Featured Wooden charity shop finds - Mouseman bookends and another item

LoL - Yes, I just realised they meant the dining suite not the shortbread mould!

 

Yes I understand now, sorry I thought you were talking about the shortbread mould. Lucky you, what a great job you have! Love 18th century silver and ceramics too.

 

Don't think they knew of paisley in Elizabethan times. A post Raj thing.
I can't say for sure, but I think they may be sugar decoration molds. Mistreatment to the back would point to alternative uses it may have been put to in the kitchen. Sounds right?

Great mouseman bookends, by the way. Well done!

 

It isn't post-Raj. Indian Kashmiri shawls and other textiles with Boteh motifs (Paisley motifs) have been imported into Europe for many centuries, even during Elizabethan times. Kashmiri shawls were first made in Kashmir by Turkestan weavers from Mughal Central Asia in the 16th century.
Which doesn't mean these motifs made their way to butter (or other) molds during that time. In the early days the textiles would have been rare and expensive, often gifts from foreign rulers.

When the jacquard loom was invented, many places in Europe began to weave their own Kashmiri style shawls.
The most imported centre for weaving Kashmiri style shawls in Britain was the Scottish town of Paisley, where jacquard looms were introduced in the 1820s. The Boteh motif became known as the Paisley motif in the English speaking world.

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts. Yes thrilled with the bookends, thank you.

 

There's Boteh work on portraits of Elizabethan nobles.

Jacquard is regarded as one of the major fathers of modern IT.

 

In the 2nd picture, if one looks closely at the head, you can see how crudely(IMO) carved the head is. Check out the straight line on the upper right that was not carved. The wood doesn't seem to have the finish other bookends have and the wood seems to be splitting on the left side.
On the Thompson site, these bookends can still be purchased. In MHO, these are repo's and not the quality of authentic Mouseman items.
http://www.robertthompsons.co.uk/_shop/gifts--small-items/book-ends/

 

Your mold I believe is from Indonesia. My parents brought back dozens of them from Jakarta. I love Robert mouse man. My daughter's avatar is a mouse. I have bid on mouseman items for years but they always go higher than I am willing to pay.

 

Although from last summer, I clearly see the difference in my untrained eye. Dang, the real deal is only $205. GBP & folks are faking them? GEEZ!

From the Thomson Site


OPs Mouseman

 

The molds are from Indonesia. My parents brought back dozens of them from Jakarta.

 

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If you search "mouseman bookends", you will see several carved like yours. From the side, you can see they have whiskers, while viewed from above the carving seems crude. This leaves me up in the air. Maybe, there was a time when this style/edition was made, or someone made them in their woodshop to make some money. ???

 

I agree, it is difficult. I have seen different subtypes (if you can call it that) of genuine Thompson mice. The best carved mouse I've seen in the Mouseman region of Yorkshire was on the fireplace I mentioned before. Others that were good, but not as good as the fireplace mouse, were also genuine Mouseman, and bought from Thompson when he was still carving.
Probably best to contact the shop and ask.

 

I can be a real snob when it comes to antiques, but I must confess I love the mouse bookends, would treasure them irregardless of age, and barely restrained myself from making a dreadfully undignified, high pitched noise when I saw them!

 

Squeal away, @Born2it !

 

I may have done the same thing when I found them. Just to own a mouseman item! I felt the same when I discovered a wee jug I also bought at a charity shop turned out to be a Macintyre.

 

Your mold is from Indonesia. I think for a sweet of some kind. My mother brought back dozens of them from the time they lived in Jakarta 1980. She must have bought them all up because I have a hard time finding them on line! I wish I had asked her exactly what was made in them. My larger and more modern one (the tent and car) was probably a rice mold. Sorry about the picture. they hang in my hall where it is little dark and I can not get back far enough for a good focus.

 

Thanks so much for that Lark, someone else had mentioned that, but I couldn't find anything that looked the same. The bottom left one in your top photo is very similar.

 

Oh and not to mention when I found a Daisy Makeig-Jones butterfly lustre bowl in a second hand shop - I had to hold the squeal in though as there was no price on it and I was trying not to look too excited when I asked how much. When he said $5 I thought it must be damaged, but no it was in perfect condition. I carried it back to work, hugging it against my chest going OMG, OMG, OMG

 

Thanks Any Jewelry - I contacted the shop when I got them to find out how I could tell if they were genuine. Their response? We can't comment on them unless they were bought from the shop. Like I would be asking if they had been bought from the shop?! And, since I bought them second hand (which I noted in my email), they may well have been bought from the shop but I wouldn't know. Obviously just a standard answer.