Decorative Art

The recent art and design sale at Cheffins in Cambridge included these two 1930s Moorcroft tubelined vases decorated with fish – a pattern from the later years of the William Moorcroft era.

Target of a London silver specialist, this pair of late Victorian silver fluted vases was the best-seller at East Sussex auction house Burstow & Hewett (20% buyer’s premium).

Almost wholly reliant on slavery, the tobacco industry was the subtle target of British Abolitionists 50 years before Britain outlawed slavery and nearly a century before the American Civil War.

Two impressive golden bowls presented by the king of Siam to an enterprising Danish admiral, businessman and politician star in Bruun Rasmussen’s May 28 auction in Copenhagen.

Catalogued as ‘Art Nouveau… manner of Charlotte Rhead’, this pair of tube-lined tiles went at 10 times the estimate at Trevanion & Dean’s (17.5% buyer’s premium) sale in Whitchurch.

Derek Billings has died at the age of 86. For half a century he was an important player in the collecting world of Doulton art pottery. His late wife Kay was a very supportive partner in forming the collection.

Thirty years ago organiser Matthew Adams launched his antiques fair held at the Royal Horticultural Halls.

Nineteenth century majolica ware is a speciality for Indiana saleroom Strawser Auction Group.

These two 19th century micromosaic panels feature in different US auctions this month.

After 44 years working as an auction house specialist, John Sandon has chosen to retire from his post as international director of glass and British ceramics at Bonhams.

While Sotheby’s and Christie’s no longer hold regular dedicated auctions of European ceramics, they still cater for elements of this market in their main centres worldwide via series of mixed-discipline traditional decorative arts auctions.

Keys’ fine sale on July 24-26 will include more examples of porcelain from the local Lowestoft factory.

A c.1946 Italian wrought-iron dressing table was among the stand-out sales during the spring Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea.

While dedicated sales of English and Continental ceramics are rarer beasts in the saleroom calendar these days, the traditional mixed-discipline regional sales are a repository for plenty of material from the main factories of the 18th and 19th centuries.

A good example of the attraction of a dated and named inscription was evident at Woolley & Wallis’ (25% buyer’s premium) recent ceramics auction in Salisbury.

A matched pair of Chelsea mugs cropped up in an Andrew Smith’s (21% buyer’s premium) sale in Hampshire.

Henry Aldridge & Son will offer items from the Skidmore collection at its May 18 sale – including these pieces of late 19th century Chinese ‘export’ silver.