Limoges China Beer Stein or Tankard with Figural Lady Handle Hand Painted by Sherratts Wonderful antique beer stein or beer tankard (or tall mug) with a molded figural handle of the head and chest of a Victorian lady and decorated on one side with a capital "H" in Old English lettering style. White porcelain base (this piece is translucent) with hand painted gold paint on the handle, for the "H" and gold line trim at the upper and bottom rims. The molded female figural on the handle reminds us of carved lady mastheads like seen on old ships or the "busts" of famous musicians which people sometimes display on pianos and in other musical areas.

Based on some research, we estimate that this piece was made in the early 1900's, probably during the 1905-1920 period. On the underside base there is a green manufacturer mark, "P L Limoges France", identified as belonging to the French company of La Porcelaine Limousine, their Mark #2, used on pieces produced by them from about 1905 until the late 1930's. Under this is hand painted in gold, "Sherratt's". Sherratt was a famous china painting artist and teacher who had a decorating studio in the Washington, D.C. area for a short period during the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. He appears to be a sought after painter of porcelain, particularly for his works decorating china with lovely floral paintings. It is believed that pieces signed "Sherrat’s" were ones painted in his studio during this period. In general, china painting was a widely respected art and a major hobby for women during the mid 1800’s into the early 1900’s. Artists and the general public would purchase "blank white" pieces of porcelain, including many made by major manufacturers of Limoges china (such as this piece), decorate them either with simple gold detailing as done here or with intricate paintings of flowers and scenes, and then take them to a shop to be kiln fired so that the paint would be "set" and not wash off.

Antique beer stein measures 6 inches in height, about 5 inches greatest width horizontally (outer edge of handle to widest opposite side of beer tankard at the base), and about 4 1/8 inches diameter of circular base. Vintage stein is straight-sided, flaring out slightly at the base. The figural handle includes molded features for her face (eyes, nose, cheeks, chin), hair (there is some waving to her hair which is tied up in a bun at the back of her head), and a little bit of detailing for her chest (there are some curves on both sides of the handle which help with gripping and suggest her breasts and/or detailing to the top of her dress). We have provided eight images including front and back of the stein, side/handle, top rim and close-ups of the "H", handle figurine, and mark. Please note that the white "hot spots" are reflections from the camera lighting on the high gloss surface. The gold coloring is a wonderful deep, rich gold which we believe has sometimes been referred to as a Roman Coin gold.

This old piece is in lovely condition, with no chips, cracks or crazing. There are some minor flaws which we will point out but none of this detracts from its beauty. There are pin/pit dots, some tiny dark dots (one on the interior of the mug), some stray gold paint dots (two near the H on the upper right side, some others elsewhere on the outside of the mug and a number of gold dots, likely smears, along the underside base rim on which the piece sits), and one in-mold raised dark dot (to the bottom left of the H). The gold paint is in terrific shape overall, but on close inspection there is some wear or rubbing wear, particularly along the bottom base trim line (this has line or black dot line wear in several places where it must have rubbed up against something). There is also some surface rubbed wear and scratches on the gold handle (but the scratches still are totally gold in color, not revealing the white base porcelain), but all this is not bad nor nothing unexpected for a piece of this age and would not be noticeable from a distance when sitting on display.

An excellent antique beer stein which would make a terrific gift for a collector of Limoges tankards or of hand painted china pieces, particularly those painted by Sherratt or Sherratt’s. This would also be a nifty gift for anyone with a first or last name beginning with the letter "H".

This is a companion piece to the Limoges Small Jug listed and available separately. It came from the same home, has the same monogram and was also hand painted by Sherratts. Should you want both pieces we can combine shipment to save you money on postage.

 

Limoges China Small Jug with Lid Hand Painted by Sherratts This is a wonderful antique small jug with side handle, pour spout at top rim and a lid with a cork bottom, decorated on one side with a capital "H" in Old English lettering style. White porcelain base (this piece is translucent) with hand painted gold paint on the handle, neck and lid and for the "H". It is a round bulbous shape with a circular base, nicely upwardly curved side handle and short small neck, reminding us in shape of the jugs seen in the movies for drinking "moonshine" but much smaller.

Based on some research, we estimate that this piece was made in the early 1900's. On the underside base there is a green manufacturer mark, "T&V, Limoges France", identified as belonging to the French company of Tressemann & Vogt, their Mark #7, used on pieces produced by them from about 1892 to 1907. Near this is hand painted in gold, "Sherratt's". Sherratt was a famous china painting artist and teacher who had a decorating studio in the Washington, D.C. area for a short period during the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. He appears to be a sought after painter of porcelain, particularly for his works decorating china with lovely floral paintings. It is believed that pieces signed "Sherrat’s" were ones painted in his studio during this period. In general, china painting was a widely respected art and a major hobby for women during the mid 1800’s into the early 1900’s. Artists and the general public would purchase "blank white" pieces of porcelain, including many made by major manufacturers of Limoges china (such as this piece), decorate them either with simple gold detailing as done here or with intricate paintings of flowers and scenes, and then take them to a shop to be kiln fired so that the paint would be "set" and not wash off.

Antique jug with lid measures about 6 1/2 inches in height, about 5 inches greatest width horizontally (outer edge of handle to opposite side of jug), and about 3 5/8 inches diameter of circular base. We have provided seven images including front and back of jug, side/handle, base piece and lid separately, and close-ups of the "H" and marks. Please note that the white "hot spots" are reflections from the camera lighting on the high gloss surface. The gold coloring is a wonderful deep, rich gold which we believe has sometimes been referred to as a Roman Coin gold.

This old piece is in overall terrific condition, with no major chips, cracks or crazing, but not mint. There are some minor flaws which we will point out, particularly with wear to the lid, but none of these are noticeable on display nor detract from its beauty. On the base piece there are a few pin/pit dots, some minor rubbed wear/lines/tiny surface scratches (but you notice these only on very, very close inspection), and on the interior of the neck, excess gold paint spots and smears (these are not seen with the lid on). On the underside base on which the piece sits there are some very, very tiny chips and/or flakes, and usual age/wear darkening, not unexpected given the age, and nothing bad. The gold paint on the base piece is overall in great shape, very rich looking, with a few surface line/rubbed lines/scratches on the handle and lots of general polishing/cleaning surface lines, some in a circular pattern, from how it must have been dusted/handled over the years. While also still very gold throughout, the lid shows more surface wear from cleaning, as if it was more vigorously rubbed/cleaned/handled. Although not noticeable from a distance, when looked at closely you will see much general age/use wear via surface rubbing/wear/scratches on the lid top and sides, with circular polishing type lines, and some tiny light brown lines/spots. The cork is fully attached and appears to be in very nice shape. While you should know what we see on very close examination, there is nothing really bad here nor noticeable when this impressive piece is sitting on a table.

An excellent old jug which would make a terrific gift for a collector of Limoges porcelain or of hand painted china pieces, particularly those painted by Sherratt or Sherratt’s. This would also be a nifty gift for anyone with a first or last name beginning with the letter "H".

This is a companion piece to the Limoges Beer Stein or Tankard listed and available separately. It came from the same home, has the same monogram and was also hand painted by Sherratts. Should you want both pieces we can combine shipment to save you money on postage.

 

Signed Hand Painted China Bread & Butter Plates, T&V Limoges China White Base 2 Hand Painted china bread & butter plates using T&V Limoges white bases and showing painters initials 'M.G.B.' on back. Pretty pale flowers with yellow center & green leaves, 6 inches diameter, scalloped edge with worn gold paint on edge, otherwise very good condition. Priced each.