Antique of the Week: European Majolica Vase

As everyone in Kensington knows, Antique Row is one of the community’s points of pride. Howard Avenue and its side streets are lined with shops specializing in antique furniture, rugs, vintage toys, used books and more. This large presence in the community sparked our feature, Antique of the Week, where we will showcase a different item or curiosity each week to bring attention to pieces from the past.

This week, we are featuring a vase so unique that it was not used to hold flowers.  Instead, it stood on its own as a work of art. John Booker, the proprietor of , said it is a European majolica vase circa 1890. This glazed porcelain piece was typical of majolica ceramics, found also on the tiles covering buildings in major European cities.

Herbert Minton’s display at the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition introduced majolica to the British public as mentioned in Dawes’ Majolica. Dawes discovered that the  majolica style during the Victorian era did not evolve from the maiolica style of the Renaissance period even though it is similar in etymology: The maiolica style was a particular tin-glazed earthenware imported from North Africa to Majorca while the English majolica was a form of glazing on ceramics.

Dawes claimed that English majolica peaked during Queen Victoria’s reign,
1850–1890, after the cholera outbreak. According to Dawes, Chadwick’s Report on the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population in 1842 introduced to the public the notion that cholera was caused by unsanitary water supply, after which salt-glazed pipes were created. This resulted in the popularity of glazed pottery in the British ceramics industry.

Booker is currently selling the majolica vase for $795. Antiques & Uniques is located at 3762 B Howard Avenue. Interested parties can reach Booker at 301-942-3324.