Antique & Decorative Ceramics

Art Deco Coffee Pot, Crownford Burslem, Staffordshire 1930s

Price: £35

The clean simple lines of Art Deco designs are clearly seen in this coffee pot made by the firm ‘Ford and Sons’ during the 1930s. The angular form body is topped with the sweeping curved line of the neck and flush fitting lid which is matched by the handle and spout. The cream coloured glaze, with a light craquelure is decorated with gilt lines and a stylised floral border at the top and on the lid. The base has printed marks, a crown, ‘Crownford’ in script, and a circular monogram with the letters ‘F’ ‘S’ between ‘BURSLEM’ and ‘ENGLAND’. This coffee pot would have come from a small set, all decorated in the same style, with cups, a milk jug and a sugar basin, but other patterns were also used for these services.

Burslem in Staffordshire was one of the famous six ‘pottery towns’ and immortalised in the novels of Arnold Bennett as ‘Bursley’. The firm Thomas Ford and Sons began its production there in the late nineteenth century, continuing until 1938 when the business was purchased by Oswald Shufflebottom who renamed it Ford & Sons (Crownford) Ltd. The trade name ‘Crownford’ had been adopted quite early on by the Ford family and was kept by the Shufflebottom family until the late 1980s. The ‘Crownford Burslem’ wares were mostly produced in the fashionable Art Deco style during the late 1920s and 1930s and this coffee pot is a fine and representative example of their work.

Pair of Lovatt and Lovatt Langley Mill Vases, early C20th

Price: £110

A pair of earthenware vases of tapering ovoid form, with globular necks and a flaring rim, the bodies decorated with peach enamelled impasto flowers and green leaves with gilded accents on a dark blue background with ‘threaded’ textures, the neck and rim glazed brown, the bases unglazed and with impressed marks ‘Lovatt’, ‘Langley Mill’, ‘England’, ‘12’ and a scratched mark ‘18’ with ‘LEADLESS GLAZE’ slightly below.

The Langley Mill Pottery was located in Langley Mill, Derbyshire on the Derbyshire – Nottinghamshire border. From its establishment in 1865 to its final closure in 1982, it went through five distinct periods of ownership, producing a wide range of stoneware ranging from utilitarian items and to high quality art pottery. This pair of vases dates from the third company that traded there, Lovatt and Lovatt. The Lovatt family had entered into partnership with the owner of the founding business at Langley Mill, James Calvert. From 1895 the business was in sole control of the Lovatt family and traded as ‘Lovatt and Lovatt’ until 1935. The early years of the twentieth century proved to be something of a zenith for them and a wide range of art pottery pieces were made which enjoyed great popularity. Production techniques were streamlined without a reduction in quality and in 1905, leadless glazes were introduced. These are proudly announced on the base of this pair of vases which are an excellent example of the Lovatt and Lovatt style and probably date to 1912, indicated by the impressed numbers for that year.

Set of Three Empire Porcelain Company Biscuit Jars circa 1900

Price: £120

This is a set of three biscuit jars each of rounded straight sided barrel form, one squat, and fitted with brass lids and loop handles. The light blue, or teal, ground is decorated with a central circular panel depicting a mythological scene, the largest showing the three graces and the other two a pair of classical lovers perhaps Cupid and Psyche in one, within white dot and gilt borders. The bases all have printed marks (some slightly indistinct), a crown above a banner reading ‘EMPIRE WARE’, the cipher monogram ‘E’ ‘P’ ‘C’ and a further banner reading ‘STOKE ON TRENT’ with ‘ENGLAND’ below. Two also have the written mark ‘300/4479’ which is presumably the pattern or model number.

The Empire Porcelain Company was established in 1896 at the Empire Works in Stoke Road, Hanley, Stoke on Trent. A wide range of pottery and porcelain was subsequently produced until the factory’s closure in 1967. The various marks include the initials EPC, EP or the word Empire. The form of the mark seen here occurs on the earliest pieces made between 1896 and 1912. Blue ground pieces with mythological scenes were produced in a variety of forms during this period, some decorative, such as ornamental vases, and some more practical, as here : modest but graceful accessories for the Edwardian drawing room.

