M C A F B C I S P - Belleek Collectors, Columbia Chapter, BCIS

Volume 24
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Number 3 , 2013
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From the President
Dear Collector;
As the year draws to a close, its time to think about the good memories that
we have made this year. The good byes and hellos we have said and be thankful
for both!
Belleek has a new selection of ornaments for 2013 and I hope at least one
will speak to you and join your collection, whether you are starting a new one
or adding to an existing one.
A wonderful time was had by all who attended our final convention in Las
Vegas, but we hope to have future gathering in the months and years to come.
We are part of the large family of Belleek and we reach around the globe. You
never know where you will meet a fellow Belleeker!
To you and your family I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Happy
Healthy New Year!
Angela
Angela Moore
President, Belleek Collectors International Society
The Belleek Collectors International Society
Belleek Pottery, Main Street, Belleek,
Co. Fermanagh N. Ireland BT93 3FY
[e-mail collector@belleek.ie]
Hostess Gifts for the Season
With lots of visiting this holiday season, the perfect hostess gift would be
the very pretty Belleek House Blessing Wreath #2292.
Larger than the standard ornament, this piece can still be hung on the Christmas
tree. However the beauty of it is, that its not just a Christmas Wreath. The ribbon
is a beautiful Belleek cream color and will work any time of the year, hung in
a window or a wall. The shamrocks speak of spring and St. Patrick's Day or to
remind of your Irish roots.
Babys First Christmas 2013
Belleek Baby
Ornaments
Baby gifts from Belleek
for 2013 from Belleek, include
two adorable ornaments .
My daughter is expecting a
Christmas baby, so I'm excited
about becoming a grandmother
for the second time! I definitely
want the Baby's First Christmas
Teddy Bear Bell Ornament
#4115, just like the one I had for
the older sister who joined us in
2011.
But the big sister won't be
left out as she will have her own
Belleek Baby Frame Hanging
Ornament # 4123
The great little Belleek Snowflake Votive
#4118, is another pretty little hostess gift. The
little pierce pot will allow the candle light to
shine through. This piece is alsi quite versatile
and could easily be filled with potpourri. The
hand painted gold stars make this piece really
Pictured at left,
Snowflake
Votive and
at right, House
B l e s s i n g
Wreath
Baby Frame Ornament
To order ,please contact
Patricia McCauley at
visitorcenter@belleek.ie
or visit our website at
www.belleek.com at
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Blarney Castle Ornament Bell
Blarney Castle, as viewed today- photo at left, is the third to have been erected
on this site. The first building in the tenth century was a wooden structure. Around
1210 A.D. this was replaced by a stone structure which had the entrance some
twenty feet above the ground on the north face. This building was demolished
for foundations. In 1446 the third castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, King of
Munster of which the keep still remains standing.
Blarney Castle, Cork
The lower walls are fifteen feet, built with an angle tower by the McCarthys of
Muskerry. It was subsequently occupied at one time by Cormac McCarthy, King
of Munster, who is said to have supplied four thousand men from Munster to
supplement the forces of Robert the Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Legend has it that the latter king gave half of the Stone of Scone to McCarthy in
gratitude. This, now known as the Blarney Stone, was incorporated in the battlements where it can now be kissed.
The Belleek Blarney Castle Bell #4122, (pictured at Left) is the seventh in the
Castle Bell Series. Visitors to Ireland often make their way towards Cork and just
outside the city is the famous castle. This beautiful Belleek Bell Castle Ornament is
certainly of one of the most recognized sites because it house the famous Blarney
stone. If you never kissed the Blarney Stone, then gift yourself with a wonderful
ornament of the castle its in, for your Christmas tree
The Stone of Eloquence
Blarney Castle Bell
For over 200 years, world statesmen,
literary giants, and legends of the
silver screen have joined the millions
of pilgrims climbing the steps to
kiss the Blarney Stone and gain the
gift of eloquence. Its powers are
unquestioned but its story still creates
debate.
Kissing the Blarney Stone
Getting the gift of the Gab
Once upon a time, visitors had to be held by the ankles and lowered head first over the battlements. Today, we are
rather more cautious of the safety of our visitors. The Stone itself is still set in the wall below the battlements. To kiss
it, one has to lean backwards (holding on to an iron railing) from the parapet walk. The prize is a real one as once
kissed the stone bestows the gift of eloquence.
