Ceramics

Only a decade ago Carlton Ware designer Violet Elmer (1907-88) was a relative unknown compared with her contemporaries Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper and Charlotte Rhead.

Shelley produced the geometric Vogue and Mode shape tea and coffee wares between 1930-32 - both the designs of Eric Slater (1902-84) who had worked at the factory since the end of the First World War.

New Zealand-born architect Keith Murray (1892-1981) began to make designs for Wedgwood on a commercial basis in 1933, joining a stable of designers that included Daisy Makeig-Jones and John Skeaping.

With this year marking the 100th anninversary of the exhibition that gave Art Deco its name, we report on the British designers whose creations appear on the market

Graham Slater (1927-2024) was fascinated by relics of Stuart and Georgian Britain. His wife Rosemary shared his passions, including his love of mudlarking, exploring the banks of the Thames for fragments washed up by each new tide.

Noke’s portrait of a humiliated child was one of the very first models from the Royal Doulton HN series

Among the most desirable of all Scottish garden ornaments are the Garnkirk urns, a pair of neoclassical vases first made for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

A spectacular Wedgwood Fairyland lustre vase in the Dragon King pattern has sold for $87,500 (£67,900) in Kansas.

The continuing interest of international collectors for ceramics by the Zsolnay factory in Pécs in south-west Hungary could be seen at a recent auction held by Mehlis (24% buyer’s premium) in Plauen.

A monumental and important William De Morgan architectural tile panel with an exceptional provenance has sold for £65,000 in Stourbridge.

The Cheong family collection of Martin Brothers comes for sale at Bonhams in Sydney on March 27.

It’s obviously a good season for Meissen hares.

This silver and parcel gilt ‘Komai’ bachelor tea set by Elkington & Co sold for £16,000 (plus 23.5% buyer’s premium) at British Bespoke Auctions.

Staged in England from medieval times through to the early 19th century, bear baiting provided a popular theme in ceramic art in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Stoneware vases and jugs from the famed Martin Brothers also show their sense of style and character

Two English Delftware plates, described on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow a decade ago as “as rare as you can get”, went under the hammer at Woolley & Wallis (26% buyer’s premium) on February 5.

Elaborate cruet frames from the pre-revolutionary period stand out in a traditional sale selection