Moorcroft

Worcestershire auctioneer Kingham & Orme is to disperse a remarkable collection of Moorcroft pottery later this week. The June 15 sale in Evesham includes 364 lots of the popular tube-lined ceramics (a few of them group lots) amassed over a 35-year period by a UK collector.

Pottery company Moorcroft has designed and created two pieces to celebrate the 150th anniversary of St Pancras railway station in London.

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

Potteries Auctions in Staffordshire are offering this large William Moorcroft exhibition vase at their second auction in their new premises in Silverdale on April 25.

This 13in (33cm) Macintyre & Co Florian ware vase dated to 1898 and designed by William Moorcroft is going under the hammer at Catherine Southon’s sale in Surrey.

Warren & Wignall of Leyland in Lancashire are offering a collection of privately-sourced Moorcoft including Macintyre, Claremont and Moonlit Blue in their upcoming sale.

Estimated to sell for $800-1200, this loving cup combining the talents of William Moorcroft and the San Francisco jewellers Shreve & Co. sold for $27,000 (£17,650) at Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, California.

Moorcroft Boy recorded one of the great comebacks in racing history when he recovered from a horrific injury at Aintree in 1995 to win the Scottish National the following year.

It was Moorcroft’s take on flambé glazes that produced the highest price at Bonhams’ latest Ceramic Design sale.

Thos. Wm. Gaze & Son (10% buyer’s premium)At 13in (33cm) high this really is a very good-sized example of William Moorcroft’s celebrated Hazeldene design.

THE figures after Louis Taylor's (12.5% buyer's premium) March 8 & 9 sale at the Hanley salerooms added to auctioneer Clive Hillier’s belief that the whole antiques scene is considerably brighter now than it was last year. “The sale went better than I expected and comes on top of our generally weekly sales regularly totalling £20,000 to £25,000 against the £12,000-15,000 they used to take,” he said.

Pictured on the front cover of the 530-lot catalogue offered by Suffolk auctioneers Abbotts (10 per cent buyer’s premium) on March 12 was a group of Moorcroft pottery assembled by a Southwold collector over the past 25 years.

Royal Doulton and Moorcroft collectors are always in abundance at these sales in the heart of the Potteries, and if their specialisms within their subjects sometimes make for hard going at the rostrum, the increasing demand for Royal Albert pieces was well catered for.

Over the last six months Amersham Auction Rooms have reported an increase in prices for ceramics and collectables in contrast to static or falling bids placed for furniture.

One of the main preoccupations of the 19th century art potters – and a distinguishing feature of much of their work – is an emphasis on hand crafting and experimental work and an interest in the techniques and glazes of earlier periods.