BACKGROUND:
Unlike most of the chinaware's, ceramic's and porcelain that our family is seeking new homes for, this decorative bowl is bit of a mystery to us!
It was "picked up" on one of our frequent trips into regional areas many years ago, we think around the 1990's but it was already second hand when we bought it.
The reason this bowl grabbed our attention was completely visual, the colours used are vibrant, hand painted (which is always important to us) and yes, sort of an Australiana theme with the Kanga painted inside the bowl.
Try as we might, we could never establish just who the ceramicist artist was and even today I made another attempt using the features of Google AI (image search on the backstamp) but I have serious doubts about the information Google AI gave me! Actually I have found this to be the case often, if Google AI cannot find an exact match, it tends to take "intelligent guesses" instead - not really a reliable source of information in our view.
I have included a closeup photograph of this underside marking, perhaps someone will instantly recognise who created this ceramic bowl.
Anyway, Google AI declares this backstamp marking relates to various known and unknown studio ceramic artists both within Australia and in the UK. Funny enough, each time I submit a photograph of the backstamp signature, Google AI comes up with a different answer - still wrong and obviously just taking "stabs in the dark"
We feel that it is most likely one of a kind (we have never seen another like it), probably an Australian based ceramic studio artist, independent and highly skilled - particularly the painting both inside and outside.
toR - Decorative Bowl
Circa 1960's ~ 1970's (a rough estimate based on when we purchased this, what we knew about it at the time of purchase and the subsequent signs of crazing that are now evident on the bowl)
Material: Ceramic
5.5" diameter mouth
Colouring: Externally the artist has used dual colour banding, burnt Orange and Violet. Inside the bowl is the Kangaroo graphics (smiling!) on the natural Cream colour base ceramics and finished with a Lime Green banding around the rim.
The "title" of the Kangaroo depicted is quite distinctive in that it reads ...
.. Kanga~Roo ..
High lustre glazing
DIMENSIONS:
135mm (just under 5.5") diameter mouth x 55mm (2.5") height
BACKSTAMP:
Here is a photograph of the hand painted back stamp
COSMETIC CONDITION:
NO ceramic cracks
NO chips
NO wear n tear observed to the vibrantly coloured glazing, externally or inside the bowl
NO staining or marks of any kind
YES!
There is crazing evident to the glaze coating, this is visible when the bowl is dry with the naked eye and more obvious when the bowl is wet of course. No nasties have gone to live down in these glazing cracks (this would show as discolouration of the ceramic under the glazing). Always keep an object displaying crazing clean and dry, we also would from time to time give a very light mist spray of 70% Iso Alcohol (if safe to do so with regard to the decorations) to make sure that tiny little nasties (bacteria) know that this is not a good place to build their home!
We guess over time and with temperature changes over the last 60+ years that the glazing has just naturally begun to fail - we never used this bowl ourselves (decoration only) and it certainly hasn't been abused by placing it into a dishwasher!
