This quasi-Isnik charger sold by Crow's (10% buyer's premium) in Dorking on July 28 was characteristic Deck but had some condition problems. From the front it could have passed as perfect but to the reverse there was a crack that started from a hanging hole, running into the centre and stopping just short of the rim. Nevertheless it went to a commission bid against four telephones at £900.
The Minton factory - rivals to Deck as the Victorian era's most inventive manufactuter - was represented by a majolica urn supported by two putti. It went on low mid estimate at £1150, reflecting some restoration.
As expected, the top price of the Dorking sale was tendered for a fine mahogany longcase by John Ward of Ford Street, London. A typical London clock from the final quarter of the 18th century, it featured a fretwork pagoda top, well-chosen timbers and reeded columns plus an arched brass dial with a date aperture and subsidiary seconds dial.
It sold to a buyer in the room at £5000.
Crow’s clear the cracked Deck
ONE of the pioneers of the vogue for Japanese and Chinese design in the 1870s, Joseph Theodore Deck was also one of the first 19th century potters to explore Isnik floral designs and colour schemes. It was during his efforts to replicate the Turkish palette that he perfected the turquoise glaze that came to be known as bleu de Deck, or Deck blue.