Kilmalkedar Church Bell Ornament
Kilmalkedar is a mid 12th century romanesque church situated near the tip
of the Dingle peninsula overlooking Smerwick harbour. (Pictured at right)The
church is similar to Cormac's chapel at Cashel built of dressed sandstone blocks.
The church has some native Irish features such as stone antae projecting at the
end of the church. It is a nave and chancel church.
The west doorway is a classic round arched romanesque doorway. (Picture
below)The chancel is separated from the nave with a decorated entrance to the
church and a surviving chancel arch. In the grounds of the graveyard surrounding
the church at Kilmalkedar there are several other monuments, including a sundial
and alphabet stone.
The Saint's Road, a medieval pilgrimage route to Mount Brandon passes by the
church.
Kilmalkedar Church Bell
The Belleek Kilmalkedar Church Bell Ornament
#4112, faithfully reproduces the style of the 12th
century church, which would have had a stone roof. Its
romanesque door is also beautifully detailed on this
bell. It will look really spectacular lit from within by a
Christmas tree light. This is the newest in the Church
Bell series of ornaments.
To order these ornaments, please contact
Patricia McCauley at visitorcenter@belleek.ie or visit
our website www.belleek.com
Romanesque Door
Kilmalkedar Church, Kerry
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BCIS Convention 2013 , Las Vegas, NV
The October 2013 Belleek Convention in Las Vegas, saw many firsts and lasts.
It was the last of the biennial conventions hosted by our chapters and it is the last time we will choose a Belleek Honoree.
We did promise that this convention would be a special one and that we'd go out with a bang. So for the very first
time, we named 150 Honorees to our Belleek Hall of Fame!!!
While there will be no future Honorees, by our counting, we have one a year for the next 150 years! Included in this
special group are no less than nine of our Honorees from pervious years, who may now consider themselves "Double
Honorees". Over the last ten plus years, many of the members attending our last convention had also been to many
others. These folks include former Chapter presidents, individuals who have worked on pervious conventions and
many whose family members have been involved with our collectors group for years and they are following in their
footsteps! Every single person named to our 2013 Hall of Fame is well deserving of this honor and recognition. The
most difficult part was keeping it a secret until the convention and we have no doubt that it was a surprise to all who
attended. Above is a group photo, but you may go to the Belleek Face Book page to see individual photos.
The convention program kicked off with a trip down the Memory Lane of Conventions by our M.C. Don Campbell
(Honoree 2001 & 2013). As always, Don did a wonderful job pushing us along and keeping everyone on track and on
time. The lectures during this convention were among the best so far and perhaps in future issues we can bring you
a synopsis of each. Chris Marvel (Honoree 2013) told us his Shaggy Dragon Story and at this point all I can say is, it
has to be seen to be believed! Chris was the photographer at the Gala dinner, aided and abetted by Paul and Patrick
Tubb, who told us he really was a shy one - something else not to be believed.
Can I say that Chris was matched by his wife's, Beverly Marvel (Honoree 2013), lecture on Belleek Cooper Printing
Plates. Beverly made the discovery that a rather amateur looking Belleek black mark stamp, always thought to be a
fake, was actually produced at Belleek. I am looking forward to sharing Beverly's photos and information on that in
a future issue too. Perhaps Beverly will make it the subject of a future book. At the convention Beverly debuted her
new book, co-authored by Tony Fox, also of the UK Collector's Group - "Belleek Black Mark Tea Ware" (Photographed
below) Generously, Beverly and Chris gifted a book to each and every member at the convention, as what turned
out to be an Honoree Gift. Perhaps Beverly and Tony could be persauded to reprint
some additional copies of the book for sale to interested members? We will get back
to you on that one.
Dr. Linda Beard (Honoree 1999) gave a great update on the Belleek Collector
Richard Degenhardt Scholarship. This included a musical presentation from a former
recipient and a thank you from a current one. We will continue to support and follow
Linda each year in the Belleek Collector, as she continues her work of the foundation
she created to honor Richard Degenhardt and our members.
