Ceramics

Ceramics are among the most frequently collected antiques. Items made from earthernware (pottery) or porcelain (hard or soft paste) can serve functional roles such as tablewares, serving implements, vases and jugs or as ornaments, especially figures.

They usually have some form of decoration, either painted or transfer-printed, that is covered in transparent or coloured glaze. Ceramics are often catalogued by the name of their manufacturer or factory such as Meissen, Worcester, Doulton, Wedgwood and Sèvres.


Henry Van De Velde vase

Form, glaze and rarity lift Van De Velde vase at Oxford auction

08 December 2016

This stoneware vase designed by Henry Van De Velde for Reinhold Hanke was sold at Mallams in Oxford earlier today for £17,000.

Vincennes porcelain jug

Vincennes porcelain jug with royal connection emerges at Bonhams

01 December 2016

This French porcelain hot water jug, or ‘pot à eau’ was made at the Vincennes factory in 1754, probably for the Dauphine Maria Josepha. The mother of King Louis XVI, who was guillotined during the French Revolution, she was an important patron of Vincennes.

Picasso vases collection Attenborough sale 2269NEDI 23-11-16.jpg

Top picks from the Attenborough’s Picasso ceramics sale at Sotheby’s

23 November 2016

The late Lord & Lady Attenborough’s Picasso ceramics sale made a hammer total of £2.48m at Sotheby’s yesterday with all 66 lots finding buyers. The collection was formed over 50 years after the couple purchased a £3 souvenir ashtray in 1954.

Martin Brothers Wally bird

Martin Brothers birds fly into Texas saleroom

15 November 2016

The quirky characterful and very British art pottery created by the late 19th/early 20th century artist potters Wallace, Robert and Edwin Martin is as popular in the US as in its country of origin.

Picasso owl vase

Picasso picked up near Plymouth goes to auction

14 November 2016

Plymouth Auction Rooms made a surprise find on a recent visit to a remote Cornish cottage on the banks of the river Tamar. The auction firm was valuing a mixture of Cornish art and collectables at the address when it came across a Pablo Picasso vase.

GW

The Presidential Selection: George Washington

31 October 2016

In the run-up to the US election on November 8, Frances Allitt takes a look at the objects previous presidents borrowed, bought – and sometimes broke.

Wedgwood fairyland lustre vase

Wedgwood vase adds lustre to auction in Scotland

20 October 2016

At just over 17in (42cm) high, the 1920s Wedgwood vase (shape 2465) is among the largest produced in the Fairyland Lustre range.

Coalport vase

Bonhams to offer largest Coalport vase ever produced

19 October 2016

Coalport porcelain, like that produced at Derby, is renowned for its quality and decoration, drawing inspiration from work produced at the celebrated Sèvres factory.

jupiter flight barr

Jupiter Antiques show off affordable finds at new autumn exhibition

19 October 2016

A new selling exhibition at Jupiter Antiques this weekend features a selection of the porcelain specialist’s more affordable pieces.

Daughter continues fight to keep family Chinese art collection together

28 September 2016

A large collection of 17th century Chinese porcelain could be broken up and sold after a family feud among the heirs of Sir Michael Butler, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher.

Attenborough's Picasso ceramics collection

Attenborough’s Pablo Picasso ceramics to go to auction

16 September 2016

Lord and Lady Attenborough’s collection of Pablo Picasso ceramics will be up for auction in November at Sotheby’s in London.

James Oughtibridge, an artist at Ceramic Art York

Ceramic art fair in York holds plenty of northern soul

08 September 2016

Forty-two ceramic artists have been chosen from 100 applicants to exhibit at the three-day Ceramic Art York event which opens tomorrow at the city’s Museum Gardens.

Porcelain from Hugh Marsham Townshend collection

Sworders to offer ‘toys’ from Hugh Marsham Townshend collection

24 August 2016

When in the middle of the century Suffolk collector Hugh Marsham Townshend (1878-1967) was amassing a collection of gold-mounted porcelain scent bottles and other trinkets, most were thought to be the products of the Chelsea porcelain works or a shadowy enterprise known as the ‘Girl in a Swing’ factory.

Hans Coper studio pottery bowl

Early Hans Coper bowl bought for V&A after export ban

10 August 2016

The V&A have acquired an early form by the artist-potter Hans Coper (1920-81). Made in 1955 in the studio Coper shared with Lucie Rie in Paddington, London, the large bowl was the subject of a temporary export ban in 2015 in the hope a UK buyer could be found.

Kate Malone’s First Big Pot

Studio pottery in the limelight as works by TV’s Kate Malone come to auction

12 July 2016

Studio pottery has been hogging the arts and crafts headlines for a while now. In recent years collectors have really taken this field to heart and items produced by 20th century designers such as Lucie Rie and Hans Coper have been drawing strong bids at auction.

Clarice Cliff vase in Blue Lucerne pattern

Clarice Cliff’s rare Lucerne pattern vase emerges in Cheshire saleroom

02 March 2016

The so-called Lucerne pattern, decorated in primary colours with a stylised Mediterranean chateau in a landscape, ranks among the scarcest and most desirable of all designs from Clarice Cliff’s ‘Appliqué’ range.

Moorcroft pomegranate gourd vase

Moorcroft vase among antiques stolen in £7000 Shropshire theft

22 February 2016

Police are investigating a raid on The Old Mill Antiques Centre in Bridgnorth, Shrophire.

Maiolica charger sothebys

Maiolica charger takes £210,000 at Sotheby’s

28 January 2016

Sotheby’s recent sale of royal and aristocratic heirlooms, titled Of Royal and Noble Descent, included this maiolica istoriato charger.

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Phillips set new high for Martin Brothers

31 December 2015

Phillips set a new high for Martinware with the sale of this 14in (36cm) high bird jar modelled as Benjamin Disraeli for a double-estimate $190,000 (£126,670).

Like Day and Night – figures restored and sell at Bonhams

07 December 2015

A 21in (53cm) pair of late 19th century Meissen figures emblematic of Day and Night after the models by Heinrich Schwabe were sold by Bonhams in support of West Dean College’s full-time ceramics conservation programme.

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