The antique marks glossary - antique terms s covering everything from sabino to sabre and sevres to syllabub.

• All the s's.
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The list is not exhaustive but we will add to it as time goes by. The descriptions detailed are only intended to be relevant to how the word or term relates to antiques and although the same word may have other meanings in other contexts, we have not and do not intend to detail those meanings here. In some instances we have included pictures to enhance the meaning of the word or term and we have also indexed each word in order that you may link to the explanation when the word or term appears in other pages on the site.

eero saarinen (designer - finnish - 1910-61)
Finnish-born US architect and designer. Saarinen worked with fellow architect Charles eames and explored the use of plastics in furniture, producing the first moulded plastic chairs. His Tulip chairs and tables of 1957 used moulded glassfibre with aluminium supports in the base for extra strength.

marius ernest sabino (glass - art deco - 1878-1961)
French glass-maker of the art deco period, especially 1923-39. Sabino's work imitated many of the glassblowing techniques and decorative motifs of his contemporary René lalique.

sabre (militaria - sword - cavalry)
Curved 18th-19thC cavalry sword with a single cutting edge, designed for slashing.

sabre leg (furniture - curved chair leg)
Early 19th-century curved chair leg which resembles the line of a sabre blade, most closely identified with the regency period. From 1815 a sabre leg was sometimes referred to as a Waterloo leg after the Battle of Waterloo.

sabretache (textile - pouch - cavalry officer)
A decorated flat pouch suspended from the belt of cavalry officers and worn until the early 20thC.

saddle seat (furniture - windsor chairs)
Solid wooden seat with two slight depressions separated by a central ridge, commonly seen on Windsor chairs. It is also a term for a wide, U-shaped seat.

saddle stool (furniture - three leg stool)
Three-legged, solid wood stool with saddle-shaped seat.

joseph karl stieler(painting - portraits - ludwih I - 1781-1858)
A famous 19th century portraitist and the favorite painter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria who devoted a picture gallery (the 'Schonheitsgalerie' in the Schloss Nuremberg, Munich, Germany) to beautiful women of his kingdom.

The King personally selected the subjects and commissioned Stieler to paint their portraits. As a reward for their cooperation, the women received the dresses in which they were painted. Stieler painted 36 women from 1827-1842; their portraits are still on view at the Schloss Nurenberg. They have been widely reproduced

salt-glazed stoneware (ceramics - glaze - staffordshire)
Salt-glazed stoneware is a type of stoneware produced by adding salt to a kiln to create a glass-like coating on the pottery. At approximately 1660 °F / 780 °C, the salt, sodium chloride, vaporizes and bonds with the silica in the body to create a silicate glass. Vibrant blue decorations, achieved by the use of a cobalt oxide slip, are considered a trademark of this ware.

Although salt-glazed stoneware probably originated in the Rhineland area of Germany circa 1400s, Americans began producing salt-glazed wares circa 1720 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Yorktown, Virginia.

The use of stoneware articles included storage vessels for a wide range of consumables, such as water, soda, beer, meat, grain, jelly and pickled vegetables. By the 1770s, the production of salt-glazed stoneware production had spread to many centers throughout the United States, most notably Manhattan, New York. It became the dominant houseware of the United States of America circa 1780-1890.

By 1820, stoneware was being produced in virtually every American urban center, with potters from Baltimore, Maryland, in particular raising the craft to its pinnacle. In the last half of the nineteenth century, potters in New England and New York state began producing stoneware with elaborate figural designs such as deer, dogs, birds, houses, people, historical scenes and other fanciful motifs including elephants and "bathing beauties."

Production of stoneware diminished following the introduction of other materials in particular John Landis Masons glass jar.

By the turn of the twentieth century, some companies mass-produced stoneware with a white, non-salt glaze (referred to as bristol slip), but this lacked the elaborate decorations common to the earlier, salt-glazed stoneware.

 

sampler (textiles - embroidery)
An embroidered panel of fabric sewn as a reference or as a demonstration of a range of different stitches.

By the 18thC most samplers were sewn by young children, following patterns from books. They typically incorporate letters, numbers, a short poem or motto, the name and age of the child and the date.

The word sampler, comes from the Latin word exemplum, meaning an example to be followed. Sampler stitching was carried out to encourage skills in stitching for use in later life. A sampler would probably have a variety of different stitches, and would be kept by the girl as a reference for future work. It would have been the young girls first attempt at stitching.

The history of samplers dates back some 400 years and could be earlier, the first recorded sampler was made by a Jane Bostocke back in 1598 (currently held at the Victoria & Albert Museum). We know that the history of tapestry goes back before this, ie; the Baeyuex Tapestry depicting the battle of Hastings in 1066.

