What is a spill vase?

It held rolled paper or wood splints. You used them to transfer fire from the hearth to a candle or pipe. The vase part is usually a hollow tree trunk standing next to a figure or animal. It keeps the spills dry and close to hand.

My grandmother left me a pair of dogs that sit on the mantelpiece, why is one slightly bigger than the other?

Antique Staffordshire spaniels were made in pairs from separate press moulds. One faced left and the other faced right. Moulds wear out and need replacing over time. A factory might pair a dog from a fresh mould with one from an older, slightly shrunken mould.

How to clean old crazing?

Leave it alone. Soaking earthenware drives water into the porous body under the glaze. This stains the clay and causes further damage.

I have a blue and white plate with a landscape on it but I can barely make out the pattern because the ink has spread everywhere.

That blurring is called flow blue. Potters added volatile chemicals to the kiln during firing to make the cobalt oxide spread into the glaze. It was a deliberate choice rather than a mistake. The softer look hid minor printing errors and proved very popular in the export market.

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Antique Staffordshire in North East & Yorks

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Earthenware figures, plates, and vessels mass-produced in the English Midlands to decorate ordinary homes and serve daily meals. They range from simple slip-decorated dishes to colourful portrait figures of royalty and notorious criminals.