Ceramics

The French sculptor Paul Comolera (1818-1897) first appears in the Minton records in October 1873 and is listed until 1876. During this short time, he created some of Minton’s greatest models of animals which were often observed from life.

Two impressive vases from the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg took top honours at the sale held by Auktionshaus OWL (27% buyer’s premium) on May 16 in Bad Driburg in North-Rhine-Westfalia.

This 10½in (26cm) high Meiji period cloisonné vase from the workshop of Namikawa Sosuke came for sale at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on May 6 with a primary provenance.

The cuerda seca (dry cord or kashi) technique of decorating tiles was developed in Central Asia during the latter part of the 14th century.

The story of this late 19th century Russian beaker goes back to a boarding house in Harrogate in 1894.

From May 26-29 Gloucestershire auction house Kinghams held a spring exhibition titled 'William De Morgan Master Potter'.

Collection of popular and well-respected Austrian figure puts in a notable performance at auction

The latest Design Since 1860 sale at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh was topped by four Morris & Co tile panels depicting the Labours of the Months dated to c.1865.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including exhibition devoted to the Victorian art potter William De Morgan at auction house Kinghams.

An auction titled China 500 Years held by Mayfair orientalist firm Plakas (29% buyer’s premium) on March 19 included elements of two rare Kangxi (1662-1722) blue and white porcelain wall sconces. They were estimated at £2000-3000 but contested to £17,000.

The unknown maker of this commemorative creamware mug produced for the coronation of King George IV seems to have been in a rush.

Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was known as a monumental collector.

Founded in 1751 at the behest of the Prussian king Frederick the Great, ‘The Royal Prussian Asiatic Company in Emden to Canton and China’ aimed to profit from the trade between Europe and China.

The Flemish designer Henry van de Velde excelled in many fields, working as a painter and architect, before he devoted himself to creating a multitude of designs, from cutlery to furniture, from wallpaper to porcelain.

The March 3-4 sale at Chorley’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire, was topped by a good example of Qing imperial needlework: a yellow ground silk and metal thread cushion cover.

Lacklustre pre-sale activity leaves Canadian auction house concerned but all 17 lots sell successfully

Though leeches do remain in the pharmacopeia, they’re no longer stored in the ceramic jars and urns common to pharmacies of the 18th and 19th century.

The first mention of plans for a Wedgwood earthenware chess set occurs in a bill from a 30-year-old John Flaxman dated March 8, 1785.