Australian House & Garden

Question: I have a very old dark heavy timber wardrobe with two front opening doors. However, I want to utilise it for my five year old's bedroom renovation. He wants a blue room and I was going to have white furniture. Should I "distress" this wardrobe and if so how?

Answer: Restoring the old wardrobe for your son’s room is a practical idea and a great way to recycle and re-use furniture, as it should be. My advice is not to distress the wardrobe because the success will be determined by the condition and colour of the timber, and you might be disappointed. Why not paint it with a lovely pearlised paint. Try Wattyl Pearl Finish in either Atlas (a dark blue) or Volkari (a French blue). Replace old door knobs with ‘character’ knobs. You can find interesting door knobs in second hand stores and antique centres.

Question: I bought this unusual clock about four years ago. It works perfectly and runs for about seven days before it needs winding. I would love to know more about its background and also its value.

Answer: Your clock is an example of cloisonné enamel work. This description relates to a particular style of decoration that originated in China in the 13th century. A metal (usually brass) object such as a plate, dish or, as in your case, a clock, has lengths of thin brass wire (known as cloisons) soldered to the object in a decorative design. These ‘wells’ are then filled with crushed coloured glass and fired to convert the glass to enamel. It’s no exaggeration to say that pieces such as yours were made in billions and continue to be made today. Old examples with complex decoration and unusual colours can be worth huge sums of money. Yours is a relatively modern piece and would bring perhaps a couple of hundred dollars at auction.

Question: This vase has been in my family for many years. It came with a note which reads: “An old Japanese vase given to Sadie V in 1925 from a friend in her church who was a missionary in the Orient years ago.” In 1925, Sadie V (my grandmother) was living in California.

Answer: This is a most attractive and decorative object. The ovoid form is unusual and the enamelled scene of cranes in flight between stylised clouds and waves gives the piece a real sense of movement. The craze for ‘all one sees that’s Japanese’, as parodied in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Patience, led to the production of a bewildering quantity of Imari porcelain and pottery – of which this is probably an example – in the early 19th century. The techniques for making over-glazed wares of this kind were imported to Japan from Korea in the 17th century, so it may be earlier. Only an expert could tell you precisely which it is; the latter of course would make it much more valuable.