Ceramics

A routine house call in the Macclesfield area saw Cheshire auctioneer Adam Partridge return with a superb pair of Elkington & Co ormolu and cloisonné enamel vases in the boot of his car.

The London Ceramics Fair, organised by Nick Gent of Prestige Ceramic Fairs, is one of the first fairs to start the New Year.

The Wemyss factory in Fife has become almost exclusively associated with its distinctive, personable pottery pigs and Lawrences’ sale in Crewkerne on January 17 contains four pleasing porkers in various sizes and patterns.

This stoneware model of a rhino led the latest sale at Cottees which proved to be one of the most successful the Poole auctioneers have held in recent years.

While anthropomorphic bird figures have long been seen as the most desirable products of the Martin Brothers’ art pottery, recently there has been an upsurge in demand for their equally characterful grotesque models.

John Edgeler and Roger Little are slipware evangelists. The pair are devoted to extolling the virtues of 20th century slipware by Michael Cardew (1901-82) and his peers at Winchcombe pottery.

The wide-ranging McKee Collection of Staffordshire figurines will feature in McAfee Auctions, November 23, in Ballymoney, County Antrim.

Specialist art consultancy Maak, established in 2009 by Marijke Varrall-Jones, former head of contemporary ceramics at Bonhams, holds specialist auctions of international studio ceramics twice a year.

In a marketplace seriously in need of entry-level collectors, the great majority of Royal Doulton character jugs and HN series figures are worth under £100 – and most of them less than £30 when sold without reserve at auction.

A house visit in north Derbyshire unearthed a treasure trove, with every room cluttered with porcelain figures.

Works of art by architect-designer William Burges (1827-1881) are extremely rare – but serendipity has seen half a dozen pieces emerge recently in the regions.

Recently rescued from Kent & Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells, a selection of 13 Carter tiles attributed to Phyllis Butler are to be offered at Bonhams Knightsbridge on October 16.

The latest catalogue for Kensington ceramics dealer Simon Spero’s next exhibition has just landed on ATG’s Editorial desk.

Joy Barnes (b.1912), a life-long artist and local Somerset resident who turns 100 next month, was present in the saleroom to watch her collection of Modern British art and studio ceramics sold by Greenslade Taylor Hunt in Taunton.

Negotiations on a new rescue package have raised hopes of saving the Wedgwood Museum collection. Those involved expect to be able to unveil an agreement within the next few months.

A pair of Sèvres porcelain ice-cream pails will be offered for sale at Clevedon Salerooms, near Bristol, on August 30.

Made around 260 years ago, a rare English slipware press-moulded dish came undamaged from a Welsh Marches vendor into the Shrewsbury salerooms of Halls, lighting up the eyes of fine art director Jeremy Lamond whose specialty is ceramics.

A rare blue and white version of William De Morgan’s design of a kingfisher catching a fish while perched on a branch appeared at the latest Arts & Crafts sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury.

This slipware charger by Bernard Leach has been acquired by the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston.

The strength and depth of the Picasso ceramics market was put to the test when Christie’s South Kensington offered the vast 543-lot Madoura Collection.