Vintage Ceramics

 

Vintage Ceramics

Vintage Ceramics

 The 19th and early 20th centuries includes some richly painted porcelain and pottery. Their sumptuous decoration makes them objects to , covet, yet prices can be Decoratively gilded, and with floral, pastoral, and animal motifs, traditional ceramics were often 'kept for best' and passed down through the family.





 Renowned firms such as Royal Doulton, Royal Worcester, Royal Crown Derby, and Wedgwood began making items in the neoclassical style in the 19th century. If you are lucky enough to have inherited any pieces, it may be well worth keeping them.

Vintage Ceramics

Setting the table

An amazing volume of tableware was made from the 1860s onwards. In fact, these dinner and tea services fetch low prices compared with contemporary wares. A good dinner service from around 1890-1920. with six, eight, or 12 settings, may be worth £80-150; a tea or coffee set, even less.

Missing pieces or obvious wear and tear can lower the value considerably.

Vintage Ceramics

Dessert services, which were popular until the late 1930s, can especially ornamental. Examine painting carefully to ensure that it is not scratched or worn. Look for pieces with plenty of decoration rather than narrow border designs, as these look more attractive when displayed. Late Victorian services featuring landscape paintings may fetch .£50-250.

Vintage Ceramics

The better potteries employed established artists to paint finely detailed flowers, fruit, landscapes, and animals. Prices vary hugely, depending on the decorator, although the quality of painting might not. Many decorators specialised in one subject: at Royal Worcester John and Harry Stinton were known for Highland cattle, James Stinton for game birds,

Harry Ayrton for fruit, and Harry "v Davies for landscapes. They often signed their work

Popular patterns

Vintage Ceramics

Coalport is a favourite factory to collect. Prices can range from less than £100 for a 19th- or early 20th- century jug with a simple floral band to thousands of pounds for earlier and larger, more richly decorated pieces. Royal Crown Derby is known for its imitations of the saturated richness of Japanese Imari porcelain. The pattern numbers on Royal Crown Derby Imari are an indication of rarity: patterns still made, such as 1128 and 2451, are more common and less valuable.

Vintage Ceramics

Some Royal Worcester wares feature blush ivory': printed or painted sprays of flowers or foliage outlined in gilt against an ivory-coloured background. At present their popularity is on thewane, but this could change. Small pieces may fetch up to £50, while larger, more elaborate items range between £60 and hundreds of pounds

Painting the lily

Vintage Ceramics

Minton & Co., a prominent Victorian Staffordshire porcelain factory, was known for its delicately painted and gilded wares. Look for examples encrusted with flowers which imitate 18th-century Meissen originals - they can fetch £200-1,000. Its later Art Nouveau work is also desirable.

Doulton has a reputation for quality. Its wares are marked on the base with stamps and incised initials to indicate the decorators. Look for designs by Florence and Hannah Harlow, Elizj Simmance, George Tinworth, and Harry Nixon.

Vintage Ceramics

Baskets made by Belleek, known for its creamy white china, are popular. Learn to spot valuable early items (1863-90) with the desirable black mark: the name 'Belleek 'Printed in a rectangle

TOP TIPS

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  Vintage Ceramics

  To identify restored porcelain, hold different areas of the piece to your cheek - a restored 
  
  
  section will feel slightly warmer than the rest of the piece.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Hold porcelain up to a light to reveal hidden cracks or restored areas. A narrow-necked 
  
  
  vase can be illuminated from the inside with a penlight torch.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  Vintage Ceramics

  Look out for miniature Royal Crown Derby Imari pieces modelled as flat- irons, milk 
  
  
  churns, and other novelty shapes. These are highly collectable.

Firms such as Minton & Co. and Royal Crown Derby often used ciphers and other codes to indicate the date of manufacture. Refer to a pottery marks book to date items.