Jumped Too Fast

You know how teachers tell you to read the directions?

I'm a teacher.

You know how experienced collectors know to examine a piece carefully before buying?

I'm an experienced collector.

You know how humans make mistakes?

I'm human.

So... in light of all that, take a look at my new decorator.

A charcoal Running Mare.

Honestly, in the ad it looked blue. It really did. And it had JUST been listed for a great price. A cursory look at the ears and body showed no broken pieces, and I hit the Buy It Now Button and paid for it faster than I have ever bought a piece on eBay before.

Sitting happily back in my chair, I smiled to myself - I'd gotten it! A Wedgwood Running Mare! 

Even though I already have one.

I was ecstatic - you can never have enough vintage decorators.

Then I went back and actually read the eBay ad all the way through. I took a closer look at all the photos the seller had included. It wasn't a Wedgwood, it was a charcoal!

To be clear, the seller did NOTHING wrong. The ad accurately listed the piece as a grey Running Mare, not a wedgewood Running Mare. There were lots of photos to examine and text to read. There was NO deception on the seller's part - I just got excited and jumped before I should have.

Had I read the ad rather than just looking at the color, I would have known the piece was charcoal.

Having said that, there is a bluish cast to the piece. That's what caught my eye when I was scrolling through eBay. And why I did not read the ad through before buying her. 

Here's another picture of my wedgewood Running Mare along with Josiah and the Running Foal. Look closely at her coloring. 

A belly close up.

A hip close up.

And a neck close up.

See how close to charcoal she looks? 

I'd never realized just how close those colors could be depending on light as well as who mixed up the paint that morning in the factory.

Here's another example of a wedgewood Running Mare: Susan Bensema Young's Lapis Lazuli.

A much brighter blue, at least in this photo. Is the color really that different from the darker blue of mine, or is it due to the lighting Sue used? 

(In October, 2018 Sue came and visited me. I wrote a blog post about that visit and she gave me permission to use her photos then. This one is pulled from that blog post.)

My point being, that colors can vary depending on several things. Look back at that picture with Josiah. At the time, Breyer was still trying to replicate the vintage wedgewood blue but his blue has a green cast to it.

And look again at the Running Foal in that photo. 

There is a grayish cast to his color.

I still see blue when I look at this photo from the eBay ad and that's why I bought the piece so quickly. I glanced at the ad and thought the seller has mislabeled the color as charcoal rather than blue.

But, had I read the text, had I looked at all the pictures, I'd have realized that this was not a vintage decorator.

So, on my shelves she's going. I'm not unhappy to have this piece, not one bit. Will I stop and read more carefully the next time I think a decorator has popped up for a really good price? Maybe, maybe not. You do have to jump fast sometimes.

And with that, my new mare has a name: Jumped Too Fast.

Welcome to Windsong Stables, Jumpy!

More new models are coming soon.

Stay 'tooned!