The samplers of this era where generally very long and thin and are known as Band Samplers and are pieces of cloth with a range of stitches. The work can be signed and dated. Samplers of this era are very rare.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, samplers became more and more sophisticated, with the addition of biblical verses, pictures and complex stitches.

The later half of the 18th century saw the first map samplers, which depict pictures of countries and their geographical outlines. Although not necessarily accurate they are intricate pieces of work.

During the 19th century, samplers became an important part of the school curriculum, young girls were encouraged to stitch to prepare themselves for their role in life. These samplers tended to be simpler, usually only having alphabets, numbers and a name and date with possibly the name of a school. The age of the stitcher can range from as young as six up to fifteen years. The average age being eleven.

Antique samplers are very popular among collectors, Americans in particular harbour a great interest in them, and their popularity as a collectors item is growing.

Today, For an antique sampler in good condition, with reasonably good colour, you can expect to pay anything up to £500 or more.

emile samson (ceramics - french - reproductions - 1837-1913)
Founder of one of France's best-known 19thC reproduction porcelain and earthenware factories, c1845.

The firm initially specialised in providing replacements for 18thC sevres, meissen, chelsea and derby figures and Chinese services.

Gradually copies of wares from all the well-known European factories were produced.

Pieces usually carried Samson's own mark based on the appropriate original, but this was often removed by people wishing to pass on the pieces as genuine.

sang-de-boeuf (ceramics - glaze - ox-blood)
Sang de boeuf, the phrase refers to the striking blood-red glaze that was first used by Chinese potters hundreds of years ago.

The French term literally means "oxblood," and Chinese potters often painted the opaque glaze on a white base that simulated bone. In areas where the glaze lies thickly on the ceramic body, such as near the base of a vase, it forms dark patches like coagulated ox blood. Chinese Imperial artists, aware of the glaze's beauty, protected its formula for centuries.

The effect is achieved by firing a copper glaze in a reducing atmosphere, one rich in carbon monoxide and was developed in the late 17th and 18th centuries in China simultaneously with flambé glazes. European potters imitated the technique in the 19thC.

Red was always a difficult glaze for potters to render and the sang de boeuf hue proved even harder to replicate.

Rookwood attempted to reproduce the red in the 1880s, but had mixed success before the 1920s. The English and American potters Anglicised the French term for the Chinese glaze, referring to it simply as oxblood.

The English potter Bernard Moore had success with the glaze in the early 20th century, and James Robertson, who established Chelsea Keramic Arts Works in 1872 in Massachusetts, also approximated the prized color, although his experimentation mimicking beautiful Chinese glazes eventually led to his bankruptcy.

The formula for the glaze became common knowledge by the 1920s. Sang de boeuf pieces fired before that time are still sought by collectors, largely because they're so rare, but the colour can be produced quite easily today.

satsuma (ceramic - earthenware - japanese)
The western name for a type of Japanese earthenware exported throughout the world since the meiji period (1868-1912).

It is named after the Satsuma provinces, but was made in many parts of Japan, notably in kyoto. Japanese sources suggest the Satsuma tradition dates from the 17thC, but firm identification of any pieces earlier than the 19thC is difficult. Some of the finest pieces were made c1900.

Kilns were established in the Satsuma area in southern Kyushu by Korean potters in the late 16th century. The first and very earliest wares are the rarest of the rare and were stonewares, covered with a thick dark glaze.

During the mid 19th century the pottery that today, is recognized as satsuma ware was created. It is a slightly yellowish earthenware. It's glaze has a fine crackle and it does not ring when tapped. Decoration, was sometimes carried out by a second workshop and varies from mass-produced broad designs to exquisite miniature scenes finely enamelled and gilded.

Satsuma wares were first developed in the Satsuma Han and produced, mostly for export to the West, in cities such as Kyoto, Tokyo, Nagoya and Yokohama.

The circle with a cross that often makes up a part of the base mark, is the Shimazu family crest, who ruled Satsuma Han.

Satsuma Gosu Blue was produced in a very limited quantity in Kyoto in the mid-19th century, and is now the most sought after of the Satsuma wares.

The artist Yabu Meizan (1853-1934) had his own studio operating from approx 1880's to 1920's. Extremely high quality decoration. All his work carries his own Yabu Meizan seal, usually in gold.

The Kinkozan factory (1645-1927) had is main production period approximately between 1875-1927 when the factory closed. Kinkozan IV's real name was Kobayashi Sobei (1824-84).

