Art Pottery

Vintage Mid

Vintage Mid Century German Ceramic Flower* Plants* Vase*Dish* by Jasba*50′s* $49.00

Vintage Mid Century Ceramic Wall Vase Germany – 50′s* $24.00

Vintage Mid Century German Blue Ceramic Vase*Marked*50′s* $39.00

Antique Vintage Mid Century German Ceramic Vase – 50′s – $24.00

Antique Vintage Mid Century Flower German Large Ceramic Vase-60′s- Bay Ceramic* $59.00

Vtg Clay Ceramic Pottery Creamer Pitcher Mid Century Modern Schoovhoven, Holland $3.99

Vtg Scarce Stangl Art Pottery Double pear shape bowl mid century modern $18.00

Vtg GONDER Ceramic Art Pottery Ewer Pitcher USA Signed OHIO MId Century Modern $9.99

Vintage Mid-Century Blue Double Handle Art Deco Pottery Vase – Shawnee McCoy $5.95

Shawnee Pottery Vintage Pink Vase Retro Mid Century Modern Eames Atomic Cone $18.00

(2) VINTAGE MID-CENTURY Modern Art Pottery Vases Made Italy $34.99

Vtg Mid Century Modern Divided Triangle Dish Brown Turquoise Drip Pottery Mod $8.50

Mid Century Studio Pottery McCoy Hull Hippo Hippopotamus Vintage Rare $50.00

Vintage Walter Sullivan Roche Vase-Mid Century Modern Turquoise Glaze Great Shap $110.00

Mid Century Studio Pottery Hutchens Vintage Rare $74.95

Vintage Italy Art Pottery Wall Plaque or Ashtray Mid-Century Modern Raymor era $44.00

Mid Century Studio Robert Maxwell Muir Bowl Vase Vintage California Pottery $45.00

Mid Century Ceramic Porcelain Elephant Mexico Vintage $43.00

MID CENTURY MODERN ABSTRACT Eames Era FISH Pottery Dish Celery Bowl Vintage $34.99

Mid Century Ceramic Chess Set Vintage Peter Ganine $110.00

Vintage Figgjo Flint Lotte Pattern Skillet Norway Retro Eames Mid Century 12009 $14.50

Mid Century Pot Planter Vintage German McCoy Hull Fat Lava Salt Glaze $45.00

Vintage Mid Century California Pottery Ashtray Freeman & McFarlin Avocado Green $8.00

Mid Century Vintage Raised Glaze Vase Signed Parker $35.00

VINTAGE MID CENTURY MODERN Italian Pottery Table Lamp SIGNED Off White Hand Made $145.00

Vintage Italy Majolica Pottery Giraffe 14″ Tall Theiselman Imports Mid Century $399.99

Vtg Eames Mid Century Modern Ribbed Avocado Green Mccoy Art Pottery Planter Vase $9.99

7 Vintage Blue Mountain Pottery Animal FIGURINES DISH URN CANADA MID CENTURY $49.99

VINTAGE MID CENTURY MODERN ITALIAN Pottery Table LAMP INCISED Leaf Design $175.00

Vintage Mid Century Mod Turquoise Blue Green Aqua California Pottery Cream Sugar $4.99

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Cleaning Your Vintage China

I love the thrill of hunting down vintage items for myself and for my stores. But it can be dirty work. Finding pristine mid century items, for example, can mean digging around in the back of kitchen cupboards at estate sales for the quality wedding list pieces, the treasured dinnerware or glassware which has been carefully stored, seldom used, often forgotten …

Spotting a gem through decades of kitchen grime is only the first step. The next challenge is the cleaning. How do you best remove years of accumulated grease and dust without spoiling your prize?

Of course, the first place to start would be warm water and mild detergent. But be careful! Please ensure your china is at room temperature first – do not bring it in directly from a cold car in winter and plunk it into warm water. Vintage china can be very susceptible to extremes of heat and cold, and this kind of treatment may cause it to crack, chip or craze.

Before starting, check the label on your detergent to ensure it does not contain any bleach or lemon, both of which can be too strong for old china.

Pad the hard surfaces of your sink area to prevent accidental knocks. Immerse each piece separately and rub gently with a soft cloth. I would not use a scrubbing pad or brush as this could cause scratching or worse. Rinse with warm water and air dry.

Often a gentle wash is all that is needed. However, there are times when even hot soapy water will be powerless against the grease monster.

I have seen a product called Spray 9 recommended, but this is a professional product and cannot be bought at your local store. If you have a large amount of china to clean up it may be worth a try. There are many other products out there, such as Formula 409, which are also known to work against grease and grime, although they are not recommended for food preparation surfaces, which makes me hesitant to use them.

So far the best product I have found for cleaning vintage china is our old helper Bar Keepers Friend. I first saw this recommended on Pyrex Love for cleaning Pyrex dishes (it has proved very helpful for removing metal marks!) and decided to try it on some particularly grubby dinnerware. You can plainly see the results in the photo below.

 

 

Bar Keepers Friend is non-toxic and safe to use on objects and areas which will come into contact with food, and this is why I feel most confident recommending it. You should be able to find it at your local supermarket or DIY store, if not it is available online. The outcome can be spectacular, but as always, use your common sense and do not use on areas where there is gilt or decoration over the glaze.

So, you have cleaned up your item and maybe you now discover that there is crazing present. The worst kind of crazing comes with brown staining in and around it, and this can totally ruin the look of a piece. As a dealer, I don’t usually sell anything with this type of damage, except very occasionally when I feel it adds some character. One thing I am definitely not comfortable with is cleaning up the staining before sale. However, this is quite a common practice and there is a technique which works very well. You may want to try it if you have stubborn stains to remove from your own pieces.

To remove stains from crazing you will need to obtain peroxide from a beauty supply store, and cut it with water at 1 part water to 2 parts peroxide (note, these instructions are for peroxide – do not use bleach! Also, ensure you wear gloves and appropriate eye protection!). Immerse the item in the solution in a tupperware or Glass Bowl, cover with a lid or saran wrap, and leave. It may take up to a week for the brown marks to disappear. Do not use this method where there is cold glaze, gilt (gold) or other decoration over glaze.

So there you have it, a step by step guide to cleaning up your found vintage china. Now that you have achieved the desired result, please remember to take care of your special items. Rinse stored china every few months under warm water to remove accumulated dirt, and you should never again have to subject it to the deep cleaning procedures I have described.

Disclaimer: The techniques above are provided for information only. Please use your own discretion at all times. I cannot be held accountable for the results of using these procedures.

The products cited are not paid references. They are simply products which I have used or had recommended to me.

About the Author

What does everyone think of old mercedes cars?

Like between the late 80′s to mid 90′s? I personally think they are so vintage & cute. I really want to get one in the next few months. A nice shiny clean looking one, preferably black. What would you think if you saw someone driving down the road with one? “ewww that mercedes is so old, who does she think she is, lol she is a dork!” or otherwise ??? I guess i shouldnt really care what anyone thinks but ive just been getting negative feedback from everyone people about this idea of getting one.

Take it for a spin in Dearborn and see what happen…..lol

Vintage Mid 70′s Retro Futuristic Style Zenith Color TV