1896. Norton Co. operated under various names and partnerships from 1793 to 1894.
Lyman Fenton & Co. was in business from 1849 to 1858 and then became United States Pottery Co., which was in business from 1849 to 1858.
Archaeological digs in the area turned up pieces of Parian, but no fragments of trinket boxes or pieces with applied grapes were found.
Q: I inherited my grandfather’s mustache cup. The bottom is marked “Mignon, Z.S. & C., Bavaria.” There is a small chip near the rim. The outside and inside of the cup are decorated with roses. My grandfather was born in Can you tell me the history of this cup?
A: Your mustache cup was made by Zeh, Scherzer & Co., a factory that made porcelain in Bavaria from 1880 until 1992. “Mignon” is the name of the pattern.
Mustache cups were invented by Harvey Adams of England in 1830 and were popular until about 1900. The large, flowing mustaches in style back then often had curled and waxed ends.
Most mustache cups sell for about $50 or less. Yours would be worth less since it is chipped.
Write to Terry Kovel, (The Herald), King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
