Adam Partridge studio ceramics auctions

A fairly pedestrian sale had fairly dull prices. Somebody had some bargains, a lot of stuff did not sell or was right at the bottom of the estimate. The Wallwork's were various, the Big one sold for £2000. The Robin Welch went much within estimates. The Jenny Lee at £26,500 was the only real star.
Batterham prices on the up. A 37 cms vase £1700, cut sided jar £800.
But all in all, a lot of the stuff would have sold better on Ebay!

Hi Philpot, I don't think i can say i had a bargain today but i think the John Ward pot i bought was very reasonable , i was prepared to pay more .I got the feeling that the bidding today felt sluggish somehow, i was surprised that the restored Norah Braden fetched £1100, I feel Partridge always pads out his sales a little, many auctioneers wouldn't bother to sell items for £30 or £40 pounds. Maltby's sculptures still seem to be attracting plenty of interest in the sales.

£4200 hammer if I remember rightly? You must have quite a few by now! Maltby scuptures are selling well, but the older work that he was originally famed for seems to have gone off the boil quite a bit.
The Adam Patridge sales remind me of that old phrase 'Never mind the quality, feel the width!' There is now an awful lot of width in his sales but not a lot of quality!

i only have have 11  ward pieces and  i think  that will do for now but you never know i might get tempted. I am an admirer of Jennifer Lee's work and that pot today i thought was excellent  ,i think she is probably the best of all the rated hand builders . I think you are right about Maltby's earlier work although i prefer it .

I have only just looked at the sale and it looks as if was padded out with lots of stuff straight from the potters themselves and they aren't going to send their best stuff, unless they are completely unknown. Not sure if that works in the auctioneers favour but there seemed to be money available for decent enough pieces.

Adam Partridge studio pottery auction is now on line , a typical Partridge line up with his normal mixture of working potters , unknowns , and a few higher profile potters, something for everyone i think, Jim Malone has the most pieces in the sale, a few good Baldwin pieces (the Nancy Baldwin collaboration piece is most interesting) , the Coper piece seems very average as do the Rie pots, two or three Ward pots look interesting.

It takes a long while just to scroll through the enormous catalogue! A very satisfying one for the average collector though. If I still had the space, there is a fair amount there that would interest me. In the over abundance of Jim Malone I wonder if there will be any bargains to be had? The John Ward pieces looked interesting, as did the Gordon Baldwin. I wonder who collects Gordon Baldwin though? The estimates for his work are much the same as they would have been near 30 years ago. Perhaps it is time for some people to have another look at his work? In relation to other potters his work looks quite cheap.

I might have a go at the Tudball and Keeler

Hi Philpot, who collects Baldwin?, i think very few people actually collect him but possibly buy one statement piece . His career has been long and i suspect he has produced more than a small market can take thus keeping the prices down, i really rate him but a lot of his work is a bit on the large size for the average collector to house , actually the Partridge pieces are relatively small , lots174 and 180 interest me. I am surprised by the volume of Malone pots in the sale.

I see the cramics books at the end of the auction came from the estate of Adrian Lewis Evans, who died in January 2021. Presumably some of the pots in this auction came from there as well. There are over 60 Jim Malone pots.

I have just had a chance to look at the catalogue and it's a very tempting sale with a wide range of pots and many with very tempting estimates. I did in fact feel that they could make more money by having two sales. With that number of Malones together there are bound to be bargains, if that's what you want. I might be able to find out where they have come from (I'll ask one of my customers).

Looking at the sale from a second hand ceramics dealers point of view, it's very tempting because you know that some things are going to fly but there would be enough to make the journey worthwhile. Things that you could pick up at the right price. If it was near London I would go, even though I gave up trips to auction houses 7 or 8 years ago. Going up to Macclesfield isn't going to happen though - selling pots for me is now just for the enjoyment of it and my days of long drives and staying overnight to buy a few pots are behind me................. unless I give myself a kick up the backside in the next few weeks.

https://live.adampartridge.co.uk/m/view-auctions/catalog/id/261
Another subdued Studio Pottery auction probably reflecting the economic times. Lots of bargains to be had. The Jim Malone went mostly within estimates, but they were not high estimates. The Coper piece sold quite well, as did Abdo Nagi. The John Ward were okay, but reflected the lesser prices he has been getting recently.
The Amazing stand out price was £8800 for a Joanna Constantinidis piece that had an estimate f £400-£600. Way, way above what one would ever expect.