From around the 1890's to the early 1920's at least twenty and possibly more studios or factorys were producing "Satsuma" wares of which much were of low quality and destined for the European and American export markets.

At the same time some independent artist studios were producing wares of the finest quality.

scrimshaw work (carving - ivory - whale bone)
Scrimshaw is the name given to handiwork created by whalers made from the byproducts of harvesting marine mammals.

It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth of Sperm Whales, the baleen of other whales, and the tusks of walruses.

It takes the form of elaborate carvings in the form of pictures and lettering on the surface of the bone or tooth, with the engravings highlighted using a pigment, or small sculptures made from the same material.

The making of scrimshaw began on whaling ships between 1817 to 1824 on the Pacific Ocean, and survived until the ban on commercial whaling. The practice survives as a hobby and as a trade for commercial artisans. A maker of scrimshaw is known as a scrimshander.

Most of the original scrimshaw created by whalers is currently held by museums.

Museums with significant collections include the Hull Maritime Museum in Kingston upon Hull, England; the Kendall Whaling Museum in Connecticut, USA; and the Nantucket Whaling Museum and the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts, USA.

Privately held original pieces are very valuable, and a great many reproductions (commonly known as "fakeshaw") exist in the marketplace.

serpentine (furniture - undulating style - nephrite jade)
Descriptive term for an undulating profile, especially in furniture. Serpentine fronts, with a convex curve in the centre flanked by slightly concave sides, were seen on rococo chests of drawers, cabinets and sideboards in the 18thC. From the late 17thC, some chairs had curving serpentine stretchers.

Also - Mineral which ranges in colour from various shades of brown to shades of green, and is often mottled in appearance. The green varieties are the most valuable and sometimes resemble nephrite jade. Serpentine is used for carving cameos and intaglios as well as in architecture as a decorative stone. Bowenite is a harder variety of serpentine and cream, grey or pale green in colour.

settle (furniture - bench)
Long wooden bench with arms and a panelled back which was designed to seat two or more people.

A high-backed settle - sometimes with storage space beneath the seat or a cupboard in the back - was a familiar sight on either side of the hearth in farmhouse kitchens and inns from the 16th to 19th centuries.

A settle table is a wooden settle with a hinged back that folds over to rest on the arms and form a table.

sevres (ceramics - french - manufacturer)
French national porcelain factory and a leading influence on European ceramics fashions c1760-1815.

Soft-paste porcelain was manufactured exclusively from c1740 until the discovery of local china clay deposits enabled true porcelain to be produced from 1768.

From the 1750s, Sèvres acquired and maintained its lead in French ceramics, largely due to royal patronage. Louis XV granted the factory a monopoly to produce porcelain in the meissen style, c1745-66, and even after this was relaxed, no other French company was allowed to produce porcelain with coloured ground or gilding.

In the 1750s the factory introduced striking enamel grounds of rich, dark royal blue, pea-green, sky-blue (bleu celeste), rose-pink and yellow, enriched with gold and enclosing panels or medallions of superbly painted landscapes, figures or flowers.

Figures were also successful, mostly left white, but above all, from the 1750s, figures and groups in unglazed biscuit porcelain.

In the 1770's, forms moved towards the more restrained neoclassical style. The toughness of true porcelain meant that a broader palette of high-temperature colours could be used; gilding was applied even more freely at this time, and jewelled decoration was introduced.

With the French Revolution, Sèvres lost the benefits of its royal patronage, but by 1800 revived with the backing of Napoleon - huge urns, vases, plaques and dinner services were made for him.

This was empire style - much copied by many other factories.

New ranges were introduced in the art nouveau and art deco periods.......... more

sgraffito (ceramics - decoration - hannah barlow)
Technique of creating a design on a pottery surface by scratching or scoring through an unfired slip coating to expose the darker body beneath.

In 16thC sgraffito ware from the Bologna area of Italy, for example, designs were incised in the white slip coating to reveal a red clay ground.

The technique has been much used throughout Europe since medieval times, particularly on country pottery from south-west Britain. It was a feature of Barnstaple pottery throughout the 18th and 19th centuries - and was often inscribed to commemorate special events such as harvests and christenings.

Royal doulton artist Hannah Barlow has become one of the most collectable sgraffito artists.

Her studies of typical countryside scenes featuring horses, sheep and cattle are very sought after and can command high prices at local and national auction houses.

Typical prices for a hannah barlow vase in fine condition can vary between £800 and £2500 depending on size and subject.

shagreen (leather - shark skin - decorative cover)
Highly polished skin of sharks and sting rays, used from the 17thC for covering knife cases, hip flasks and other small items.

