$0.00

LOCATION– being sold under consignment by a private seller in Brunswick, MELBOURNE.

$ AUSTRALIAN dollars. (This is significantly less in AMERICAN dollars!) Can be posted internationally. To most Australian locations postage of this one would cost ABOUT $40 including registered post and full insurance. We stock Barsony pieces when we can get them. Regularly click into our NEWLY LISTED Category or follow us on Instagram. www.instagram.com/invisedge

 

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Description

Part of a good-sized consignment of vintage Barsony ceramic pieces. We have 5 or 6 Barsony pieces to be sold from this consignment. Located in BRUNSWICK, MELBOURNE, this is part of a deceased estate. The Executor of the Will has agreed to professionally pack these items for postage and take them to the post office. (She’s had a lot of experience packing delicate items as her Dad is ceramicist.) Your offer price will INCLUDE packing and delivery to the local post office. Postage fees will be calculated AFTER packing and then will be invoiced to you separately.

Call us using the phone number in CONTACT section to express your interest in buying this piece.

Provenance and Background Info

(Written in 2022)

Barsony ceramics is one of Australia’s most celebrated decorative arts companies to ever operate and the matt-black pieces in this style are the most collectable. Barsony Ceramics produced decorative ceramic wares in the 1950’s and 1960’s, operating in Sydney by George Barsony (1917-2010) and Jean Barsony from the early 1950’s to the early 1970’s. Ellis pottery is the only Australian pottery firm I can think of that is probably more celebrated- in my eyes Barsony comes in a close second. This piece is one of the most collectable Barsony ceramic pieces I’ve come across for some years. Most of these pieces had holes in them for the addition of lamp parts- nearly all Barsony pieces are lamps. This one was NOT made as a lamp- the holes for lamp attachments are not present. This design is one of Barsony’s most popular and collectable but in a piece made as decorative item only this is one of the only ones I’ve seen over the years. Barsony pieces that are NOT lamps fetch higher prices simply because of the rarity. This piece is a perfect piece for the collector- I doubt you’ll come across another again.

It is also clearly marked to the base which further adds to it’s collector appeal and value. The fact it’s marked F-32 verifies it was made as a decorative piece only and not a lamp. In a lamp, this design is marked FL-32 (FL = Figural Lamp). HL in Barsony pieces stands for Head Lamp. L is for Lamp, H for Head and F- Figurine.

Barsony products became so popular in the 1950’s and 60’s that the factory in Guildford, Western Sydney operated 24 hours a day to satisfy demand. Barsony ceramics became unfashionable in the late-70’s and 1980’s when Chinese-made items started to flood the Australian market. Most vintage pieces at this time were seen as being “daggy” and “for poor people”. Many people thought of items such as Barsony pieces as junk and threw them out. Numbers have diminished over the years. Around 2002, fashions changed and vintage pieces slowly started to become more sought-after. Kitsch items became cool in the early noughties- Barsony black lady lamps started to feature in the upmarket vintage shops in our Capital cities. At around 2003 black lady lamps in good condition were being sold for around $300. Since COVID all things vintage reached a height of popularity never seen before. Today in 2022, vintage pieces made in Australia (such as Barsony) have become extremely sought after and hotly contested when they come onto the market. Good examples are now consistently fetching over $1200 each- I’ve seen many bid up in auction to over $1500 (written 2022).

I think the appeal is because of the seamless melding of retro kitsch with timeless elegance. Many are stylish, elegant pieces of design- the hand-painted decoration on the other hand is often the epitome of kitsch and retro. This contrast creates an intriguing look that draws you in. Well-placed, they work in any interior but in those cool retro spaces with vintage Kartell pieces, Guzzini lamps and the like, Barsony pieces meld in brilliantly.

I love the hand-painted detailing on this one. Barsony pieces often stand apart because of the level of sophistication seen in the hand-painted decoration. It is said that Jean Barsony often sat at her kitchen table at night, surrounded by grandchildren, painting these pieces. The nostalgia this scene conjures up is heart-warming and it is my hope that visions like this will encourage more Australians today to try their hand at something creative. A resurgence in valuing locally-produced creative endeavours will surely bring about a positive effect in our communities.

George Barsony, a sculptor from Hungary arrived in Australia as a refugee after WWII. Soon after, he met his future wife Jean who had come to Australia from England and worked as a potter in Sydney. They established Barsony Ceramics together in 1950’s which operated in a factory in Guernsey Street, Guildford (Western Sydney) until the 1970’s.

Many Barsony products were marked, some have no markings and others have a foil label. As with anything that became popular, copies of Barsony items were made at the time. Many copies were unmarked however there was a range of similar items made by Kalmar which adopted a similar marking system to Barsony.

