Alan's Antiques

Antique Millar and Beatty spoon back Chair     € 350       

Late Victorian oak spoon back chair by Millar and Beatty house furnishers Grafton Street, Dublin.

Established in 1851 Millar and Beatty were a large firm of artistic decorators with branches at no 14 Grafton Street Dublin and in Londonderry. They were traders of fine carpet, oil cloth and thet also specialised in French rococo, Sheraton and Chippendale style furniture and employed more cabinet makers and upholsters than any other firm.

Millar and Beatty designed an interior for the Irish section at the St Louis Exhibition also known as the World's Trade Fair in 1904. Millar and Beatty were also holders of the royal warrant by his majesty the king meaning that goods and services are used by the sovereign or a member of the royal family.

This chair has been restored and reupholstered in silk damask.

It features original castors with the Millar and Beatty traders label underneath the front seat rail.

Victorian Tekke Turkman Handmade Rug     € 275

This is a handmade Turkman rug from the Tekke tribe and measures 68" x 36.5" (173cm x 92.5cm) including the fringes. The patterned part of the rug measures 60" x 36.5" (152cm x 92.5cm). 

It can be seen from the photos that this rug is handmade as the fringe is actually the wrap yarns, foundation yarns are in the middle of the rug and the edging is handstitched. The auctioneer I bought is from dated it as Victorian. There is wear and tear visible and a small bit of damage from moths. 

I have photographed the worst of the moth damage. I freeze treated the rug for moths and it has been moth free for at least 3 months. Turkman Rugs were originally made by nomadic tribes in Turkestan and this pattern is by the Tekke tribe.

Schaubach Kunst Cherub kicking a ball     € 95

This Schaubach Kunst figurine of a Cherub playing with a ball was made in Germany between 1953 and 1962. 

The Wallendorf  is an old porcelain manufacturing company started in 1764. In 1926 Heinz Schaubach bought the company and produced porcelain under the name Schaubach Kunst. The trademark on this piece was used from 1953 to 1962. 

This 63 year old figurine is almost perfect. It has no chips or missing parts and has just a single white spot on his nose where the paint is worn. It isn't chipped off so I can only imagine that someone rubbed his nose for luck or something. There are also a few specs of silver in his hair that can be seen up close as in the photo. At his age we can forgive him these minor blemishes.

Grooming case with Gyrodon, the world's first rotating toothbrush     € 50

This set has the basics from a mirror, manicure accessories and two brushes with tiger or leopard colours  to storage for shaving accessories, with specific ones for shaving soap and brush. 

The nicely shaped glassware are an aftershave bottle with glass stopper and a talc powder jar. There is a small bar of soap, used in its box, in the shaving container made by the Worth fashion house for the Hotel Claridge, Paris and the Hotel Miamar, Cannes. The feature piece in the case is a Gyrodon toothbrush with rotating round head patented by and made by Laboratories Delta in France and originally invented in Strasbourg University. It is rotating freely and has some hairs worn off it. This would be a great collector's piece or could easily be used as everything is in great condition. I would use a new toothbrush though. 

The  history  of  Laboratoires  Delta  goes  back  to  a  pharmacist,  Marcel  Diouron,  who  believed in  a  sales  network  focused  on  pharmacies  and  who  knew  how  to  run  a  business  whilst offering  service.  Since  1982,  he  put  all  his  efforts  in  the  commercialization  of  Gyrodon,  the first rotating toothbrush, the patent of which he had purchased, and continued to specialize in  orodental  hygiene  with  a  range  of  products  prescribed  by  dentists  and  sold  in pharmacists'  shops.

Royale Stratford Porcelain Boxer Collectable     € 35

This hand painted Boxer dog figurine is in excellent condition with light scratches on the underside of the base. Royale Stratford produced detailed handmade and hand painted works of art using traditional production methods until it closed in 2005. Their value is in the quality and realism of the piece.

Royale Stratford was first produced in 1981 and last in 2005. Not to be confused with Royal Stafford china which was first produced in the early 20th century, Royale Stratford was amongst the last few companies producing fine handmade and hand painted china in England. With this decline in availability of English fine china and with prices of Royale Stratford increasing this piece could make a good investment.