Decorative Art

It was in keeping with a Salisbury sale dominated by the remarkable £460,000 bid for a teapot made at Cain Hoy, South Carolina by John Bartlam c.1765 (see ATG 2331), that the same Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) ceramics sale included a group of three rare enamel boxes made for the American market.

As a general rule late Victorian ceramics are at a low ebb, and teasets in particular. Bucking that trend was the extraordinary bid for this Wileman Shelley six-place tea set offered by Lockdales (19.5% buyer’s premium) Martlesham, near Ipswich.

Much of the Clarice Cliff pottery that finds its way into UK salerooms is relatively inexpensive. However, a clutch of pieces by the Staffordshire born and bred designer due to go under the hammer over the next few weeks will attract those in the hunt for scarcer works.

‘Wally’ birds are among the most coveted of all pieces made by the famous Martin Brothers.

A sensational result emerged for the artist-potter Hans Coper (1920-81) at the 20th Century & Contemporary sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in Exeter.

MADAM – Re: the article by Laura Chesters concerning the future of the Silver Vaults (ATG No 2330). Just to correct a small point – that the Chancery Lane Safe Deposit was opened by the Lord Mayor in May 1885 and not in 1876.

E&H Manners holds a selling exhibition of rare English porcelain figures in its Kensington Church Street gallery this month.

In the flourishing market of British studio ceramics, a raft of new names is gaining traction.

Made in Switzerland for the Turkish market, in the late 19th century this zarf (coffee cup), below, had endured some rough treatment over the years before appearing at the Shropshire rooms of Trevanion & Dean (19% buyer’s premium).

A hitherto unrecorded teapot attributed to a pioneering North American porcelain factory sold last week for a remarkable £460,000 (plus premium) at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury.

The annual celebration of Mother’s Day falls this year on Sunday, March 11. Perfume bottles dating from the Victorian era, in a variety of materials and range of prices are a one-of-a-kind gift option.

Particularly appropriately named for Mother’s Day is Love Fairs, whose upcoming fair at Brighton Racecourse runs on Sunday, March 11.

The long-term future of the historic London Silver Vaults is uncertain as the landlord weighs up options for the building.

A small collection of 18th century European porcelain offered by Reeman Dansie in Colchester included this Meissen teapot and cover c.1725.

The Specialist Glass Fair, founded in 1991 by Patricia Hier and run for 16 years by Paul Bishop, will be held on Sunday, February 25.

The great Hungarian love affair with Zsolnay Pec ceramics goes on, most recently witnessed in the East Sussex rooms of Burstow & Hewett (15% buyer’s premium) when 27 lots were offered.