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Current Auctions & Results
Flower Family Majolica Sale Highlights
The Strawser Auction Group held its sale of part II of the Flower Family’s Majolica Collection, which included 20 lots of Wedgwood, on March 16th. Below are some highlights; prices do not include buyer’s premiums. To see all the results visit: https://www.strawserauctions.com/
- -Raleigh Tobacco Jar: c1870; 6″ h: $375
- -Pr Triton Candlesticks: c1870; 12.5″ h: $600
- -Creamware Swan Pitcher: c1870; 14″ h: $2750
- -Cheese Dome: c1879; 9″ dia: $2000
- -Mr. Punch Bowl: c1878; 15″ w: $4500
“All The Variety and Perfection”: Rubins Part III Wedgwood Auction Highlights
This part-three sale offered quite an eclectic mix of objects – mostly Wedgwood, but other makers as well. Freeman’s Auctions presented 306 lots on January 25, 2024, and in this sale the vast majority of objects realized hammer prices below estimates.
This part-three sale offered quite an eclectic mix of objects – mostly Wedgwood, but other makers as well. Freeman’s Auctions presented 306 lots on January 25, 2024, and in this sale the vast majority of objects realized hammer prices below estimates.
Below are some highlights and the prices shown include the 26% buyer’s premium.
- -Encaustic Basalt 4-pc Tea Set: 1783: $693
- -Light Blue Jasper Inkstand: c1785,6 1/8” w: $630
- -Queen’s Ware Centerpiece:1879,12 3/4” h: $504
- -Majolica Water & Wine Ewers: c1870, 16 ¾” h: $945
- -Alfred Powell Earthenware Bowl:1914,14 1/4” dia: $6300
- -Bone China Great Sale of USA Plate: c1900; 10” dia: $819
- -Saxon Blue Jasper First Day’s vase: 2009,11 ¼” h: $1638
- -Fairyland Lustre Nizami Box: c1920, 5” dia: $2520
To views the entire auction results visit: https://www.freemansauction.com/auctions/wedgwood-and-european-ceramics-1796
Bonhams Skinner December 2023 Sale Highlights
The European Design & Décor online auction held on December 19th offered 26 lots of Wedgwood. Below are a few highlights with prices reflecting the 28% buyer’s premium. The entire sales results can be viewed at: https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28648/european-design-and-decor-featuring-the-collections-of-jonathan-friedman-and-james-lee-soffer-part-ii-bonhams-skinner/?fbclid=IwAR3bcOu5qlCr8fGlnEFUmYArg69IfoEQ_3eiG5gURGUSHfKzCV3lDEgeutg&query=wedgwood
-Queen’s Ware Covered Potpourri: 19th C; 7 7/8” h: $192
-Fairyland Lustre Woodland Elves Bowl: c1920; 8 3/4” dia.: $3,328
-Fairyland Lustre Ghostly Woods Covered Vase: c1925; 15 1/2” h: $10,240
-Group of 8 Misc. Pcs: 19th & 20th C: $1,152
Upcoming Exhibitions & Reviews
Beyond Blue and White
The Richmond Hill’s Heritage Centre, in Ontario, Canada, presents its latest exhibition, 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 & 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦: 𝘞𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢 running through April 20, 2024. It explores the growth of the popular British ceramic and its expansion into the North American market. In late 2016, the estate of the late Keith Alwyn McLeod (1935-2014) donated a collection of over 400 Canadian-themed pieces to the KHCC. Keith amassed the most complete collection of Canadian-themed Wedgwood in existence, and the exhibit features more than 50 unique pieces, showcasing landscapes, heraldry, souvenirs, history and commemorative tributes. Many Wedgwoodians would know Professor McLeod as the longtime seminar chair, and later president, of the WIS. He presented a lecture on this subject to the WSWDC in 2002.
