Made in Ireland
In 1998, my mother and I were shopping in Cocoa Village, FL, for a mother-of-the-bride dress for my wedding. Passing by an antiques and collectables shop on Brevard Avenue, something in the window caught her eye. Inside, she asked the clerk to lift an ivory piece of china out of the display. It was a small dish with a glossy finish shaped like a maple leaf. When my mother turned it over, she verified it was a piece of Belleek china with a “5th Mark,” indicating its provenance. This was a good find for a collector.
My mother, an Irish immigrant, had been collecting Belleek china from as far back as I remember. It’s a type of Irish porcelain that came into renown in the mid-19th century. A mineralogist named John Caldwell Bloomfield, who inherited his father’s estate in the town of Belleek, County Fermanagh, sought to provide his tenants with an occupation at the end of the Irish Famine. A survey of his land showed he had the minerals necessary for the clay that produces pottery, and later, with the addition of two partners, the business expanded to include porcelain. With many changes of ownership and iterations of the products over the years, Belleek is now the oldest china manufacturer in Ireland.
Belleek china is ivory in color, very thin and delicate with a glaze that gives it a somewhat translucent appearance. The basketweave and shamrock design is the most familiar of the patterns, though there are many other styles. Authentic Belleek includes the “mark” on the bottom showing the Irish wolfhound whose head is facing a round tower and an Irish harp which sit upon the “Belleek” banner. Below the banner is a ribbon with the words “Co Fermanagh Ireland.” The mark has evolved in detail and color since the original mark in 1863, and is an indication of the date of manufacture and value of the piece.
A favorite pastime of my mother’s was to search through knick-knack, consignment, and antique stores for pieces to add to her collection, and she had an eye for finding them. She kept her extensive collection of Belleek displayed on the built-in shelves in the living room. Vases, plates, teapots and cups, bowls, candlestick holders, frames, figurines, and more crowded the shelves, and were often stacked upon each other. Dusting the collection was a tedious operation that could take hours. The shelves were low to the ground and easily reachable by the tiny hands of her thirteen grandchildren. If you looked closely at her collection, you’d see several of the pieces had chips and cracks made by those tiny hands. (You’d also see the obvious repairs my father attempted to make with super glue!) My mother indulged her grandchildren’s curiosity, letting them handle and admire, even allowing a tea party or two—her solution was to turn the damaged sides to the back of the shelves.
There are names for almost every kind of collector—a lepidopterist collects butterflies and moths; a discophile collects records and music; a philatelist collects postage stamps. Though she wouldn’t have known it, my mother was a virtuoso—a collector of curios. For many years, she worked in a gift and collectables shop, and had a broad knowledge of curios. The shop carried Precious Moments, Lladro, Swarovski, Hummel, and Hallmark, but my mother’s personal tastes ran toward items made in Ireland. Along with Belleek, she collected Waterford Crystal, Royal Tara giftware, and Irish pottery. She displayed her Arklow tea set, pieces of Galway crystal, and Irish Dresden around the house.
People start collections for a myriad of reasons—for fun and enjoyment, for the thrill of the find, for appreciation of the beauty or history of a piece. I could surmise my mother collected for those same reasons, but in retrospect, I think it was mainly out of nostalgia, a way of connecting with her past while handing hand down her Irish heritage. As her seven children married and moved out, my mother started each of us on collections of our own.
I have a modest collection of Belleek with just over twenty-five pieces. A favorite is the maple leaf we found many years ago—“something old” given to me from my mother as a bridal luncheon gift. The maple leaf as well as a creamer and sugar bowl are the oldest pieces, dating to somewhere between 1955 and 1965. I have a commemorative piece that I treasure—a butter dish shaped like a thatched cottage with a yellow roof, chimney, and red door. It has the “10th Anniversary Mark.” Strictly decorative, I keep my Belleek on a narrow shelf in my kitchen where I look at it daily, and occasionally give it a dusting. The value of my collection is entirely nostalgic—it’s a way of remembering and connecting with my dear Irish mam and our heritage.
Through her love of collecting, my mother passed something else along to her daughters—we all have a love of scouring antique and collectables shops. Not too long ago, my sister, Helen, and I were combing through a consignment shop on Hilton Head Island when, in the back room amongst the overstock of chairs, headboards, and artwork, we found a shelf with four Belleek teapots, each one unique, each in perfect condition with the “11th Mark.” Helen and I both selected one and purchased it that day. The next day, having had second thoughts, we went back for the other two. These were good finds for collectors, too good to pass up.
What do you collect?