Charterhouse Auctioneers will be holding their bi-annual Decorative Arts auction on Friday 18th April at The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne. Amongst the Clarice Cliff, Lalique, Moorcroft and other design icons will be some extremely rare Poole Pottery factory designs sheets, which were rescued from a skip shortly before its closure.
“Possibly the most desirable pieces made during the 1920’s and 30’s are said to be the Ship Plates. Rumour has it that the artists decorating these plates could look across the harbour and copy the real thing which would be laying at anchor. But as these plate featured the ship of Harry Paye, a noted Poole based pirate of the 1400’s, it seems doubtful that it would be in Poole harbour being painted in 1939. In truth they would appear to be based on a series of drawing by Arthur Bradbury, a Lancashire born artist who moved to Poole in 1915. The Ship Plates are highly desirable and keenly sought after on today’s market.” Commented ceramics specialist Naomi Grabham.
Poole Pottery was founded in 1873 on Poole quayside, where it continued to produce pottery by hand before moving its factory operations away from the quay in 1999 and production continued until its closure in 2006. Poole Pottery was originally Carter’s Industrial Tile Manufactory and but it best know for its Art Deco wares produced in the 1920’s and 1930’s when the Carter family joined forces with Harold Stabler and John Adams.
The collection of ten factory designs sheets with no commercial value attached to them, were destined for the tip on the closure of the Poole pottery, but were picked up by the vendor who as an artist and potter found the designs fascinating. These designs, which are all after the paintings of Arthur Bradbury, along with a group of pouncing templates have already attracted high levels of interest from collectors and dealers throughout the UK.
This collection is golden nugget of local history and is estimated to make between £1500 and £2000 when it goes under the Charterhouse hammer in Sherborne.
www.charterhouse-auctions.co.uk
