Rie’s 9in (22cm) flaring footed porcelain bowl, right, with a matte white glaze and concentric inlaid blue lines repeated inside and out, dated from c.1978.
It is almost identical to another pictured on the front cover of Tony Birk’s 1994 biography Lucie Rie and had last been on the market in 1985 when it was sold by Christie’s to the American collector who consigned it for sale here. Estimated at $40,000-60,000, it sold for a massive $170,000 (£133,900) or $212,500 including premium.
The price surpassed the artist’s previous record, set just a few months ago at a Phillips London sale in September when £85,000 was bid for a 1976 conical form bowl of the same size with bands of golden manganese rim and sgraffito grid designs.
This in turn improved upon the £55,000 tendered for an 8¼in (21cm) diameter inlaid porcelain footed bowl of c.1980 sold by the same auction house in October 2015. The auction record for Rie had stood at the £47,000 bid at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury in 2014 for a 10in (25cm) flaring bowl in a vibrant blue and manganese glaze.
