The humble pineapple jug was a form turned out by dozens of the Staffordshire majolica makers, but none is quite as successful as that made by Minton, crisply executed with the leaves forming both the spout and the handle.
Such pieces are getting harder to find but there was one in these John Taylors Lincolnshire rooms and it brought £690 from a bidder in the US.
There was international interest, too, in a 14in (36cm) diameter Lalique Martigues design bowl – the swirling fish picked out in opalescent yellow – but it sold locally for £900 followed by a Lalique Chicoree design salad bowl at £280.
A Victorian oak and mahogany longcase by North Lincolnshire maker Charles Clay of Messingham featured an attractive white dial, a painted arch, with a lady and a dog in a farmstead, and painted spandrels showing buildings. It sold at £1250.
Sold at £750 was a good quality mantel clock by Moss of Sheffield, c.1900 housed in a cast brass Gothic Revival case.
John Taylors, Louth
February 25
Buyer’s premium: 12 per cent
US bidder recognises superiority of Minton’s fresher fruit
Minton did majolica just a bit better than anyone else – not just in their large monumental and sculptural pieces but also in the smaller and more mundane wares.
