Decorative Art

Some ‘prisoner of war’ productions are now thought to have been made by skilled craftsmen

Ohio auction specialist Bridget McWilliams was on site at a Cleveland estate when a pair of tarnished metal centrepieces with fanciful curlicued handles caught her eye.

Vanessa Bell submitted two designs for the 1934 Modern Art for the Table exhibition at Harrods.

The historic collection of pottery manufacturer Moorcroft could soon be heading to auction following the collapse of the company.

Silverware with connections to key figures from the famous French firm of Puiforcat proved to be a major component in a sale of items from a Parisian family collection held by Beaussant Lefèvre (28% buyer’s premium).

I read with particular interest Graham Smith’s announcement last June of his intention to retire after 50 years in the antiques business. He began working for Owen Humble in April 1973.

Leading a recent sale at Sheffield Auction Gallery (24% buyer’s premium) was a pair of George III ormolu mounted Derbyshire fluorspar candle vases.

Graham Slater’s collection that packed a Cambridge house provided 670 lots over two auctions

This Wedgwood creamware tea or punch pot commemorating the launch of a gun ship at Deptford in 1784 was among 29 lots from the collection of The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights sold by specialist Charles Miller.

The evolution of Berlin porcelain – produced by Royal Porcelain Factory founded in 1763 by King Frederick II of Prussia – was well illustrated by two vases which both went way over the estimates in recent sales.

Consigned from a private collection in Oxfordshire, a Wanli (1572-1620) mark and period blue and white jardinière sold for £40,000 at Chorley’s (25% buyer’s premium).

Glittering displays of glass will be on show at the upcoming Premier Fairs’ dedicated event at Himley Hall near Dudley in the West Midlands on Sunday, May 18.

Sad news last week as ceramics firm W Moorcroft Ltd announced that it had ceased trading as of April 30. It appointed Moore Recovery to assist with placing the company into voluntary liquidation.

Two enticingly estimated, early glasses from a west German private collection were fiercely contested in the online sale held by Wendl (21% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt.

As this year commemorates VE and VJ days, there are likely to be even more collectors and dealers than usual converging on the first of 2025’s biannual Britannia Medal Fairs on Sunday, May 11.

A large-scale work by Royal Worcester’s near-legendary craftsman George Owen (1845-1912) led a recent sale at Philip Serrell (20% buyer’s premium) in Malvern, Worcestershire.