Auction focus: studio ceramics
The popularity of studio pottery continues to grow, as this autumn’s sale at Adam Partridge Auctioneers proves. However, there are still bargains to be had, so now is the time to invest suggests Caroline Wheater
Over the last few years, keen auction watchers will have noted with interest the growing popularity of 20th- century photography and furniture design. But there’s a new kid on the block, British studio ceramics dating from the 1920s to the present day – an emerging sale category where prices are largely a ordable, though on the up. Since 2014, Adam Partridge Auctioneers in Cheshire has been gently carving out a niche in this budding market, holding two studio ceramics sales every year, curated by specialist consultant Jason Wood. A lifelong pottery collector himself, Wood considers it an honour to bring to our attention the beautiful, challenging and arresting work of hundreds of independent studio potters, past and present. And to this end, he hunts down around 350 lots per sale, with estimates ranging from a humble £50 to over £5,000 and potentially much more for special pieces by leading makers.
‘At our sales, I always try to get representation of pieces across the full spectrum,’ says Wood, a former archaeologist, who inherited his first pieces of handmade pottery from his artist parents. ‘From the pioneer potters of the 1920s and 1930s such as Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew, to leading post-war potters Lucie Rie and Hans Coper, to talented young ceramicists working today such as Lanty Ball, James Hake and Rebecca Appleby.’ In the upcoming sale this October, auction- goers will find everything from an early Bernard Leach pot made in the 1940s, to scintillating ceramics by Yemeni potter Abdo Nagi, who lived and worked in
Letchworth Garden City in the 1980s and 1990s, to sculptural pots by leading modern potters John Ward, Jennifer Lee and Emmanuel Cooper, all of whose prices are in the ascendant, yet a ordable when compared to the art market.
In 2015, Adam Partridge Auctioneers’ ceramics sales were put on the map when Wood uncovered the astounding Firth Collection of studio pottery – a now famous cache built up over 40 years by the late Alan and Pat Firth in their modest 1930s bungalow near Leeds. Their 300-piece strong collection, which included pottery by Ewen Henderson, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper, made an extraordinary £990,679. Since handling such a major collection, the reputation of Adam Partridge studio ceramics sales soared, and the auction house now attracts a wide selection of 20th- century pieces, putting its sales firmly on the collector’s calendar.
Over in Oxford, Philip Smith of Mallams has been plugging away at the same fledgling market since 2010, holding two dedicated sales annually, and is equally enthusiastic about the variety of pottery available to bidders, from £100 upwards. ‘ With the rise of interior design, we find that buyers are looking for one or two objects for appreciation within a scheme, and they are looking at studio potters afresh because of the individual craftsmanship of each piece. Historically, we have the strongest tradition of studio pottery in this country, and have been at the forefront of the movement, so ceramics is a field rich in possibilities.’
At auction, it’s the legendary likes of 20th- century master makers, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper, both emigrés from Europe, whose pieces achieve five- and sometimes six-figure prices as demand continues to soar among wealthy collectors and institutions. ‘ Where these ceramics are concerned, ordinary people have been almost priced out of the market, and there’s no sign of it going down,’ says Wood. ‘ With Rie’s work there’s something quite beautiful, modern and clean that fits in with today’s interiors and keeps prices high. While with Hans Coper, any serious collector of studio ceramics will want to own a piece of his.’
Bonhams’ former head of contemporary ceramics, Marijke VarrallJones, established Maak Contemporary Ceramics in 2008 as an online auction house specialising in studio ceramics and has seen how the fervour for Rie and Coper has had an upside too. ‘ The phenomenal growth in prices for these
two potters in the last five years has in part drawn new collectors into the broader field of studio ceramics, while also forcing people no longer able to engage at this top level to look at the next generation of potters who were emerging from the late 1970s onwards. We’re seeing a significant rise in interest in the established contemporary makers, such as Gordon Baldwin, Ewen Henderson, Elizabeth Fritsch, Emmanuel Cooper, Colin Pearson and John Ward, with a spectacular hammer price of £18,000 achieved for a John Ward piece in May 2016.’ The advice is simple. If you already own a piece by one of the more soughtafter makers, keep it as a nest egg, and if you want to start a collection, dive in. There are some fabulous bargains to be had.
* All lots shown here will be in the Studio Ceramics and Modern Design sale that is taking place on 13th October at Adam Partridge Auctioneers & Valuers, Withyfold Drive, Maccles eld, Cheshire, SK10 2BD. 01625 431788; adampartridge.co.uk (A section of lots will help to raise funds for the new Clay College at Middleport Pottery in Stoke- on-Trent, including ceramics by judges and potters from the BBC’s The Great Pottery Throw Down.) * Contemporary Ceramics online sale takes place on 13th–16th November at Maak online auctions. 07903 049444; maaklondon.irostrum.com * Design sale on 7th December at Mallams Oxford, Bocardo House, St Michael’s Street, Oxford, OX1 2EB. 01865 241358; mallams.co.uk