The rumours of my death....

 

Whatever kept me away for so long!  

The collecting has continued, though slowed to a more manageable pace, over the past 4 years.  It's also continued to narrow in focus on the 1920s and early '30s Poole era, and some more of my 60's pots have gone the way of all pottery onto eBay.  So there is quite a backlog of pots to post and now seemed a good time to start, if only to keep me from getting even more embroiled in TERF wars on Twitter.

This unglazed YM Pattern, shape 612 vase arrived cheep and dirty, but hairline crack sadly revealed by cleaning

One extreme to another

A fraction of the size of the vase in the last post, at just 8 cm tall, this shape number 583 vase was painted, in the RU pattern, by Lilly Pedley, some time between 1925 and 1932.

Nitromors magic

This huge (34cm tall) glazed "Etruscan" vase arrived from Ebay last month. It was listed with what looked like white scuff marks to the surface, and this made sense as these pots are quite susceptible to surface damage.   However when it arrived this scuffing turned out to be white paint - it looked like someone had brushed against it when painting nearby.
Old pots often collect small specks of paint, presumably from being left in situ while ceilings are being rollered.  Paint doesn't stick very well to a glazed surface and usually specks of paint will wash off easily with warm water.  The paint on this pot was a different matter however.  The rough unglazed surface made a perfect canvas and the paint was stuck.   Luckily I remembered reading in a pot conservation guide that nitromors is used by conservators to remove old glue from repairs.  It seemed quite drastic at the time, but an old can of nitromors and several cotton wool buds later and the vase looks to be in factory-fresh condition.  It turns out that nitromors will burn skin, completely melt paint, but magically leaves pottery untouched.
The pattern is AB and it was painted by Ruth Pavely in the early 1930's.  The V&A have a similar vase.

Mask vase

This vase was sold to me by a collector who had found it himself at the Cottees auction of September 2010.  It was designed it was designed by James Radley Young and dates from between 1915 and 1921.

Second hand

At the end of last month Cottees Auctions held a sale of Poole Pottery from the Harvey Collection and this pot (lot 148)  is one of several that I won.  Its shape number 422 (18 cm tall), QA pattern, and was made in the 1920's.  Its a later recreation of the Carter and Co unglazed stoneware pots and, with several firing flaws to its credit, really has the same spirit.
Its also had a notable life. Coming to me from the Harvey Collection (that I would love to know more about), it came to that collection from the 31st March 2004 Poole Pottery Archive Sale held at Christie's (part of lot number 36). So it didn't leave the factory gates until 2004 and in some ways (if you don't count Carter Stable and Adams, Pilkington's Tiles, who later took over the factory, and their successors and subsequent administrators who sold up at Christie's) I'm only the second owner in this pots 100 history.

Fond Farewell

These two pots were both painted by Doris Marshall who worked at Poole from 1926 to 1936.  On the right is YW pattern, shape no. 199; and on the left RS pattern, shape no. 570.  They were spotted on my website recently by a member of Doris' family and we agreed a sale.  As much as I love Poole Pottery, this was certainly one of the happier sales that I've made, thinking that they have returned back to the family of the woman who painted them all those years ago.

Happy New Year

First post of 2015, and not far off this blogs 5th anniversary. And still the post keep on coming.
This one was also a birthday present from last month, given to me again by my friend who I occasionally go to Newark and other fairs with.  We found this pot together in an antiques center in Salts Mill, Saltaire that always has a good selection of Poole and other classy stuff that my friend also likes.  He's been keeping it safe for the past 6 months of so, so I'd half forgotten what it looked like until I unwrapped it.  Shape number 353, painted in HI pattern, designed by Truda Carter in an unglazed style that was a development on the earlier unglazed wares designed by Jame Radley Young.  It was painted by Majorie Cryer in the late 1920's or very early 30's.

A Little Extra

This one and a half inch tall pot was included in the same Woolley and Wallis auction lot, as the lustre vase I posted on Saturday. Cared for just as well, it is shape number 570, RS pattern painted by Doris Marshall,who started working at Poole in 1926.  It's an unglazed (on the exterior) pot in the style of James Radley Young, designed by Truda Carter.

YK Jug

From eBay last week an unglazed YK pattern jug, shape number 322, painted by Phyllis Way between 1928 and '34.

Unglazed geometric pattern jug

Here's a bit of retro design that came to me from eBay earlier this month.  These unglazed patterns (this one YX), designed by Truda Carter, date from the early 1920's, but were based on earlier designs by James Radley Young, who inturn was said to have been inspired by more ancient  Roman pottery that had been dug up in the local area.  The jug has quite a nice feel to it, very thinly thrown for the size of the pot (this one about 6 inches tall) and quite a hard metallic "ring".  With no shiny glaze to protect them these pots can get quite grubby, but they do wash up really well, I think quite safely, as the body is fired at a high enough temperature to make it quite impervious to water and stains.
The jug can now keep this vase company.

Unglazed Poole Vase EV/979

I found this one on eBay last week.  It's an example of unglazed wares that Poole Pottery were making from about 1921 until the early 1930's.  The patterns were originally designed by James Radley Young for similar, but much more primitive looking, unglazed pots that he was producing during the the years of World War 1.  These patterns were later adapted by Truda carter.  The painting in brown and terracotta slips is much more precise than the earlier pots, and this example is EV pattern, painted by Hilda Trim.  The vase has a clear glazed interior, that's resisted crazing and the body was, I think, fired at a higher temperature and is as a result relatively less porous. Making it a perfectly usable and durable vase, though it was really quite grubby when it came to me.  It's 9 inches tall.