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Crazy Patched-up Vase
Crazy Patched-up Vase
Crazy Patched-up Vase
This was made by Thomas Abbott (1852-1935), a well-known Kingston china restorer, to demonstrate his skills. He made it especially for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee out of fragments of china and held a competition to guess the number of pieces. He also broke a toilet ewer into 289 fragments and restored it using 613 rivets. At a London exhibition in 1882 he gained a special award for china rivetting. Both items were famous in Kingston and papier-maché replicas were often used in pageants. Thomas Abbott's had a shop in Kingston's High Street. He specialised in selling coronation souvenirs. And in the heyday of his business life he included royalty among his clientele.
Did you know?
The 'crazy patched up vase' is made of 1540 pieces.
In 1909 Thomas restored the Dinner Service that was made for Queen Catherine the Great of Russia by Wedgwood in 1773. As the service was for use in the palace of La Grenouilliere near St Petersburg, Wedgwood was asked to put a green frog on each piece. The Service was brought to England for an exhibition in 1909 and some pieces were on display in Thomas Abbott's shop. The Service portrayed many views of British landscape scenes.
