Artist & Designer Greats Feature In Ewbank's 20th Century Auction
John Snape
Once the lock downs Ended!!Senior Valuer of Art and Antiques at CHARTERHOUSE AUCTIONEERS LIMITED
Artist & Designer Greats Feature In Ewbank's 20th Century Auction
Further Entries Invited For October 22 Sale - Selected lots now on preview HERE
Great names among 20th century artists and designers vie with each other for the limelight in the run up to a sale at Ewbank’s, Surrey’s premier auctioneer of fine art and antiques on Thursday October 22. Who emerges as the most valuable is as unpredictable as ever when there is no upper limit to what an object can fetch in a Ewbank’s sale.
With entries still being accepted, leading the field currently is a fascinating vase from Staffordshire’s Wedgwood factory, produced at a time when the company’s fortunes were at a low ebb and unlike anything ever made there, either before or since.
Fairyland Lustre, the creation of eccentric Daisy Makeig-Jones (1881-1945) was pottery decorated with designs populated by fairies, goblins and elves at play in woodland settings. An antidote to the depressed times following the First World War, it was hugely popular, particularly in the U.S., and boosted Wedgwood’s profits just when it was needed.
However, the ware fell out of popularity almost as quickly as it found success and Daisy, a headstrong and difficult employee, was asked to retire. She promptly flew into a rage and smashed all the undecorated blanks, whereupon production was halted.
The vase and cover in Ewbank’s sale is decorated with the "Firbolgs" pattern, named after mythical mischievous imps picked out in gilt and seen frolicking amongst flowering trees on a turquoise and purple iridescent lustre ground. It dates from about 1925, stands 24.8cms (9.8ins) and is estimated at ￡1,500-2,500.
An unusual and rare Wemyss ware tulip vase decorated with the plum pattern is estimated at ￡800-1,200. Pronounced “Weems”, the pottery was made in Fife, Scotland, by a company founded in 1882 by Robert Heron and the famed designer-decorator Karel Nekola. The Queen Mother was a renowned collector of Wemyss, named after the owners of castle of the east coast of Fife who had invested in the business.
The vase has an impressed mark for Thomas Goode & Co, a leading supplier of ceramics and other luxury goods to the Royal family and Victorian London’s elite, who had the exclusive rights to sell the ware outside Scotland.
The pottery made in Staffordshire by William Moorcroft at the turn of the 20th century and which bears his name to this day was popularised by another great London retailer, Liberty, and when Queen Mary began collecting it, granting the shop a royal warrant in 1928, Moorcroft’s success was assured.
A biscuit barrel decorated with the pomegranate pattern, made specifically for sale by Liberty and mounted in the retailer’s signature ‘Tudric’ planished pewter, is one of a collection of Moorcroft pottery in the sale. It is estimated at ￡300-500, while one of the so-called ‘Bizarre’ range of vases designed by doyenne of Staffordshire’s famed “Pottery Ladies’, Clarice Cliff, and decorated with orange, green and blue diamond shapes, is estimated at ￡200-400.
Among continental pottery is a charming pair of Royal Dux bookends modelled as two Pierrots, one intended to support the books by leaning with back against them, while his companion lies on his back to push with his feet.
The Duxer Porzellanmanufaktur, was founded in 1860 by Eduard Eichler in Duchov, Bohemia, now Czechoslovakia. Known more commonly as Royal Dux, it can be identified by a distinctive raised pink clay triangle applied to the base.
The bookends were consigned to the sale by a visitor to a recent Ewbank’s valuation day to raise money for the upkeep of Guildford Cathedral and are estimated at ￡300-500.
Of more recent vintage is a whimsical ceramic sculpture by the Danish artist, Bj?rn Wiinblad (1918-2006) noted for his work for the Rosenthal porcelain company. It is modelled as a round-faced female figure wearing an oversize hat decorated with tulips and painted all over in multiple colours. The figure is 52cms (20ins) tall, signed and dated (19)84 and is estimated at ￡400-600.
Among designers of 20th century decorative glass, no one is more highly regarded than the great René Lalique (1860-1945) famed for his perfume bottles for Coty. This success led him to open a glassworks in Alsace where he experimented with the interplay between pressed and engraved clear and frosted glass, sometimes stained with colours for effect, to produce memorable examples of Art Deco design.
Among pieces in the present sale is a circular dish decorated with a pattern comprising tentacle-like fronds that swirl from the centre and shine blue when lit from behind. Engraved ‘R Lalique France’ on the base, the 29cm (11ins) dish is estimated at ￡250-350.
Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) a pivotal figure in the Aesthetic Movement, is represented in the sale by a copper kettle, designed for Benham & Froud, a London company founded in 1855 when Herbert Augtus Benham and Joseph Froud took over a business supplying art metal objects and lamps.
Unmistakably the work of the master designer, the kettle has a rotund body joined to its wooden handle by contrasting straight brass fittings and feet and is stamped with the B & F orb mark. It is estimated at ￡100-200.
More valuable is a rosewood casket inlaid in the Secessionist style by a German Arts and Crafts company founded in 1844 by Carl Gottlieb Erhard and his sons, Julius and Carl. Made in about 1900, the casket is inlaid all over with brass panels of stylised exotic birds and flowering branches, while the interior is lined with red velvet. It is estimated at ￡300- 500.
Carrying the same estimate is an Art Nouveau period cold-painted bronze vide poche (dish for the contents of one’s pocket) cast from a model by the Viennese sculptor Gustav Gurschner (1873-1970). Gurschner was influenced throughout his work by the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau and the dish is formed by the flowing hair from the head of a maiden.
Among a group of contemporary furniture is a Danish rosewood kneehole desk dating from the late 1950s or early 1960s and estimated at ￡500-1,000. It has a shaped top, raised to create a storage void beneath, under which are twin pedestals, each with two drawers.
Ewbank’s sales of 20th century auctions also include a section devoted to contemporary art, but rarely from anything as monumental an event as the fund raising efforts by Bob Geldoff and Midge Ure in 1985 to raise funds for famine relief.
Following Live Aid, the two men formed Band Aid, a supergoup of recording artists to release the song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas” and a piece of artwork relating to the record was produced in a limited edition of 500 to raise further funds. Comprising 104 images signed by artists including Patrick Hughes, Ken Kiff and Terry Frost, number 181 in the edition is estimated at ￡800-1,200.
Other highlights of the section include John Plumb’s oil on canvas of a man drinking tea, one of a small single-owner collection from a Farnham home (estimate ￡2,000-3,000); a townscape with bell tower, an oil on canvas by Robert Hill; 'Autumn Harvest', an oil on board signed with initials and dated 2014, by Michael Steinpichler’s (each ￡600-1,000); and an etching of Anthony and Cleopatra by Dame Elizabeth Frink, number 29 of a limited edition of 175, signed in pencil (￡200-400).
Unlike other auctioneers, Ewbank’s operate a late entries system and can accept items for a sale until the day before viewing starts. All lots, including late entries, are illustrated on the Internet and live bidding is available on Ewbank’s Live, the saleroom’s own bidding platform as well as those provided by UK and U.S.-based auction platforms, giving sales a truly global reach.
People wishing to take advantage of Ewbank’s confidential saleroom valuation service will find ample free parking at their prominent out-of-town location adjoining the A3 three miles from Guildford. This also means it is not necessary to carry valuable objects around town centre streets.
Appointments are not necessary to see a valuation specialist, but anyone wishing to be seen at a particular time is asked to pre book by contacting the saleroom, telephone 01483 223101 or email [email protected].