Antiques Shows
Upcoming 2024 Antiques Shows:
- Boxborough Antiques Show: February 4; Regency Hotel, Boxborough, MA
- Malden Historical Society Antiques Show: March 9; Anthony’s, Malden, MA
- Manchester Antiques & Collectibles Show: March 15-16; 2nd Congregational Church, Manchester, CT
- Tolland Antiques Show: March 17; Middle School, Tolland, CT
- Hingham Antiques Show: March 23 & 24; Middle School, Hingham, MA
Brimfield Flea Market:
Collectors in the general New England area are likely familiar with the Brimfield Flea Market. The massive event takes place over a 6-day stretch every May, July, and September, with about 2000 dealers offering everything imaginable to an estimated 50,000 attendees flooding Brimfield, Massachusetts. The dates for this Brimfield, Massachusetts, antiques and collectibles extravaganza in 2024 are: May 14-19; July 9-14; and September 3-8. Visit the website at: http://brimfieldantiquefleamarket.com/
Current Publications
Wedgwood: Craft & Design
Looking back at key moments in Wedgwood’s design history, this book, written by Catrin Jones, curator of the V&A Wedgwood Collection, celebrates the manufacturer’s visual power and great design from its founding in 1759 to the present day. It highlights the internationally renowned V&A Wedgwood Collection containing around 80,000 objects. Published by Thames & Hudson, it will be available May 2023 via most book sources: $19.95
Beyond Wedgwood Blue
The Ruthmere Museum in Indiana held an exhibition, “Beyond Wedgwood Blue”. Now available is a catalogue that features highlights of the exhibit and the history of Wedgwood. Visit: http://ruthmere.wildapricot.org/Exhibit-Catalogues
Newsworthy Bits & Bytes
Robert Hamilton Wedgwood (1948-2024)
The Wedgwood community mourns the death of Robert H. Wedgwood, 75, of Palm Springs, California, on February 7, 2024. Bob served as president of the Wedgwood Society of Southern California for many years, was on the boards of the WIS and WSNY, and a long-time member of the WSB and other related societies. He also acted as an advisor to the Wedgwood 250th exhibition in DC. His collecting focused on Wedgwood’s handcrafted wares and artists pieces of the 19th and 20th centuries. Among his many lectures was one on his Wedgwood ancestry from the 15th century. Bob was a retiree of the IRS’s business division in California. He is a native of Andover, Massachusetts, and has strong roots in New England. He is survived by his sister Dawn Forbes of MA and his twin brother William of NH. Bob will be cremated and his ashes interred in the family plot in Connecticut at a later date. RIP.
Wedgwood International Seminar
The 2024 seminar will be held in Pasadena, California, May 1-4 with the Embassy Suites in Arcadia as the host venue. The program includes a curator-led tour of the Kadison collection at the Huntington Library and Art Museum, a visit to a private Wedgwood collection in Beverly Hills, and lineup of speakers and topics such as Josiah Wedgwood’s trials, Paul Follot’s art deco tea service, and Wedgwood for the loo, to name a few. For all the details visit: https://www.wedgwoodinternationalseminar.org/seminar
The loss of a Wedgwood legend
The Wedgwood Society of Boston is saddened to learn of the death of member Suzanne Borow Rubin on May 24, 2023. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her husband Ellis and family. We will miss her, dearly. You can read the full obituary here.
Remembering a friend: Dorothy-Lee Jones Ward
We are most saddened to learn of the death of Dorothy-Lee Jones Ward (January 11, 1927 – August 4, 2022), of Sebago Lake, Maine, and Wellesley, Mass. A WSB past president as well as that of WIS, she was a most gracious lady and Wedgwood legend, serving as mentor to many of us. Her love and expertise was also in the field of glass, as an antiques dealer, and later the founder of the Jones Museum of Glass and Ceramics in Maine. You may find the complete obituary here. A memorial service will be held at Doherty’s Funeral Home, 477 Washington St., Wellesley, Mass., on Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 1 pm.
Members’ Choices
Submitted by Peggy Kerner
I love this piece in my collection because it is so unusual. It is called a “Bouquetière” which is a fancy word from the French for flower pot. They are usually oval or round in shape, have a pierced lid to hold flower stems or branches, and were made in the late 18th to early 19th century. Mine is made of white terracotta biscuit covered with matte black slip and glazed inside to prevent staining. It is 8 1/2 inches high and 11 inches wide and dates to 1785. It was originally in the Oxborrow collection, and a similar example is in the Beeson Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
Submitted by Ron Frazier
Spotted by my son Forrest many years ago and knowing it was Wedgwood, he scooped the piece up. This Imari (Japanese) style 9” Vase is in a Pearl Ware body and has a production date-code of 1886. Imari style is based largely on two colors, a dark underglaze blue and a dark red, and is a crowded design. Along with other patterns of stylized floral shapes, the Imari range became popular in England during the early 19th Century and appears in various renditions (usually described as Japan Patterns) on Wedgwood’s Queen’s Ware, bone china, and whiteware, as well as pearlware. Japanese designs became popular after the international exhibitions in London in 1862 and Paris in 1889.