Fergus Cleary, Belleek Head of Design, discussed the intricacies of designing a
new tea cup patterns and shapes. Fergus invited everyone to try their hand at
creating a teacup or mug design, he promised that the designs submitted might even
end up on a future Belleek item. At the end of the convention Fergus had narrowed
down the designs submitted to a half dozen, which he planned to take back to the
Pottery to further investigate for possible use. We will let you know in an upcoming
issue of the Belleek Collector Magazine and on the Belleek Face Book page.
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Chris & Beverly Marvel
Introducing The Belleek Hall of Fame 2013 Honorees
The wonderful lectures continued with a
presentation by Lauresa Stillwell of her late mother's
collection. We laughed and cried with Lauresa as she
shared snap shots and stories about the wonderful
Liz Stillwell, dealer and collector extradonnaire.
Final lecture of the convention was given by
Eddie Murphy(Honoree 2013) of the UK Collectors
Group. Eddie has a wonderful personal collection
of Lithopanes that he collected over the years and
has thoroughly researched. He and Don Campbell
sparred over several lithopanes slides that each had Honorees from previous years, L-R; Sharon Pickerill ('99), Del Domke ('95), Brianne
bid on at auctions. But as Dean Bagnal would say, Carter ('11/12), Linda Beard ('99), Katherine Gaertner ('97), Don Campbell ('01),
Pat Holm ('98), Phyllis Bagnall ('02) and Dorothy Wheeler ('03).
"there are no such things as friends as auctions"!
And speaking of Dean Bagnal (Honoree 2013) we have to add our thanks to him for making each and every auction
fun over these last 10 years. We couldn't have done it without Dean and his super supportive wife Phyllis (Honoree
2002 & 2013).
This, our last convention would not
have happened without the tireless
efforts of co-chairs, Jean Lockington
and Johannah Purdon. Also their fellow
convention committee members,
Melissa Barry Finch, Moira Bailey, Al
Purdon, Chris & Bev Marvell, Paul &
Pat Tubbs, Don & Gretchen Campbell,
Doreen Morgan and Pat Hennessy. To
these and the many other volunteers we
are truly grateful. You made this a great
convention and you all deserved and
earned the title Belleek Honoree 2013.
Eddie Murphy
Not to end on a sad note of goodbyes,
we have to add that while no further
conventions of several days length will be
held in the future, that does not preclude
other Belleek Gatherings in all parts of
the world. We titled this convention "The
BCIS Family Gathering 2013" and would
hope that like all family gatherings there
will be lots of more mini gatherings going
down the road.
Dean Bagnall
Jean Lockington
Fergus Cleary
Johannah Purdon
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Las Vegas Basket
This unique Las Vegas
Basket has been specially
designed by Claire Rowe for
the 2013 Belleek Convention.
It is exclusive to Belleek
Collectors.
The design has been
inspired by the theme, “A
night in the Casino”.The
basket includes a pair of
lucky number seven dice,
black and red Casino chips,
and a suit of playing cards.
The yellow and green flowers
represent the Sagebrush, the
national flower of Nevada
and between the dice sits the all important Belleek
lucky four leaf clover!
The Las Vegas Baskets square shape is 5”L x
5”W x 2”H Each piece has a special back stamp
and will be individually numbered in gold. It also
includes a Certificate of Authenticity. The basket
will only be available until the end of December
2013. You must place an order by Dec.30th. Basket
cost is $195 and includes shipping. Baskets will be
made to order and shipped early in 2014..
The number one Las Vegas Basket was auctioned at
the Convention to add to the Richard K. Degenhardt
Foundation fund which gives bursuries to students
at the University of Ulster in Ceramic Design and
Celtic Studies. The Las Vegas Basket in the photo
at left, held by Sharon Pickerill, (Honoree '99) is
number one. Sharon was the successful bidder
for it.
To order your own Las Vegas Basket
please contact Patricia McCauley at
visitorcenter@belleek.ie
or call at +44 28 686 5801
Belleek Imperial Centerpiece
This piece is called the Imperial Centre and was one of the pieces sent
to the Paris Exhibition in 1900. It probably was designed especially for the
exhibition along with the International Centrepiece and others.