Also - Untanned leather, originally made in Persia (Iran), with a coarse, granular finish and usually dyed green.

The factory was let to a partnership which included John King Knight who became the sole owner in 1847 and six years later in 1953 brought in Henry Wileman as a partner. Just three years after this Henry Wileman was left in charge when John King Knight retired. On the death of Henry Wileman, his two sons (James and Charles Wileman) took control of the pottery and later in 1870 James Wileman took full control.

In 1872 he recruited Joseph Ball Shelley to work with him in developing the Foley China Works side of the Wileman business, with a particular view to developing export markets - the industrial revolution meant that transport and international trade was much easier than it had been, and Wileman and Shelley were not slow to understand the opportunity this represented.

From this period the pottery really started to grow and prosper and the company registered the trademark 'Wileman & Co'. Export markets were to prove of vital importance to the factory during this period and the company made specific designs for sale in North America and Canada after Percy Shelley visited the Chicago Exhibition of 1893.

Percy Shelley joined the company in 1881 and when James Wileman retired in 1884, the Shelleys were left in charge.

The late 19th Century was a creative time for Wileman & Co, and under the guiding hand of Percy Shelley, Frederick Rhead was recruited in 1896 as Art Director and proceeded to produce some of the most innovative and creative work that ever to came out of the Foley Works.

Frederick Rhead is most famous for the Intarsio and Urbato ranges, but he also contributed much to many of the patterns used for Shelley's table wares of the same period. In the same year Rowland Morris sold his designs to Percy Shelley - including the eternally popular Dainty White shape - Shelley's longest running design, popular from its introduction in 1896 right up until the close of the works in 1966.

Unfortunately the first decade of the 20th century was a tough time, economically, and the pressures of two recessions and the growth of cheap imports meant that Shelley needed to concentrate on commercially safe products. In 1905 Frederick Rhead left Shelley, and Walter Slater was recruited to replace him.

Walter Slater came from a strong and fairly traditional potteries background and proved an ideal replacement to guide Shelley through more difficult times and to leave his own lasting legacy of creative work. Today, Walter Slater designs, especially signed pieces, command strong values and remain popular with collectors.

In 1910, the Shelley China mark was officially adopted by Shelley, and steady progress continued through that decade, despite the disruption caused by WW1.

After the end of WW1, the Shelley family involvement in the company expanded to include three of Percy Shelley's sons, and throughout the 1920s and 30s Shelley achieved steady growth and success, both at home and in export markets. Much of this success was down to methodical hard work and clever marketing. Shelley, more than some manufacturers of the day, advertised and marketed its product extensively both to trade and to the public, and this encouraged retailers to stock Shelley, confident the public would recognise and buy it..

Notable new ranges in the 1920s & 30s were the nursery wares - with designs by Mabel Lucie Attwell and the stylish Harmony ware ranges, all of which were to prove very successful and are highly collectable today.

The intervention of the second world war did not cause as many problems for Shelley as for some other manufacturers due to their very strong export profile. Shelley were allowed to continue producing decorative wares for export to bring in much needed foreign exchange.

It was only after WW11 ended that problems started at Shelley. As the 1950s progressed, Shelley's new designs became less inspired and seemed dated compared to contemporaries of the time, such as Poole and Midwinter. New designs also seemed few and far between.

In 1966 the end came with a buyout of Shelley by Allied British Potteries; who re-equipped Shelley's works and began producing Royal Albert pottery.

thomas sheraton (furniture maker - british style - 1751-1806)
British cabinet-maker whose Cabinet-Maker's and Upholsterer's Drawing Book encapsulated the elegant, neoclassical furniture style named after him.

Thomas Sheraton (1781-1806) was born at Stockton-on-Tees and settled in London about 1790. Although trained as a cabinetmaker, he was primarily a designer, whose fame rests on his published works, of which the first and most influential was The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterers´ Drawing-Book, originally issued in four parts between 1791 and 1794.

The Cabinet Dictionary (1803) contains many useful and instructive definitions, as well as practical information about the technique of cabinet- and chair-making. Only about a quarter of his last work, the Cabinet-Maker, Upholsterer and General Artists´ Encyclopaedia appeared just before his death.

No pieces of furniture have been traced to Sheraton, so it is highly improbable that he ever had a workshop or ever made any furniture. On his trade card, was the address 106 Wardour Street, Soho, which he had printed about 1795, he announced that he "teaches Perspective, Architecture, and Ornaments and makes designs for Cabinet-makers, and sells all kinds of Drawing Books". This probably gives an accurate account of his activities.