The most recognisable Barsony product are the “black lady” lamps, featuring a scantily dressed figure with highlights in red and other colours. Some lamps incorporated an ash tray as well. At that time a high sales tax was levied on ornamental items, while utilitarian items such as cups, plates and ashtrays attracted a reduced sales tax.

The story of Barsony ceramics is yet another of resilience and success that has coloured Australia’s rich history in the Arts. Australia’s indigenous artists are regarded as some of the best in the world. On top of this, many artists who fled Europe and settled in Australia as a result of political unrest / World War II, went on to become some of Australia’s most celebrated artists ever, including George Barsony. In my time setting up and running iNVISeDGE, I have read time and time again stories of refugees who set up industries in their garages in the 1950’s and went on to achieve success they could only dream of. Many of these people came to Australia with no physical assets and the trauma of having to flee home and venture into the unknown. We can all learn from their industriousness and resilience.

Barsony ceramic pieces are now one for the history books. These items, that have now inspired us for 70 years, have leapt in value in recent times and I see no reason why this trend won’t continue. After modern, mass-produced items are no longer in trend and end up landfill, vintage Barsony pieces will be passed on to yet another owner and then another generation. These pieces are set to be passed on for centuries, gathering more stories as they go. Investing in vintage pieces is a great way to invest in your home, reduce landfill and support Australian small businesses of today.

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This piece is in brilliant vintage condition for something that's about 70 years old. It has no condition issues at all that warrant a mention. There are NO cracks, NO chips, NO touch-ups, NO careless damage at all. The piece is vintage so it does have some minor signs of age and use. There's nothing that's noticed or affects its value. Small signs of use are to be expected and are part of the character of vintage Barsony ceramic pieces. Consult the photos and use the Magnifying Tool to see what you'll be getting. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Measurements. Total height- 17cm. Across- 15cm. Depth- 11cm. Weight- grams. Read my 1200+ feedback comments (ALL for vintage furniture and design SALES). This is your guarantee that I strive to describe all my items as accurately as I can and I will not stock items unless they are in excellent condition.
PICK-UP from Fortitude Valley, BRISBANE is welcome but must be worked out prior to purchase- thank you. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ POSTAGE is offered internationally. All our Decorative Arts pieces are delivered through AUSTRALIA POST. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ POSTAGE ESTIMATES. . . . ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To BRISBANE- most of our pieces cost $15 - $18 to send. . . To SYDNEY or MELBOURNE- Small Vase- around $20 - $23, Medium Vase- around $22 - $25, Large Vase- around $24 - $30. Let us know if you need an EXACT COST for postage prior to purchase. The above postage estimates include $2.95 for a signature on delivery. . . INSURANCE against being lost or broken in transit up to the value of $200 is included in the estimates above. If your vase is cheaper or more expensive than $200 this will effect your postage fee slightly. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A BOXING FEE of $3.00 - $5.00 is included in the fee above to cover the cost of searching for and storing used packing materials. With the millions of cardboard boxes that end up as landfill every year we don’t believe in supporting the manufacture of boxes for post. Instead of buying new boxes and packing materials and passing this cost onto our customers we spend considerable time sourcing used boxes and then fashioning boxes to fit each item. We do the same for bubble-wrap and foam pieces. This requires a large investment of time, energy, ingenuity, organization and storage space- it is much easier and cheaper to buy new packing materials but I can’t justify taking the easy way out when so much packing material ends up polluting our earth. Our nominal charge does little to pay for the time (and storage) needed do this and to pack your item (there is also the time needed to get your package to the post office). This is something we’re happy to do for our customers and the environment. We appreciate your support in this area.
We accept DIRECT BANK DEPOSIT. We send photographic ID of the iNVISeDGE store owner (Michael Grealy) to all customers at the point of sale, along with media articles about iNVISeDGE with photos of Michael Grealy in them (most of these articles are about 10 years old). Your payment will be paid into an Australian ANZ bank account under the name Michael Grealy (or iNVISeDGE). Please read our ebay feedback spanning more than 18 years for irrefutable proof of our online trading history and reputation. Ebay feedback can ONLY be left by LEGITIMATE PAYING customers! Additionally please be aware that in Australia ALL consumers are protected BY LAW if the goods or services they buy are not as described. (But this should be of no concern- in our first 20 years of trading we have over 1150 positive ebay feedback comments and ZERO negative feedback comments.) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On occasions a DIRECT BANK DEPOSIT can be made at the time of collection. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On occasions CASH payment when you collect your item may also be available. Confirm prior to purchase if you need this. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Other payment methods are available but problematic and may incur additional fees. Tell us prior to purchase if you are unable to feel 100% confident with our trading history and payment methods so we can negotiate something else with you.
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