I am always entranced with other people’s collections, especially when they aren’t in my realm of knowledge. A few years ago, I became fascinated with the collection I am sharing with you today.  My friend, Barbara Varro (we became friends many, many years ago when she was in the fashion business as an editor and I was in retail), has a wonderful home in Harbor Country, it is a modern structure filled with many treasures from her extensive travels, various artworks, photos  from her trips and with friends, books, etc. and family heirlooms.   One of these heirlooms is today’s topic.

The china canister set is housed in a pine hutch in her dining room and when I am sitting at the dining room table it is what I look at (sometimes having a meal and often playing a game of cards that gives us the giggles!!!), I love these pieces. Let me tell you a bit about them and their interesting history…

The base is burnt orange and white with transfers of cottage and garden scenes, two in fact.  The cottages look very English with thatched roofs and English flower gardens.  They are Czechoslovakian and the pattern is Victoria (is that where the English comes in???)  The 15 piece set was given as a wedding gift in 1935 to Stephanie and Edward Czechanski.  Stephanie had the set displayed in her kitchen hutch. She later gave the set to Barbara’s mother in the 1950’s who placed them on shelves in her kitchen.  They were stored for years and now are proudly displayed once again so everyone can admire their unique look.

I am particularly fond of the cruet set…love the shape of it. Here are a couple of the other pieces in more detail.  You can see the two images clearly in this shot.

We have no idea why the writing is Asian, obviously hand applied and not in a straight line, I think both add to the charm of the pieces.  I think the lids look like a pagoda in their shapes. Having searched on line, I didn’t find anything similar.  Lots of Victoria brand but totally different patterns.

What discoveries have you made when visiting your friend’s homes or in your attic or garage…do share in comments!