It appears in the 1904 catalogue (priced at 45 Shillings retail ) but
was no longer featured in the 1928 Belleek Catalogue. So any examples
of this piece will most likely have a Second Period mark. It possibly was
discontinued in 1919 when the number production lines were severely
reduced after the Belleek Pottery Works Co was sold to new owners becoming Belleek Pottery Limited
It's possible this Imperial Centre is quite rare as it was only produced
during a very short time ie 1904 to 1919.
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Pictured above is the Las Vegas
Convention Plate, shown back and
front. We had wanted to share this
pretty plate since, as we would say
at Belleek, it is the 11th and last in
the series.
Lighthouse Bell Ornament
New Ornaments for the 2013
Christmas Season
This season we add several new bells to our ornament
collection.
For the first time we have a Lady Snowman or should
we say Snow-woman? We have named her Snow Lady
and she is very pretty, of course as with all the snowmen
ornaments she has her own lucky shamrock!
The Belleek Star Bauble Ornament has an unusual
shape and with its hand painted outlined stars it will add
some elegance to your Christmas tree.
The more traditional round shaped bauble, the Belleek
Berry Leaf Bauble has an intricate relief of leaves and is has
hand painted gilted rings top and bottom.
St. Kierans Cross is a beautiful Celtic Cross with cetlic
designs and a sprig of hand painted shamrocks. A lovely
addition to your tree you can also hang it by your window
year round as a reminder of your faith and Celtic roots.
Haulbowline is a main sea light and also serves
to guide vessels from seaward through the entrance
channel into Carlingford Lough. It is on the North
Eastern side of Ireland and located in a channel between
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is built
on a wave-washed rock, exposed only at low tide.
The lighthouse was built after a request was made
in 1817 by the merchants of Newry to replace the 1803
Cranfield Point Lighthouse due to the latter's poor
position in marking the dangerous rocks at the entrance
to Carlingford Lough and also its inadequacy for the
guiding of vessels at the west end of the Lough.
The cut stone tower of Haulbowline Lighthouse
was designed by George Halpin Sr. Its overall height is
112 feet. Building this tower on a semi-submerged rock
with fast currents running around it was a remarkable
achievement at the time and a fixed white light was
first exhibited on 1 September 1824. The tower was
painted white and remained so until 1946 when it was
changed to its natural stone colour.
From 1824 until 1922 the Keepers and their families
lived in the Cranfield Point Lighthouse dwelling until
after the light was automated. In 1995 the lighthouse
was completely re-equipped.
Star Bauble Ornament #4119
Snow Lady Bell Ornament # 4120
The Belleek Haulbowline Lighthouse Ornament Bell
#4121 is the twelveth in the Lighthouse Bell series. This
wonderful piece replicates this old lighthouse. However
you can note that because it is a bell ornament, the
base must be wider. But let your eye follow the upper
shape and the raised detail of the stone work. Its tuly
a beautifully handcrafted piece.
Ireland is an island and the lighthouses are an
extremely important part of daily life and have been
for the past few centuries. When you visit Ireland be
sure to look out for the many dotted along the coasts.
This beautiful bell will be a fabulous addition to
your Christmas ornament collection and a wonderful
gift for the sailors or wannabe sailors in the family.
Berryleaf Bauble Ornament #4117
St. Kieran's Cross #3517
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A few more photos fron the
2013 Convention
Saturday morning, Honorees 2013 listening to Del Domke (Honoree"95) give his presentation on Belleek Armorials
The Gathering 2013
at Belleek Pottery
Belleek Honourees 2013 Pat Tubb, Patrick Tubb
from the UK Collectors Group & Mary Oleksak
from upstate New York
Kathleen O'Connor (Honoree 2013) with
Earthenware Plate at auction
One of the many beautiful Belleek items
for purchase in the Sales Room
Belleek Honorees 2013, Pauline Corcoran
and her mum Kay Corcoran preparing
the gift packages for the delegates
As part of the Gathering 2013,
celebrated all over Ireland, and
at the Belleek Pottery in August
2013,as mentioned in the last issue
of the Belleek Collector. We just had
to share the beautiful cake created
on the day. It was an oversized cake
to share with the many visitors on
the day.
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year
From All of us BCIS
The souvenir ornament is still
available at www.belleek.com
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