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Current Auctions & Results
October Bonhams Skinner Highlights
The Furniture & Decorative Arts online auction that took place on October 22nd featured 52 mostly multiple-piece lots of Wedgwood from the Schwartz collection and Buckman property. While not a “discovery” sale, it was a dealer’s delight with some bargains to be had. Below are a few highlights with results reflecting the 28% buyers’ premium. For complete list, visit: Bonhams Skinner: The Estate Collections: Furniture & Decorative Arts
- Four Assorted Items (Harry Barnard Vase; Emille Lessore Vase; Golconda Vase; Majolica Mask): 19th C: $435
- Three Ivory Glaze Vases: late 19th C: $192
- Fairyland Lustre Trumpet Vase: c1925: $3072
- Queen’s wWare Bowl by Minnie Foster: c1922: $1024
- Set of 6 Bone China Kalkulium Suite Plates by Eduardo Paolozzi: 1971: $256
- Twelve Lustre, China & Creamware Pieces by Daisy Makeig-Jones: 20th C: $256
- Black Enameled Pearlware Covered Vase: 19th C: $960
Bonhams-Skinner Hightower Highlights
The “Fine English Ceramics Featuring Wedgwood” online timed sale, comprised of mostly objects from the Mickey Hightower collection with about 150 lots of Wedgwood, hammered down on March 19th at Bonhams-Skinner (Marlborough, MA). Disappointing to some collectors was the large number of multiple-items lots looking more like a Discovery format designed for dealers. In addition, there seemed to be more damaged items than usual for a “Fine” sale. It is hard to determine if each lot made estimate or not as that information is deleted once the sale closes (not that it matters; value is based on whatever one is willing to pay on a given day). The prices in the highlights listed below are inclusive of the 28% buyer’s premium. To view the entire auction, visit: Bonhams Skinner: Fine English Ceramics Featuring Wedgwood
- Basalt Minerva Bust: 19th C, 18”h: $1216
- Rosso Antico Congreve Bust: late 18th C, 7”h: $704
- Pair Dark Blue Jasper Dip Compagna Vases w/Drum Bases: late 18th C, 26”h: $5376
- Emile Lessore Oenochoe Ewer: 1865, 11”h: $2432
- George Eyre Q.W. Aurora Charger: 1865, 19”dia.: $1088
- Emile Lessore Q.W. Helmut Pitcher & Stand: 186, 11”h: $1792
- Five Relief Molds: 20th C: $704
- Commemorative Q.W. Celadon 1st Day Vase: early 1951, 9”h: $896
- Anita Synovec Animal on Rock Sculpture: 1967, c1920, 7”h: $410
- Lilac Lustre Octagonal Bowl: c1920, 7”dia.: $512
- Blue Jasper Telephone: 1988: $384
Rubin Sale #6 Result Highlights
The sixth installment of the “Wedgwood and European Ceramics from the Dr. Ellis F. Rubin & Suzanne Borow Rubin Collection” sale hammered down on March 4th at Freeman’s | Hindman of Philadelphia online. It consisted of 173 lots of Wedgwood with 18 left unsold, and many of which realized below estimated range. The prices in the highlights listed are inclusive of the 28% buyer’s premium. To view the entire sale, visit: 6373 Wedgwood and European Ceramics from the Dr. Ellis F. Rubin & Suzanne Borow Rubin Collection, Part VI
- Encaustic Basalt Vase: early 19th C, 12”: $3520
- Rosso Antico Sleeping Baby Figure: 19th C, 5”: $256
- Brown Jasper Vase: late 19th C, 4”: $704
- Blue Jasper Doorbell: c1900, 3”: $128
- Majolica Amber Elephant Tobacco Jar: c1880, 7”: $128
- Bone China Gilt Pegasus Vase: late 19th C, 19”: $1408
- Portrait John Falstaff Charger: 1881, 15”: $256
- Fairyland Lustre Shell-shaped Tray: early 20th C, 11”: $384
- Two Jasper Honey Pots: 2009, 6”: $896
Upcoming Exhibitions & Reviews
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Antiques Shows
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Current Publications
The Soane Code
The much-anticipated book by Wedgwood collector and historian, Edward L. Knowles, has been published and may be found on Amazon. Fans of Wedgwood, Flaxman, and related 18th century figures will find this work of interest.
The Soane Code is an adventure into the world of Sir John Soane and his utopian vision of architecture and interior design and represents Ed’s personal discovery and journey visiting the Soane Museum in London, England, in 1987. He realized that Soane had created a complex code to tell his entire life’s story through the 18th century objects, architecture, and interior design of his museum. The book is a provocative biography revealing the bisexuality of Sir John Soane. At 18, he fell in love with John Flaxman, Jr., who would become Britain’s most famous sculptor and Wedgwood artist. Unlike other biographies of this famous architect, this book exposes many sexual secrets of his friends and family. The book provides a glimpse into LGBTQ life in 18th century Britain.
Ed Knowles is former director of interior design and architecture for Lockheed Martin Corp. and was a founding member and a past vice president of the Wedgwood Society of Washington, DC., as well as a board member of other related organizations. He is published and has lectured widely on the Wedgwood topic.
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
Newsworthy Bits & Bytes
New British Gallery
The Museum of Fine, Arts, Boston, has recently opened a small corridor gallery for British Art 1560-1830. Among the ceramics now on permanent display are about a dozen examples of Wedgwood to include an original Portland Vase. Shown here is copy #7, gifted in 1958 by Dr. Lloyd E, Hawes (1912-1988) of Wellesley, Mass., and York, Maine. His wife, Vivian (1923-1999) served as a WSB president. The Museum holds approximately 350 pieces of Wedgwood in its reserves.
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.
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.
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.