Worcestershire

Two upcoming annual specialist fairs both running on Sunday, May 12.

In 'The Countryside Through Art', mid-century specialist Fifties Art & Design offers three views of a nearby landmark by John Piper (1903-92).

Among the most desirable of all needlework samplers are those associated with pupils at the Ackworth School, founded as a co-educational boarding school in 1779 by the Quaker physician John Fothergill and still thriving today.

Iconic names in the worlds of glass and ceramics starred in Kingham & Orme’s (20% buyer’s premium) wide-ranging March 1 sale at Evesham.

Coming to the Two Cs two-day Worcestershire Antiques Fair at the Chateau Impney Hotel are ceramics dealers offering porcelain pieces, including Derby, from the 17th to 20th centuries.

Among the first women potters recognised by the public as individual designers worthy of collecting were Hannah Barlow (1851-1916) and her sister Florence. The first women artists at Doulton’s Lambeth factory, they joined in 1871 and 1873 respectively.

Speaking before Parliament’s vote on Brexit scheduled for the week beginning January 14, Helen Yourston, director of B2B Events, said: “Obviously that is a real concern for dealers at our fairs, but so far bookings for 2019 are looking buoyant.”

Organiser launches Malvern fair to run alongside existing venues.

Two under-catalogued Sino-Tibetan bronzes illuminated the regional saleroom scene with multi-estimate sums in the final days of November.

A valuation day find for Kingham & Orme (20% buyer’s premium), this Dutch-engraved East India Company baluster goblet c.1760, took a multi-estimate £7500 in Evesham.

The Shropshire pottery, Maw & Co of Jackfield, is best known for the mass production of earthenware tiles and architectural ceramics.

After a slow start to the year, the Malvern Flea and Collectors’ Fair is looking forward to a bumper summer.

In what can be a doleful time for Doulton, encouraging words about the factory’s output from auctioneer Geoff Shepherd at ceramics specialist Kingham & Orme (22% buyer’s premium).

Australian enthusiasts did much to buoy up the Royal Doulton market in its 1990s pomp. And one such fan certainly did his bit to bring some life to what can now be a weak market by consigning a choice collection of Lambeth, flambé, Burslem and prototype wares to Kingham & Orme (20% buyer’s premium).

Taken in June 1905 on the River Helmsdale in Sutherland, the very northern and wildest tip of Scotland, is this image, below, of two men fishing.

LS Lowry’s industrial northern English city scenes, populated with his trademark ‘matchstick’ figures, have inspired many artists. Chief among them was Brian ‘Braaq’ Shields (1951-97), dubbed ‘Liverpool’s Lowry’.

Mulling over her 2017 experience, B2B Events’ director Helen Yourston said Malvern is proving to be a marvel.

“This year the Malvern Flea has been the prize in our portfolio,” says Helen Yourston, director of B2B Events.