Ceramics

The ceramics sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on April 30 includes two maiolica apothecary jars and covers from the celebrated Fortuna series – an ambitious suite of pharmacy jars and jugs made in the third quarter of the 16th century.

If the 1970s and 80s are remembered as a heyday of English porcelain collecting it is because of enthusiasts such as Dr Dennis G Rice.

A month before the emergence of three Compass factory figures in Lewes, the eighth and ninth recorded pieces by America’s earliest-known porcelain maker were offered for sale in Salisbury.

Designer and decorator Serge Royaux 1924-2016, whose collection of paintings, drawings, furniture and decorative items is being sold by Christie’s Paris rooms on April 17, liked to entertain and to arrange the decor of his table settings to suit individual guests.

Rare examples of early English porcelain are still capable of remarkable sums.

On April 13 Skinner in Boston is holding one of its periodic sales of European furniture, silver and ceramics. Wedgwood is almost always a feature of these auctions and the latest is no exception.

A massive 3ft (92cm) high majolica urn – a riot of grotesque masks, mythical figures and other motifs drawn from Renaissance sources – combining the talents of two key figures in the history of the Minton factory was included in Fonsie Mealy’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale on March 5.

Last November, Lempertz in Cologne held a successful sale of 19th century porcelain from the so-called Twinight Collection, amassed from 1994 by the New York businessman Richard Baron Cohen.

This 1750s Vincennes porcelain bottle cooler is part of a collection of around 60 lots of French, (mainly Sèvres, Vincennes and Mennecy) porcelain from the estate of the film and television executive John F Ball to be sold by Butterscotch Auctions, in Bedford, New York, on March 30-31.

Porcelain from five private collections features in a special exhibition on the stand of Jupiter Antiques at this month’s Chelsea Antiques Fair.

As reported in this week’s Dealers’ Diary, Jupiter Antiques is holding the first spring exhibition in its 35-year history. It takes place within an outside organised event (Penman Fairs), The Chelsea Antiques Fair. Five collections feature, including hundreds of pieces put together by the late Dr Trevor Darling, who died last year. Ahead of the fair Jupiter Antiques has paid tribute to him.

Familiar striking shapes and bright colours retain a strong following despite a fall in demand from the 1980s-90s heyday.

In the latest of our occasional series of collector interviews, we talk to Ian Harvey, 74, a retired chartered accountant who has been collecting all his adult life.

A selection of five pieces of Clarice Cliff offered at different price levels at Woolley & Wallis on March 20 .

Pictured here are three pieces from the Pelham Olive collection sold by Bonhams on January 31. Two are early English delft and are prize examples because they are inscribed and dated. The third is an example of Staffordshire slipware.

The models used in 17th century ceramics were typically derived from contemporary metalwork – and occasionally vice versa.

This exceptional candlestick belongs to a small group of cast and enamelled brass wares made in the second half of the 17th century. All are distinguished by their method of production: unlike champlévé or cloisonné decoration, the enamelled fields were cast in the mould.

Three lots selling for multi-estimate sums at regional auctions in the UK including a Staffordshire slipware honey pot from c.1700 that drew demand at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury.

The sale of two great collections at auction – one in London, the other in New York – has highlighted the ebbs and flows of the market for early British pottery and furniture.