Monday, July 14, 2008

Priceless





Long before it was pipelined from one country to another, trucked from river to city or floated by huge barges to desert communities, water was pumped from wells, fed by springs and brought into the home by bucket.

Years ago before it arrived by simply turning on a tap, water was cherished and used sparingly. Beautiful pitchers and large porcelain bowls were part of one's morning cleansing. Some were simply tin or enamel, all functional in order to wash a face and hands.



I have always loved these useful pieces of the past. Complete sets (bowl, pitcher, cup and toothbrush holder) are highly prized and expensive. Some were floral painted, transferware, stippled or the design part of the mold.



Their beauty still very visible they can be adapted to many uses. Holding towels, catching rainwater, and even a cool place for a kittie to lay on a warm summer day make them a perfect item to collect.

One can only imagine the delicate faces that once looked down into these bowls or the tiny little hands that poured the water from the pitchers.



Perhaps someday my small collection will come in handy, as the water we take for granted becomes priceless.

19 comments:

Lana Manis said...

Good morning Susan! You always have such thoughtful posts and beautiful photos to illustrate it. Have a lovely day!

Anonymous said...

What beautiful vessels. You are wise in saying that water is taken for granted. We use it not thinking about how it would be if we had to collect it via a spring or from a well with a bucket. How would people manage without it??

Kris

BumbleVee said...

Beautiful basins.....

Lori said...

Susan, what a wonderful post...your collection is beautiful...i once lived in pennsylvania in a home without running water {my father was in the process of building our home...by himself!!! and we moved in before it was completed} my younger sister and i were the official water carriers, bringing the water from our grandparents home...my grandfather owned a lot of land and we had to travel over many acres of rolling pennsylvania land to make our trips several times a day...i know what it is for water to be precious...that was quite a hike for two young girls:)

Suzanne said...

Beautiful collection! I love your thought of how many different faces might have looked into the basins. Oh, if antiques could talk! I suppose they do in a way, but wouldn't it be fun to listen to their lineage?

Fete et Fleur said...

These are lovely Susan. Your right, as water becomes more precious these beautiful basins may be needed once more.

Hugs!
Nancy

Donna O'Brien said...

These are a great item to collect and once again you enlightened me- hmmm...a watershed moment??

Joy Jones said...

Hi Susan! Love your beautiful vessels. My grandmother had the most beautiful pitchers around her house and back then, I was too young to appreciate what I was looking at. I'd give anything to have her special pieces with me now. Loved your photos and the memories your sweet post gave to me. Have a wonderful week! ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Britt-Arnhild said...

What a beautiful collection.

We have a few at our cabin, and there they are in use every day. I love that simple kind of live :-)

Doreen Frost said...

Good afternoon Susan. Thank you so much for stopping by to visit today and leaving me your kind words of wisdom. It's funny you said not to forget to take time for myself..I did just that and spent the morning and part of the afternoon kayaking with my son! It was so beautiful out there on the water today..gosh we had such a nice time! :)

~I've always had a fondness for these beautiful pitchers and bowls, my grandmother always had one sitting on her dresser in her room and I always loved it. Seeing these brings back such wonderful memories.

Big hugs,
Doreen

Doreen Frost said...

Just me again, I forgot to tell you how lovely your blog looks..the header and the dark background is just wonderful.

:)D

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by. I have created another "Rag Book". It is on french lingerie. I got sidestepped. I am just in the process of starting the ballet book. Hope you will stop by later in the week to check it out.

Kris

p.s. I love the ballet also.

Anonymous said...

I love your collection. I love the past that each piece carries with it. I suppose that is why we love antiques so much, it brings so much to the imagination of how the world was, who the people were....how appreciative they were of such simple things of beauty.

I wanted to invite you to stop by to sign up for my 100th post give away. My first one.

KAREN EILEEN

Heather said...

Very lovely! It is so interesting to think about those simple rituals that we now take for granted, thank you for the reminder!

Lallee said...

Maddie, I loved visiting your blog. Your vessels are beautiful--the snail pitcher so unique.

I am sorry to hear of your loss of Addison, my great grandfather's name. I always thought that was a stately name, and it certainly fit your beautiful gentleman.

Your blooms are gorgeous.

Lallee

softinthehead said...

I have always loved the pitcher and bowls and have collected a few over the years. They seem to be right at home in this old store I live in. I do, however, love the designs on the bowls you have pictured here, beautiful! Thanks for paying me a visit, and yes hubby was my inspiration for the frog, lol! J/K Pam

http://loveconquersall.typepad.com/my_weblog/ said...

You have an amazing look to your blog, banner and lovely basin sets!! How precious, sentimental and insightful your post was that you wrote.

Thank you!
Jeannene

Naturegirl said...

Yes thes vessels are priceless and I'd love to own one.
You are right many do take our precious water for granted and if we are not careful it too will become as you say priceless.

Christine LeFever said...

Your beautiful tribute to the preciousness of water reminds me of my husband's latest blog entry about the importance of patience. I see the reverence and patience practiced by people of long ago as they utilized elegant vessels. Yours are incredibly beautiful.

Below is Greg's blog address:

http://greglefever.blogspot.com/

Christine ~ Zwee!!!!!