Two Vallauris Lava Vases, French 1950s/1960s

Price: £150

Known for its ceramics since Roman times, the French Riviera town of Vallauris has been called the ‘city of 100 potters’. Pottery was made there continuously since the classical period with a growth in production in the late nineteenth century followed by the establishment of various well known ateliers in the twentieth and the residence of Picasso himself who is said to have produced over 3500 pieces there. These two vases are excellent and unusual examples of the rugged creations of the Vallauris workshops in the 1950s and 1960s and worthy additions to a collection of French art pottery.

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Vallauris is a tourist town of the French Riviera near Antibes taking its name form the Provencal ‘Valauria’ meaning ‘the golden valley’. It is divided into two parts: the upper town which is the old centre and the seaside district which runs from the port along the coast, towards Antibes. Deposits of clay were found there in Roman times giving the impetus for the creation of potteries which tended to concentrate on domestic wares. Production was then continuous with an infux of craftsmen from Genoa, Italy, in the sixteenth century and the development of artistic activity in the seventeenth. The advent of the railways in the late nineteenth century led to an even further expansion of production and companies were established there which achieved widespread fame and recognition notably those of Massier and Foucard-Jourdan.

After the war, Picasso, along with a group of fellow artists, settled in Vallauris and it proved to be a congenial stimulus. He began to experiment with producing ceramics in 1947 and was to continue working extensively in this field until his death in 1973 (see image 12). There were collaborations, one with the ceramicist Robert Picault and another with Suzanne and Georges Ramié, the owners of the Madoura workshop, where Picasso worked on his productions. Indeed it was at the Madoura workshop that Picasso met Jacqueline Roque, a saleswoman working there and 44 years his junior. They married in 1961 and remained together until his death in 1973, Jacqueline being the inspiration for many of the designs which Picasso created.

It would be fanciful, though, to see the influence of the famous artist on these vases although they were very much created in the tradition of Vallauris pottery with which he was so in sympathy. The town seems to have become particularly fashionable in the 1950s and 1960s and it was around that time that these vases were made. Many pieces were created in lead glazed earthenware, the overall decoration resembling the ‘lava’ glazes used in West German pottery of the same period. These two vases are similar and complementary. The bodies are concave with a short foot and a widely flaring mouth; there are loop handles at each side. The brown glaze at the base is succeeded by a blend of mottled greens and greys and topped with a vibrant red at the mouth. The interiors are glazed brown as is the base with the unglazed foot rim showing the fairly coarse clay used. Some but not all Vallauris pieces are marked and there are many unmarked examples as here. Considerable skill must have been required to produce the variety of glaze effects and the results are striking. As two matching items, these vases have considerable decorative appeal and are worthy examples of a long established tradition of ceramic production.

Novelty ceramic Wall Vase in the form of a Gretsch Guitar, English, 1950s

Price: £25

This is a fun ceramic wall vase in the shape of a guitar with an opening at the top for flowers or perhaps pens or stationery items and a string cord, which may well be original, for suspension. The shape is taken from one of the designs produced by the famous American guitar manufacturers Gretsch who began the manufacture of electric guitars in the 1950s, eventually reaching tremendous popularity in the 1960s after the Beatle, George Harrison, used one of their models during the band’s first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. This piece predates that and was most likely made in the 1950s. There is no mark for the manufacturer beyond ‘Made in England’ but it is possible that this is an example of Brentleigh ware, a firm which produced ceramic novelty pieces such as the pair of shoes to be seen elsewhere in this sale.

Pair of Staffordshire style Vintage Busts of Children, C20th

Price: £75

A pair of polychrome ceramic busts of children, a boy and a girl, both dressed in blue and wearing country style hats, each set on a pedestal base with blue and red ‘veining’ in imitation of marble, the glaze with a feint craquelure and the bases countersunk and pierced. Others may well disagree but, usually described as Staffordshire, or occasionally Continental, these busts were more likely made in China. The enamel work is typical of twentieth century Chinese pieces and the faces of the pair do not have a convincingly European look. More importantly the paste of the foot is closer to Chinese work than Western and even the form of the base is not found on European pieces either. Nevertheless, these two youngsters make an amusing and decorative pair whatever their history.

