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Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Royal Worcester Porcelain to be Auctioned at Christie’s

Christie’s London has announced the single-owner collection sale Royal Worcester Porcelain – A Private Collection, to be held on Tuesday, 20 April 2010. The sale will include approximately 100 lots of fine English porcelain from the Royal Worcester factory including a vast array of beautiful and elaborate ornamental vases, as well as models of cattle, dogs, horses and historical figures. Estimates range from £200 to £35,000 and the collection as a whole is expected to realise in excess of £350,000.

The sale is offered by a British private collector with a discerning eye, who spent many years buying only the highest quality pieces of Royal Worcester from specialist dealers. An appreciation of the history of the factory and a particular fascination with the artists of the works has led to an extremely varied collection.

A particularly interesting highlight from the collection is a set of twelve dinner plates from a service originally commissioned by William Keith Kellogg in 1928 (estimate: £20,000-30,000) – original founder of the Kellogg’s cereal company. W.K. Kellogg was one of the first pioneers of healthy eating, printing advice and recipes on his cereal packs before this became standard practice. Kellogg certainly demanded the best of the best – the service displays snow scenes painted on each piece by the highly regarded artist Harry Stinton, as well as the use of one of the most expensive ground colours for the borders, and incorporating a great amount of gold.

Further highlights a selection illustrated above right include a whole host of the most important names in the history of the Royal Worcester factory, such as a pot-pourri vase and cover painted with polar bears, signed by Harry Davis (estimate: £15,000-25,000); five reticulated vases by George Owen (estimates from £4,000); a two-handled vase and cover painted with canaries, signed by Charley Baldwyn (estimate: £7,000-10,000) and a turquoise-jewelled teapot and cover, perhaps a trial piece for the Countess of Dudley service (estimate: £5,000-8,000).