Porcelain smashes auction estimate
An important collection of blue and white patterned Caughley porcelain assembled by a Shropshire collector sold for £72,000.
The collection, which belonged to the Rev Maurice Wright and his wife, Janet and included more than 400 pieces, was valued at around £70,000 and went under the hammer on the first day of Shrewsbury-based fine art auctioneers Halls’ two-day £300,000 country house auction.
Caughley porcelain collectors packed the saleroom to bid for the prized collection.
Each of the pieces had full provenance and many were extremely rare. Top price of £3,700 went to an “exceptionally important” mask-head jug dated 1790 and initialled JH. The jug was printed in blue on both sides with a 'Severn Trow' passing underneath the Shropshire Ironbridge and an angler in the foreground.
A mug transfer-printed in the Fisherman and very rare Tiger pattern, named and dated 'James Bullock, 1779', sold for £2,300.
“This is the first known dated piece in the Fisherman pattern and is a relatively early date,” said Miss Dennard. “There is some suggestion that the illustrator of Aesop’s Fables may have been responsible for engraving the tiger on the mug.”
Other leading prices from the collection were £3,100 for a rare dated mug painted with Fruit Sprays, £1,800 for a pounce pot transfer-printed with sprigs, circa 1776-85, £1,700 for a very rare and small vase painted with the Three Boats pattern, circa 1780-90, £1,550 for a mask-head jug printed in the Birds in the Branches pattern, circa 1782-90, £1,150 for a toy guglet or water bottle, painted in underglaze blue with the Island miniature pattern, circa 1780-90 and £1,100 for a mug transfer-printed with Stalked Fruit and a Fox, circa 1776-80.
“It’s the best and most representative collection of Caughley that we have ever sold,” said Halls’ European ceramics specialist Caroline Dennard. “It represented a lifetime’s work and Mr and Mrs Wright dedicated their spare time to collecting.
“Mr Wright has been responsible for some of the scholarship behind the Caughley reference book and more than 80 pieces from the collection are featured in the book. The collection created huge interest amongst Caughley collectors nationwide and the fact that our saleroom was full demonstrates how popular it was.
“The auction result shows that the market for 18th century blue and white porcelain is still very strong. People are prepared to pay a premium for the rarest pieces but even the more common patterns achieved good prices.”
Halls had previously sold two large Caughley collections. Professor Charles Bawden’s collection made £31,000 two years ago and a Worcestershire collection sold for £56,000 in 2010.
Caughley porcelain was made in the 18th century - from around 1775-’99 – by Ambrose Gallimore and Thomas Turner at Caughley, near Broseley. Many shapes and patterns were produced, including tea services, dinner services and everyday objects used in the households of the emerging middle classes. The porcelain was decorated mostly in underglaze blue, but also with enamel colours and added gilding.
