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We are thrilled to bring to the market a single owner collection of Della Robbia pottery, consisting of more than twenty works, including some fine and rarely seen pieces. Of further interest are the pots produced by Giovanni, a Della Robbia designer who briefly set up the Minerva pottery, with its short three year output. Together with other works of art by Doulton, William De Morgan, John Moyer Smith, Branham capturing the spirit of the age.
The Della Robbia pottery was founded by a follower and associate of Ford Maddox Brown. The firm was opposed to the divisions of mass labour characteristic of the machine age and followed the Arts and Crafts philosophy of sourcing local materials. Such a quest for purist craftsmanship harked back to the Italian sculptor Della Robbia and the artistic prowess of the enlightenment. Regrettably it was not commercially successful and the firm closed in 1906. The pottery may have alluded to Renaissance Italy, yet it was established in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, in the industrial Midlands. The wares were retailed in Liberty of London. Now accepting entries for future design led sales.
Other highlights of the sale include lot 79: an interesting Maori greenstone mere hand club from New Zealand estimated at £800-1000.
Lot 373: a Charles Desprez Silversmith tray. This retailer was of 86 Park street, St
Augustine's and 72 Park row and appears in the Bristol and Suburban Trades Directory during the Edwardian. Era. It is a stylish example. Another fine piece of copper work is lot 488: A mid-19th Century copper charger, 'The Battle of the Amazons', the central roundel with nude female figure, surrounded by the battle scene, the cavetto with mythological beasts, to the reverse is a plaque which reads 'Elkington Mason & Co', estimated at £300-£500.
For mid-20th century craftsmanship, look no further than lot 39. Alan Peters was recognised for his services to furniture making in 1990. He was considered a direct link back to the Arts and Crafts tradition, having been apprenticed to Edward Barnsley. In the 1970's he was one of the leading proponents of the revival of British craftsmanship. His work is highly restrained and conveys a deep reverence for the materials used, having been shown in many group and solo exhibitions and his publication Cabinetmaking - a professional approach was re-published in the year of his death. We have a fine bowl, a mahogany centrepiece, the sunken scalloped carved centre with flattened flange sixteen sided rim, with chamfered edge and lineal decoration, on a ebonised circular plinth base, stamped Alan Peters, bearing sticker for Aller Studios Kentisbeare Devon. It comes with an auction estimate of £150 - £250.