Ceramics fair helps to kick off New Year

The London Ceramics Fair, organised by Nick Gent of Prestige Ceramic Fairs, is one of the first fairs to start the New Year.

The biannual event is open from 11am-5pm on Sunday, January 12, at Kensington Town Hall in Hornton Street, W8, and this time has about 24 dealers offering English, Asian and Continental pottery and porcelain.       

Exhibitors include David Norley from Kent with early English porcelain; Juno Antiques from London with 19th century pottery and porcelain; Warrington dealer Martin Olver, who brings wares from Liverpool, Lowestoft and Worcester factories, and Peter Scott, who specialises in 19th century printed pottery.

A newcomer this year is Staffordshire-based Peter Hall with English porcelain.

Once again the fair coincides with the January meeting of the English Ceramic Circle, which will be held on the same day in the adjacent library building.

Staffordshire Mug

One item on sale at the fair will be a delightful Staffordshire mug, valued at around £1100, which celebrated the royal christening at Buckingham Place in February 1841, of the first of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children, Princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise.

Printed in black and showing the infant Princess Royal in a horse-drawn pram with attendants in the grounds of Windsor Castle, the inside border is inscribed Princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa.

Apparently the baby's sex was not what the queen had hoped for. "A girl and not a boy, as we had so hoped and wished, we were I'm afraid sadly disappointed," she said in her journal.

The mug will be on the stand of Sue Rees of Harpenden in Hertfordshire,whodeals online and at specialist ceramics fairs, and who specialises in commemorative ceramics from 1680 to 1880. She will be standing alongside her husband Peter who takes the timeline forward and covers 1880 to 2000.

Both were ardent collectors for more than 20 years before they started dealing through their website www.commemorativeceramics.co.uk and they now exhibiting regularly at the NEC and Prestige Ceramic Fairs.

Interestingly, Sue has also sourced an unusual plate celebrating the same christening, titled, peculiarly and without explanation, The Bishop of Heliopolis.