Richard Batterham auction at Woolley & Wallis

Studio Pottery Including The Estate of Richard Batterham
Thursday 23rd March 2023. Starts at 10:00am


https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/20th-century-design/da230323?p=1&s=160&v=list

Jesus there is a small engraving by Eric Gill. Strange man

https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/20th-century-design/da220323/view-lot/364/

Edit: and this is fun https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/20th-century-design/da220323/view-lot/407/

To say Eric Gill was just a strange man is being very kind to him, as many art enthusiasts know the man was a sexual deviant being a paedophile and committing incest with his daughters etc also sex with animals, many museums have now placed much of his work in storage .

Its an interesting point. Does one judge Art by its quality alone? Or by the character of the creator sexual deviance and all? Historically, sexual and moral standards change.

Can one ever have a surfeit of Richard Batterham?
Interesting to see a number of figures by Stella Crofts on the first day of this sale. You do not see a lot of her stuff around now.

I wonder where all this Batterham find homes, i know he is a master potter but how many casserole dishes or flour bins would you want on display in your living areas?.

I would not surprised if the audience is in the Londoners who fled London for the country. I suspect they fit exactly to the rural craft decorative vibe that they might be looking for. Long show at the V&A, the lone craftsman honing his work over a lifetime etc etc. Equally of course Durweston is not far from Salisbury, and there are probably still a lot of local collectors'

When I used to visit Alan Wallwork, when he lived outside of Lyme Regis, all of his crockery (with the exception of a few David Leach bowls) was Richard Batterham pottery. Most people who still buy it use it.

I would agree with you about Batterham pottery in previous years Studio.Primavera always had a substantial stock of his domestic. As did one of the upmarket design shops in London'
But at today's prices? Ebay sold £90 for a coffee cup, £400 for a teapot and so on. Those are not prices that people are going to use in everyday environments.
We still use Winchcombe plates and St Ives bowls, and they are incredibly strong and hardwearing. But we bought them cheap long ago

Most of the younger people that buy from me tend to like to use what they buy and the prices don't seem as high as they do to people of our age.

I do sell yunomis and teabowls in the range £75 to £200 that get used. More surprising to me was that, about 15 months ago, I sold a Ryoji Koie vase for a 4 figure sum to someone that lived in a small communal block of flats. The next time I saw it was in a photograph - it was full of flowers on a table in the communal hallway!

Your tit-bits are always soooo interesting Studio. No doubt you are right. People originally bought Lucie Rie domestic ware to use, not to look at!
If you are wealthy then those sort of prices are just everyday for you. A different world. But what about the Big pieces? The vases, jugs, and the very large lidded containers?
I am looking straight at a Micki Schloessingk bowl full of fruit. It looks great! Equally we have number if studio vases which are excellent for vases.
Although equally we have a couple of large Leach standard ware lidded Soup/Casserole bowls which we have not got a clue how to use!

I know someone who uses a Ruth Duckworth coffee set and we have the odd vase for flowers but as you say what do you do with all the dough bins and other heavy kitchen ware ,even though they might be made by a master potter.

A little Richard Batterham update.

Yesterday at 3pm I loaded the last 9 items of Richard Batterham's work that I had in stock to my gallery website and they have all sold.

It was my way of closing a chapter, as I don't imagine being offered any further work of his at a price that I can make an acceptable profit on. Of course, I am not still dealing because I need to make money on a regular basis.

One of my buyers did say that he thought that the market had "matured" and he will be interested in what happens at this and other sales in the same way as us i.e. he isn't planning to bid on anything.

Looking at a large number of sales results for Batterham it does appear that the prices for his work have had some readjustment from the all the hype (Goldmark etc) ,possibly due to the vast amount coming to auction. His large statement vases seem to have maintained their high prices or even gained a little but i think these appeal to a different market.

His large statement vases are Majestic pieces. The very sparseness of their decoration makes them suitable for many styles of home. They always make a strong elegant statement.
If you compare with the large vases from Jim Malone, Mike Dodd and Phil Rogers then that difference is even more noticeable. They nearly always have to fiddle around with glazes and decoration They are often so 'busy' in enhancement, that a Batterham vase looks like a pure gust of Fresh air against them.
I think his cut sided pieces and big Tazas might well stand the test of time better than most.

Discussion moved to new thread

https://www.20thcenturyforum.com/t33418-early-richard-batterham-rb-mark-england-stamp