There is a Mouse in the House...........
Winter often brings the field mice indoors as they forrage for food, but here at Top Banana we were happy to offer sanctuary to one rather different mouse that has just come through the door.....
The works of Robert Mouseman Thompson and his workshop are very keenly collected today and thanks to our fantastic group of dealers we get to see a good array of genuine Mouseman pieces throughout the year including this very nice vintage coffee table that dates to the 1950s or 60s that has just come in.
Robert mouseman began creating his furniture for local parish churches around the time of the first world war and famously added his trademark mouse in 1919. As his notoriety grew so did his team of craftsmen and students. Today the Mouseman studio is still going strong creating items inkeeping to the founders original beliefs.
Dating Mouseman items has always been a bit more of an art than a science since many of his most classic designs remained in production for many decades. However the tone of the oak as it ages is often a good initial indicator. On his earlier works the whiskers of the mouse were always carved in, but these had largely disappeared by the time he died in 1955. The tops should ideally be hand-adzed although not always, and do beware of the fakes. Since the values for Mouseman have jumped considerably in recent years so have the forgeries. The mouse should always be carved proud of the wood it surrounds using the same piece of timber and not dug out from it, and the mouse motif is never applied or glued on using a separate piece of wood.
Owning real quality antique and vintage furniture from any period is a joy not only because it will serve its purpose well for many years, but because the love and sweat that went into it makes it stand out proudly from the rest.
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