Sheraton is not known to have provided designs for any particular piece of furniture except for one grand piano in satinwood with Wedgwood and Tassie medallions, made in 1796 by John Broadwood for presentation to Queen Maria Louisa of Spain.

Sheraton later moved to No. 8 Broad Street, Golden Square. The approximate position of his Wardour Street premises is commemorated by Sheraton Street, between Great Chapel Street and Wardour Street.

Sheraton´s Drawing-Book was addressed primarily to the trade and its aim was practical - to acquaint cabinetmakers with the most up-to-date designs. He remarks that in conversing with cabinetmakers he found no one individual equally experienced in every job of work. There are certain pieces made in one shop that are not manufactured in another and he had therefore, applied to the best workmen in different shops, to obtain their assistance in the explanation of such pieces as they have been most acquainted with.

He frequently acknowledges his indebtedness to those who had helped him. In addition, he appears to have studied Louis XVI style furniture, which had recently been brought across the Channel, and also the work carried out at the time by Henry Holland at Carlton House.

An ardent Baptist, Sheraton published religious tracts as well as furniture designs, and put forward schemes for evangelising the villages around London. Having been ordained a Baptist minister, he left London for Stockton and Marston in 1800, but seems to have returned to London two years later.

In 1804, his mind gave way and he died in poverty.

Sheraton did not invent the furniture style named after him, he played a leading role in formulating it. His Drawing-Book designs have a remarkable stylistic unity, a marked preference for the simple, sometimes severe, outlines combined with flat (painted or inlaid) decoration of great delicacy and elaboration, sometimes with stringing lines and contrasting veneers in geometrical patterns and sometimes with intricate arabesques or figurative panels.

Where many earlier designers (especially Rococo designers) seem almost to have been ashamed of using wood as their medium, Sheratons patterns emphasise its essential qualities. The grains of the veneers are carefully delineated; the forms are those which come easily to craftsmen working with saws and lathes. He made free play with antique ornaments of the type used by Adam (urns, paterae, vases, and swags) but without pedantry. His designs are very elegant and very delicate.

shibayama (japanese - lacquer work)
Highly decorative lacquer style introduced by Senzo Onogi in Chiba prefecture at the end of the Edo era.

Finely finished pieces of ivory, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, horn and other materials are inlaid into gold lacquered, wooden panels, or sometimes ivory grounds.

Shibayama lacquers were almost exclusively made for the export market.

shi-shi (japanese - dog of foo - lion)
Shishi (or Jishi) is translated as "lion" but it can also refer to a deer or dog with magical properties and the power to repel evil spirits.

A pair of shishi traditionally stand guard outside the gates of Japanese Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, although temples are more often guarded by two Nio Protectors. The Shishi (like the Nio) are traditionally depicted in pairs, one with mouth open and one with mouth closed. The open/closed mouth relates to Ah and Un. "Ah" (open mouth) is the first letter in the Sanskrit syllabary, while "Un" (closed mouth) is the last letter. The same holds true for the Japanese syllabary. The combination is said to symbolically represent birth and death or to represent the universe and all within it. Others say the open mouth is to scare off demons, and the closed mouth to shelter and keep in the good spirits. The circular object beneath their feet is the Tama, or sacred Buddhist jewel, a symbol of Buddhist wisdom that brings light to darkness and holds the power to grant wishes.

KOMA-INU and KARA-SHISHI
This mythical beast was probably introduced to Japan from China and/or Korean in the 7th or 8th century AD, during the same period as Buddhism's transmission to Japan, for the Japanese shishi combines elements of both the Korean "Koma-inu" (Korean dog) and Chinese "Kara-shishi" (Chinese lion). One prominent theory holds that the shishi derives from the Chinese Foo Dog. Lions, are not indigineous to Japan, China or Korea, and supposedly entered those nations in the form of imported art and sculpture, with the earliest traces of the animal appearing in China's Han Dynasty (about 208 BC to 221 AD).

shot glass (glass - quill support - single measure)
Glass container 1-3 in (25-76 mm) tall that was filled with lead shot in which to clean and support quill pens.

Also - A US term for a small tumbler for a single measure - or 'shot' - of whiskey.

silvering (furniture - decoration - gilding)
The silver version of gilding in which a thin film of silver is applied to a surface using silver leaf. The technique was introduced in the latter part of the 17thC and used on elaborately carved cabinet stands and tables. When lacquered or varnished, the silver takes on a yellowish tinge, and was sometimes used as a cheap alternative to gilding.

Also - The film of tin foil and mercury, silver or other reflective material applied to glass in a mirror.