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Christie's
second sale in 2000 again draws together a range of Clarice Cliff pieces,
which should offer bargains and the usual surprises! The selection
above shows how diverse the sale is. The tray and beaker in Fantasque Butterfly
are from a rare Lemonade set, the Diamonds Conical teapot is from a complete
set, and there are some wonderful smaller items such as the Bobbins Inkwell,
and Autumn Cigarette and Match holder. The small Conical sugar bowl is
in Appliqué Windmill, and comes from an almost compete set. This
EXCLUSIVE preview, pictures this and many other lots. Enjoy!
This
complete Lemonade set dates from 1929 and is in one of the earlier Fantasque
patterns Butterfly. It features a large Coronet shape jug and still has
its original tray. Few complete sets have ever been sold at auction, and
Christie's estimate this at £6000 to £10,000 !
These
two pieces are interesting 'matchings'. It was possible to order many shapes
and designs, long after they were issued. The Lynton teapot dates
from 1934 and yet it is in the 1930 Autumn design. Clarice modelled
her Daffodil shape range in 1931 but sales of her Conical and Bon Jour
ranges overshadowed this stylish Art Nouveau-inspired range. The Daffodil
jug in Autumn Orange is unusual as it is dates from 1936 or later, showing
that both the pattern and shape were still being produced.
In
1932 Clarice introduced a style of decoration based on stippling her ware
in all over colour, on-glaze. Christie's have a Conical coffee set which
is in Buttercup, with green and orange stippling. A rarer colourway in
blue and purple was called Delphinium. Strangely, this short-lived range
had custom backstamps.
This
is the first Appliqué teaset to come on the market since the
amazing £17,500 Lucerne set in Melbourne last December. Clarice issued
Appliqué Windmill shortly after the initial Appliqué designs
Lucerne and Lugano. It was produced briefly between September 1930 and
the middle of 1931, in just small quantities. The design features both
a large and small Windmill, plus the intriguing 'tadpole' shapes in the
back. Unlike Lucerne and Lugano, Windmill was only issued in the one orange
sky colourway. The set is complete apart from missing the milk jug.
Clarice’s
Jack and Jill wall masks seem to date from around 1933 and were sold as
a non-matching pair, and few pairs survive. The style shows that as well
as her Art Deco Marlene and Marilyn masks, she covered the market by doing
something in a more traditional manner also. (Note that the pink is restored)
The
impressive Gibraltar Stamford teaset appears to be a particularly early
example as it has an October 1931 impressed datemark. Several pieces have
a hand-painted ‘S’ suggesting it may have been a sample set. Connoisseurs
will note that there are more than the usual number of yachts on each piece,
an indication that this may prove an expensive buy...the pre-sale estimate
is £3500 to £4000. The
Appliqué Lucerne Lotus jug shown is a rarity. It features a more
Mediterranean shade of blue used for just a few pieces in 1931. Lucerne
was first issued in March 1930 with a dark blue sky but the colour proved
faulty so was replaced with orange in-between. This piece also has the
original Appliqué banding style of black, white, black. The
six inch high Rudyard vase shape 366 is another rarity in the sale. The
shape 366 appeared in 1928 originally in abstract or geometric patterns.
By 1933 it was issued in some landscapes such as this rare Rudyard example
This actual piece is illustrated on page 3 of ‘Bizarre Affair’.
This
is the largest size of the Bouquet wall medallion, a part of the My Garden
range. Although traditional in style, the quality of the modelling, high
relief, and clever pierced sections make this some of the highest quality
ware of this style produced in Stoke-on-Trent. Clarice did the early
examples of My Garden herself and then delegated this work to Harold Walker
and John Shaw, two of the four boys who worked in the Bizarre shop. This
is the large size and as these plaques were easily broken they are
quite rare now.
Any collector who could afford to buy these five pieces would have an instant, impressive collection! The
tray is from the 467 Smoker's set which held 6 ashtrays, a covered box
and match-holder. Few complete sets survive and this example in Zap is
thought to be unique. It is estimated at £500 to £600.
