MAAK preview

I am not quite sure if this post is within the rules being a timed sale, if not i apologise. The latest offering from MAAK is now viewing , interesting to see the low estimates ( very low in some cases), there is a good collection of John Ward, Maltby's, etc, it will be interesting to see how this sale performs so soon after the one at Phillips, i don't think these pieces come from the Driscoll stable.

https://maaklondon.irostrum.com/auction/auction-lots/96cb564e-0293-445a-abbc-04e3342c8110/lots

After seeing the Driscoll its a bit of an anti-climax!  An interesting and wide ranging selection of what is available to studio ceramics collectors. I agree about the estimates, most do look quite low in the present market. But  perhaps she is being conservative. Nice Odundo at the very end, a nice Jennifer Lee, good Ward's, Maltby etc. But no real Gosh Wow! items.

I think Marijke has always tried to make the estimates seem reasonable, which is what I would do if I was an auctioneer. These pieces are from miscellaneous collectors, as is the norm, but she is Central London and would be somewhere that Phillips bidders would look whereas I wouldn't think many would check out an Adam Partridge sale, for example.

I will be interested to see what prices things make but my bidding at auction days are really long gone.

hi studio-pots, I take your point about reasonable estimates and reserves ,but getting vendors to place a lower reserve anticipating more bidders and consequently a higher price can be a dangerous game to play especially with so many sales around, although as you point out being shown in central London will make all the difference, I too will be interested to see just how the Phillips results influence future prices. Marijke has said in the latest Atg that she thinks the Driscoll collection results might start a revaluation of ceramics in the art world, not sure about that though. In 1991 the Wiltshire collection of William De Morgan was sold at auction and in a similar fashion every lot fetched well over the estimates and was sold to rich collectors like Lloyd Webber etc and instead of the market becoming more bouyant after this it fell flat and didn't recover for a few years.

Like you I am not sure what will happen but it will be interesting to know.

In the studio pottery world there have always different markets frequented my a different set of collectors. A few go between them but most buyer's don't and it has always been a snob/class thing. It still is, so that could have some influence.

When I was operating in Greenwich, south of the river in London, putting on 10 exhibitions a year of new work from potters most of the monied London/international collectors would no lower themselves to come south of the river and buy from me. They would go to Galerie Besson, buy from Bonhams or the CPA. Their prices were always more expensive than mine but I guess some people equate the price they pay as being a sign of quality. Certainly, comparing what the CPA would have had by a potter that I was exhibiting at the same time would have been considerably different - I had exhibition quality pieces and the general stock at the CPA has never been that.

Low estimates can be a double edged sword for the seller. If your item gets broken while at the showroom, Then the insurance pays out on the bottom price of the estimate.

No Real Super Fairy Dust fallout from the John Driscoll collection in the latest Maak auction on December 2. A verystrong sale though, with lots of indications of upwards trends in studio ceramics.
A fair number of hammer prices over £1000 seems to have become the norm. £25,000 for A large Rupert Spira, and £25,000 for a large De Waal. £190,000 for a Magdalene Odundo are no longer Gosh Wow prices.

As you say a strong sale and MAAK is probably the barometer of the studio ceramics market .I detected a few slight changes in the buying preferences of bidders ,Constantinidis did well as did the Maltby spade form fetching the highest price of his lots, which was nice to see, Henderson 'tea bowls' seem to go higher with each auction ,soon to be competing against his larger pieces perhaps, Batterham was ok and back to normal after the clumsy attempt at price hiking on Ebay.

croker wrote:As you say a strong sale and MAAK is probably the barometer  of the studio ceramics market .I detected a few slight changes in the buying preferences  of bidders ,Constantinidis did well as did the Maltby spade form fetching the highest price of his lots, which was nice to see, Henderson 'tea bowls' seem to go higher with each auction ,soon to be competing against his larger pieces perhaps, Batterham was ok and back to normal after the clumsy attempt at price hiking on Ebay.

The Batterham eBAy prices, especially the asking prices, help me sell the Batterhams that I had for sale in the summer!!!

For higher than I would have originally listed them on my website for but still undercutting eBay considerably.

I'm glad the asking prices went in your favour but the so called final selling prices of batterham ,£2000 each for soup bowls, a damaged tea pot and a bowl on Ebay were just very obvious and clumsy attempts at price hiking.