What are your Favourite Collectables?
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jan | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||
Walking Ware has been around for about 35 years and seems to get more popular every day -just try doing a search on eBay. It seems to be its very eccentricity that appeals to people. It is quirky and as English as cricket or a pint in the pub.
Whenever you go to an antiques fair you are sure to see a large collection of Chintz china which seems to be ever popular. The design was originally copied from the colourful floral fabrics which were first imported into Britain in the 17th century. You can make a striking display by grouping a number of pieces of chintz china together on a sideboard or display table.
Royal Crown Derby has been produced since 1748 and is as popular today as it was when the factory produced their first pieces. William Duesbury acquired the factory in 1756 and employed some of the most talented artists of their day. These included the likes of William Billingsley, William Pegg, George Robertson and George Complin among others.
Clarice Cliff was born in 1899 in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent and by the time she was 13 she had started an apprenticeship at a local pottery. When she was 17 she had joined A.J. Wilkinson’s who were a successful Burslem pottery. Her talent was soon spotted and in 1922 she was made an apprentice modeller and started working in the factory’s design studio.
Troika pottery was first produced in the 1960s and was part of the Cornish studio pottery group that was set up in St Ives, Cornwall by Leslie Illsley and Benny Sirota. Their aim was to present pottery as an art form and their pieces often resembled architectural forms and shapes.
The first Royal Copenhagen figurines were made nearly 120 years ago. Today’s collecting is a mix of old and new – old favourites are still being sold and new themes and subjects are constantly introduced.
Royal Copenhagen was founded in 1775 and the first figurines and animals appeared at the Paris World Fair in 1889. The sculptures were hand-painted and an underglaze technique, developed by Arnold Krog, was used.
The history of Shelley pottery goes right back to the foundation of the Foley Potteries in 1827, but it was the arrival of Frederick Rhead in 1896 as Art Director of Wileman & Co that heralded the beginning of 40 years of creative innovation and huge success for the company. Although Rhead was only at the company [...]
In Britain in the early 1950s there were few attractive ceramics available, the best stuff was being exported to boost the British economy after the war. Many ceramic factories had been commissioned for war work and were not yet restored to their pre-war standard. Many of the designers were working for Scandinavian or American companies who had continued production throughout the 1940s.
The British public had been starved of new decorative ceramics after the war and were beginning to demand more freedom of choice and they wanted contemporary patterns. In the USA in the 1930s Russel Wright designed tableware with with organic and freeform shapes, named ‘American Modern’ and these pieces were sold in the 1950s. In Sweden Stig Lindberg was a prolific ceramic designer. There was a influence of art and technology on design in the 1950s and Dali motifs as well as sputniks and stars could be seen. Colours were fresh and bright and were often mixed with stark black and white.
Wemyss pottery was first produced in 1882 by the Fife pottery, which had been making pottery in muted colours since the 18th Century. The pottery enjoyed the patronage of the Grosvenor family who owned Wemyss Castle located nearby. In order to flatter its benefactor the pottery decided to name its new range of wares ‘Wemyss’.
Although the first pieces of Wemyss were self-coloured with no surface decoration, other styles quickly emerged, including white enamelling on glaze. As soon as 1883, under-glaze floral decoration was also appearing, evolving Wemyss ware into the form we recognise today.
West Cornwall is one of the principal centres of the arts, having been home to the Newlyn school of painters, and such contemporary artists as John Miller. It was also the home of Newlyn Copper and in the 20th century sculptors of the calibre of Dame Barbara Hepworth and the father of British studio pottery, Bernard Leach.
This area was also home to four small but highly collectable studio potteries, culminating in a period in the 1970s when they were all situated in the small fishing town of Newlyn. They were Celtic, Leaper, Tremaen and Troika. Whilst the market for Troika and Celtic is fairly well established nowadays, prices for the two lesser known potteries of Tremaen and Leaper can vary considerably in price.