I think Partridge sales have too many lots and are padded out with many items that are never going to sell well, the Malone pieces were interesting but as they appeared to be unreserved and i wondered where they might have come from, Adam Partridge appeared relieved when they started selling, the market for John Ward seems to be going through a period of adjustment with the more ordinary pieces static or losing ground slightly, but the b/w and green striped pieces still seem to be selling well although the real test will be when some of his larger pots come to auction. The Constantinidis pots seem very up and down as out of the blue one fetches an unexpected price every now and then. Abdo Nagi and Emanuel Cooper seem to be the ones to watch at the moment.

Partridge's like some other auction houses approach potters get them to put in brand new work to pad things out.

I suspect the up and down prices are always going to happen as collectors, even new ones, have certain types of item by a potter and are looking for something that they haven't got. Also some are going to be people thinning out their collections and so getting rid of inferior pieces in their eyes that might be inferior in other collectors eyes too.

One of my customers is a collector of Jim Malone's and couldn't understand why they were all in the same sale. They appear to have been from a single source. However, I imagine for him and other serious collectors it was perfect, as there was enough for all of them at the correct price.

From Adam Partridge auctions on the 29th July, the 'Jack Blackburn collection of studio ceramics', a feast for the tea bowl collector also much Maltby with one excellent large stand out pot. The sale  contains many unfamiliar names.

https://live.adampartridge.co.uk/m/view-auctions/catalog/id/291

I spent breakfast looking over that collection. Eclectic with a bias towards Leach/Cardew area. Lots of Northern potters, and substantial number of lots with large numbers of French and Belgian potters. Not that many BIG hitters though. Couple of Philip Eglin, Ewen Henderson tea bowls, Geoffrey Fuller, Ken Matsuzaki, and as you say a significant number of John Maltby.
Its fascinating how John Maltby comes up in so many collections. His appeal seems to be much wider than most potters.
Very illustrative of one man's passion. One think there would be a lot of bargains to be had there though. Most of it being second or third tier in the auction stakes!

The pots that attract me are the Henderson's (one in particular) and the Claudi Casanovas ,his pieces don't seem to turn up very often in the market place . I am not a great fan of Maltby but the large pot is quite impressive and i could probably find a place for that , as you say he is probably one of the most popular potters and most collections seem to have examples of his work.

Lot 123 the John Maltby spade vase is quite interesting. That particular image of a bird in flight across the landscape seems a very powerful one to some collectors. One similar vase went for a Hammer price of £6000 a couple of years ago

Jack Blackburn (with his partner) used to go to France regularly (I think that they had a house there) and visited potters. They would not only collect but bring ceramics back to the UK to sell for many years. I remember him having a stall at the Rufford event most years and elsewhere, where he would have bought some of the other pieces in this sale. He was based in the north when in the UK.

Imagine going through the sales catalogue when Naomi Pops her clogs!

I watched a little of the sale online and was very impressed with how Adam Partridge keeps going for hours on end.

Everything sold even things with significant damage/restoration, some of which I would have probably put in the bin.

I was viewing to "protect" similar lots that I have in stock i.e. I would bid/buy if a lot was going too cheaply. However, I didn't have to even consider bidding once.

It does appear as if there are a significant number of people out there that have money to spend should the opportunity arise.

Hi studio, An interesting sale with no reserves, mixed results for Maltby with his 'sculptures' fairing better than his pots ,Phillip Elgin pieces sold well at £1900 and £2550,an Emmanuel Cooper tea bowl was popular, it would have been possible to buy a ready made collection of William Marshall tea bowls for relatively little outlay. I managed to buy a nice Henderson 'tea bowl' but was outbid on the Casanovas pieces.

The William Marshall tea bowls were one of the things that I was there to "protect". All went for more than I have been asking, so sticking with what I have.

Bill is my favourite potter and so my stock/collection changes. I have a mixed exhibition at the beginning of September, as part of a local "Open studio" event that I organise and I plan to offer 2 or 3 then at 2022 prices.

Another favourite potter of mine is Colin Pearson and so I was shocked/pleased to see the prices that damaged pieces fetched.

Interesting you say about 'protecting pieces' Studio.
One suspects the deep economic downturn prognosticated is going to effect potters and studio pottery prices greatly. The 2008 crisis did IN for Studio pottery in the major London auction houses, and had grave effects elsewhere.