I am a sucker for old English transferware and ironstone.  I have a tendancy to pick up good and well worn pieces at estate sales and antique malls. Some that collectors will pass on because of the condition. That lovely brown glazing from God knows what.

So I picked up this well loved English mulberry ware piece last week. It has a significant amount of crazing and brown staining throughout and is pretty rough.  I posted a picture on Facebook saying I was going to try and clean it and boy did the dissent happen. Some said not to, that it would ruin the provenance of the piece, others said go ahead. But the photo doesn’t show the whole truth about this piece.

It is stained. I mean REALLY stained. So I think I am going to soak it in hydrogen peroxide as described on the internet. The only thing I am worried about is the handle repair so I may not soak that and wrap it up for protection.

Here are some before shots:

I researched who to do this on the internet. Most said to go to your local beauty supply store and get the high powered hydrogen peroxide stylists use on hair coloring. This scared me. Especially since they were all like FORE THE LOVE OF ALL WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING THIS.

So I did the next best thing. I went to Walmart where a bottle of hydrogen peroxide was 89 cents a piece. I bought 12. Then I poured all of them into an old cooler I had and set the pitcher down in it. For two months.

Within a few days the solution had turned dark brown and a good amount of the brown had come off. So I let it sit and sit. When I felt that there was too much brown in the solution (after 30 days) I dumped it, went back to Walmart and bought 12 more and poured them in for another 30 day soak. I was so happy that NONE of the transfer pattern on the pitcher was disturbed. But um, when I went to pick up the pitcher at about day 45, the repaired handle came right off in my hand.

Ruh Roh.

 

 

Wish me luck, in about 30 plus days I hope to have a cleaner piece with the pattern intact!