Mystery JW mark - ( not Jason Wason or John Ward)

Did someone get a John Ward Bargain? At Stamford Auctions this morning. Hammer price was £90, estimate was £20-£50. Not one I would have bid on myself, as I would have wanted to have a good look at it in person. as I thought it would have gone for a lot more!

Hi Philpot, This pot is not a John Ward piece at least not made by the John Ward that i collect, i think it's possibly by an American potter of the same name . This pot turned up at a sale in Lincolnshire a while back and sold as an example of Wards work and i can only think it must have been returned and resold at a later date.

Jason Wason, maybe, but the stamp looks a bit too tidy for him. Would be a bargain price if it’s one of his.

NaomiM wrote:Jason Wason, maybe, but the stamp looks a bit too tidy for him. Would be a bargain price if it’s one of his.

It does look like an earlier version of some of Jason's later pots and so that seems a good shout.

There's also a similar JW mark found on tiles, etc, from the early 70s which is too early for Wason and still a mystery.
I'll split this off into a new thread, since it's not a John Ward pot

It does illustrate the possible dangers of buying just on the strength of a mark without having knowledge of the potter, when this pot first came up at stamfords auction earlier in the year it was accompanied by glowing description of the potters history etc.