The Single Inkwell shape 458 dates from 1932 and is in the Fantasque Red
Tulip pattern which dates from 1929/1930 and is estimated at £500
to £600. Clarice created the Bon Jour sugar dredger in 1933 to follow
on from the successful Conical dredgers. The range sold until 1939 but
as it was issued later it is found in less patterns. This Rudyard example
dates from 1933 or 1934 and carries an £800 to £1200 estimate!
The five bar toast rack is in a traditional shape Clarice used in the Thirties.
Originally it would have had a simple printed edge pattern. Clarice made
her paintresses put the complicated Apples design between each vertical
bar! The handled-dish was part of a shape 471 Bon-Bon set which consisted
of the tray and six, three-sided dishes, which fitted into it. Such sets
were expensive and aimed at customers in up-market stores. This Windbells
example is estimated at £400-600.
This
shape 360 Inspiration vase is a very early example of the shape and it
is in a rare pattern which has been named Tresco, dating from 1930. It
is in beautiful condition and has an elaborate hand-painted mark on the
base.
Another impressive instant collection! The shape 370 Globe vase was introduced in 1928 and produced for most of the Thirties . This example in Oranges is on a Café-au-Lait ground and dates from 1931/1932. The Oranges octagonal plate has grey banding, a colour Clarice did not use a great deal. It is estimated at an affordable £250 to £300. The Pastel Autumn design was one of at least 12 different colourways the Autumn pattern was produced in, and shows how adaptable her designs were. The Conical sugar dredger the design is on has proved very collectable over the last five years, and many examples have trebled in value. The Gardenia vase is unusual. From 1931 Clarice offered her pieces in a much larger range of colours by creating Café-au-Lait. Colour was applied over the whole piece with a ‘stippling brush’. The piece was then glazed and fired, and patterns such as Gardenia were painted over this in the usual way. Café-au-Lait colours were green, yellow, brown and blue. It is estimated at £500 to £700. The Beehive honey pot was produced in two sizes of which this is the smaller and rarer. This example is in the 1930 Fantasque Berries pattern. The sale also includes many rare or interesting pieces. A 1929 Conical teaset in Diamonds combines a great shape with a formal geometric. It has a ‘2’ mark on some pieces, probably that of the outliner. Later, when there were more outliners, initials were used to distinguish their work. A Coral Firs set which was outlined by paintress Eileen Tharme whose distinctive ‘e’ mark is also to be seen on a Green Hydrangea coffeeset. The largest vase in the sale is a 15 inch high shape 37 in Luxor Blue, a rare combination of shape and design. Appliqué Idyll is offered on a complete Conical coffeeset. It features a cottage added behind the Crinoline Lady, which was later adapted into a separate pattern Clarice called Tulips. There is also a Lightning plate. The design appeared in 1929 but was produced in small quantities. The example has a May 1930 (5.30) impressed date mark, which shows the design was produced for at least 9 months. If you like Orange Blue Squares, one of the 1929 designs which most shows the influence of Cubism on Clarice’s work, you may be interested in the Archaic shape vase in the sale. It has some wear but is estimated at £1200-1500 . One of the most intriguing lots is an unusual teaset. It is a pre-1928 Globe shape teaset in the 1931 Summerhouse pattern, painted on a yellow Café-au-lait ground! One
piece which may get a surprising result is the shape 460 vase. This shape
appeared in 1931 and was also referred to as a Stamford shape. The square
section fins were based on the spout of the Stamford teapot. It is decorated
in Alton so dates from 1932 or 1933. On this particular piece, the pattern
is particularly well-executed, as the close-up shows!
Finally, remember that to optimise your chance of bidding successfully at this sale, you need to spend at least two or three hours at the previews in the week. Do not go along with just one or two favourite pieces you 'have to have'. Many collectors have made this mistake in the past, and gone home empty-handed, when they found 29 other people also ''had to have' the pieces! Go to the viewing with an open mind; things always look better or worse in the 'flesh'. Try and build up about 20 or 30 pieces you would like, using the price as a major factor, and design a bidding plan . Too many collectors sit and watch bargains go through and find the pieces they are besotted with make world record prices! Our analysis and results of the sale will appear in the week following May 26th Best
of luck at the sale, and happy collecting!
(All
textual material and images Copyright Christies/claricecliff.com).
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