Hot from the press: A Tale of Two Williams - my new column in Homes & Antiques. This month I shine the light on two wonderful porcelain decorators, both called William but they couldn't be more different! William Billingsly was a brilliant but difficult man who left behind a trail of debts, broken hearts and mystery - but he was also one of the most important people in the history British porcelain. Billingsley revolutionised the way British decorators painted flowers; he add

Let's look at a slightly different material this week. In the Moorish time, North African potters made a beautiful tin-glazed earthenware on the island of Mallorca. This found its way to Italy during the time of the Renaissance, and as this was an era when people got very interested in Classical stories (Renaissance means "rebirth", and this referred to the Classical culture and mythology), the Italians decorated their pottery with all kinds of stories: biblical as well as my

I've always had a weakness for orphaned cups. The tea and coffee cups I sell are often 200 years old, sometimes more. So it is not surprising that some have lost their siblings. But even so, they can be perfect for use, and they make great gifts! Many of these cups would not only have had a saucer, but also a companion cup. In the 18th and early 19th Century, cups and saucers were sold in "true trios": a teacup, a coffee cup and a saucer. As you would never drink tea and coff

Many of us know the use of a "potpourri" from our bathrooms: a bowl or jar with scented dried fruits to freshen the air. But in Georgian, Regency and Victorian houses potpourris were a normal feature in any room. This was a time before vacuum cleaners, when rugs and curtains were only shaken out thoroughly once a year in the spring cleaning, so rooms could get quite dusty and stuffy. Porcelain factories made therefore beautiful potpourri vases and urns, made as much for decor