ANTIQUES journal UNDER THE HAMMER
News from the antiques and vintage world, from fairs to collectors’ stories
Embracing the beauty of the French Riviera, Picasso created vibrant, cheerful ceramics inspired by his surroundings in sunny Vallauris. Earlier this year, the Sotheby’s sale Picasso Ceramics: Colours of the Côte d’azur offered an important single-owner collection of his most colourful and innovative designs. With low estimates starting at £500, the sale offered a ceramic for every Picasso enthusiast, from the first-time buyer to the seasoned collector. Testament to his popularity, 100 per cent of the lots sold at a price range of £1,125 – £68,750. ‘There is an original work of art by Picasso available for almost any price point and many ceramics are at the lower end of the spectrum, which is undoubtedly appealing,’ says Séverine Nackers, senior director and head of prints at Sotheby’s, Europe. ‘Collectors are drawn to these works because each piece is so distinctly recognisable as “a Picasso”.’
Assorted pieces from Michael Saffell’s tin collection
MEET THE COLLECTOR
Michael Saffell
What I collect Tins – containers originally made to hold anything from biscuits, confectionery, tea and coffee to tobacco, cigarettes and ointments. Almost anything could be packaged in a tin. I have a personal collection, which consists of pieces from the 1880s to World War II, but I also deal in tins from my shop in Bath, where I stock pieces from the 1870s up to the 1960s. The first decorative biscuit tin is reckoned to date from 1868. Various decorative techniques were used, including direct, transfer and litho printing, as well as embossing to give texture and depth. Why I collect I find tins to be attractive decorative items in their own right, but they hold added interest for me as pieces of social history. Popular subjects depicted were the arts, nursery rhymes, poems, travel, the seasons and the British Empire – a hugely popular theme. Some also commemorated historic events.
How I collect I buy from markets, antiques fairs, shops and from other collectors. I’ve occasionally bought back a tin I originally sold 20 or 25 years ago! Including small tins, like those for gramophone needles, I have around 250. My collection highlight A Carrs’ biscuit tin made to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 (below). It celebrates the technological advances of her reign and reads ‘Travelling in ye Good Old Days’ and ‘Travelling in 1897’. It also has wonderful images of a horse-drawn carriage, steam travel, electrical telegraph and the Canadian Pacific Railway.