Kiralpo ware Dressing Table Set, marked, 1930s

Price: £35

This is a dressing table or vanity ware set comprising a tray with a ring holder and two jars for cosmetics all decorated with similar designs of birds and flowers within blurred edge pink borders, the glaze with a slight craquelure. Most likely there would have been in addition a pair of candlesticks. The tray has a gilt mark comprising a circle surmounted by a crown with the words ‘KIRALPO WARE’ ‘ENGLAND’ between two dots and within this a shield device with the letters ‘K&Co’ ‘E’.

Kiralpo ware was one of the trade names used by Kirkland and Co, earthenware and ceramic manufacturers based at the Albion Pottery, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, England who traded from 1891 to 1938 when the business was bought and renamed by Mr A.E.Gray. The format of the mark gives a dating between 1928 and 1938 with ‘E’ standing for Etruria. Kirkland and Co made various modest but colourful decorative items to furnish the home. In a 1907 guide they are described as ‘general earthenware, fancy goods, and majolica manufacturers’. Their designs were not sophisticated but obviously had a popular appeal and this set with its bold transfer decoration of birds set within a rather vivid pink border is typical of their work.

Cruet set in the form of three Friar Tuck Monks on a Tray, Hummel, West Germany, 1960s

Price: £55

The portly figures of ‘Friar Tuck’ Monks seen here are perhaps rather appropriate for a set intended for the serving of condiments : salt, pepper and mustard. The three similar figures are amusingly modelled with benign expressions, the smaller ones pierced at the top for salt and pepper with plastic stoppers underneath and the larger in two parts, here complete with the original spoon. This set comes from the ‘Hummel’ range produced by the German ceramic manufacturers Goebel. Founded in 1871, the company began to enjoy enormous popularity in the 1930s when Franz Goebel, grandson of the founder, began an association with a Benedictine nun Berta Hummel who later took the name sister Maria Innocentia Hummel. Hummel had produced a range of postcard drawings of figures which Franz Goebel realised he could turn into porcelain figurines. Production started in 1935 and was immediately successful. Sister Hummel died in 1947 but the association with her covent continued and figures in her distinctive style were produced for many years thereafter. Dating is established by the format of the mark, which went through many variations. Here we see a ‘V’ with a bee within at the top and the wording W.Germany. The German word ‘hummel’ means ‘bee’ and the ‘V’ stands for ‘Verkaufsgesellschat’ or ‘Distribution Company’. This bee has sharp angular wings set parallel to the tips of the ‘V’ which was the format used between 1960 and 1972. In addition all ‘Hummel’ pieces were marked with the model number which can be seen clearly here on the base of the mustard pot, ‘S 183’. For some, the Hummel figurine might be an acquired taste but few can fail to admire the whimsy here and this set would add spice, so to speak, any dinner table conversation.

Studio Pottery Bowl, possibly Derek Clarkson (1928-2013) with impressed mark, C20th

Price: £55

This is an elegant studio pottery bowl, the deep incurving sides above a short cylindrical foot, covered overall in an off white speckled glaze with decoration in blue, dark ‘copper’ red and grey, the exterior with leaves and berries sprouting from a branch and blue circles with a grey border, the interior with in blue, the interior with two blue circles, two berries and a grey roundel at the centre, the base with a small impressed mark.

While it is not absolutely certain the mark on this piece is possibly that of Derek Clarkson (1928-2013). Clarkson trained at the Manchester college of Art between 1944-47 and Burnley School of Art from 1959-61 and then combined a successful lecturing career with the making of his own work which is now to be found in international and private collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In 1980 he retired from lecturing to focus on his work as a potter, continuing to produce pieces of great skill and attraction until his death in 2013. There are other pieces signed by him which strongly resemble the bowl here (see images 8,9) making it a possibility that this is his work. Certainly, the potter who created this piece and impressed his mark at the bottom was clearly accomplished and this bowl is more than worthy to stand comparison with pieces by more famous contemporaries.