Alan Wallwork

A group of six cylindrical vases, the tallest being about 28cm...

Went to visit an old friend in London who isn't a studio pottery collector - but a few decades ago he just happened to be walking past the old CPA gallery shop in Marshall Street, Soho, looked in the window, saw something he liked, and went in and bought it. Then he bought more. And more. Result - a spectacular collection of work by Alan Wallwork. They have been packed in boxes for a few years, but when he heard I was also a fan, he got them out for me to see. Jaw-dropping!

wow...... simply WOW

Now that is a some collection!
But packed away in boxes and you are not a collector? Sell them? There are several thousand pounds worth there.

Strange but they do look a little like nest eggs

I discussed questions of value with my friend who owns the collection - but he's not interested in the money and his intention is to gift the whole lot to a museum.

my museum is looking for pottery like that

For such an interesting potter, Wallwork is not well represented I'm Museums.
On the other hand. Choose your Museum carefully. A lot of studio pottery just disappears into storage in these places.

He has a specific ceramics museum in mind if he can think of a way to get the collection across the Atlantic. I've also suggested CoCA in York.

Failing which, Dantheman, if you let me have a note of your museum's charity registration number I'll pass it on!

Tell him that a lot of museums wait a few decades then quietly sell off donations to raise funds. They may only keep them x20 years and all of that in storage.

These days museums are supposed to ask you what your long term intentions are for the collection. If it's an outright donation and they thrn own the pieces then you won't have a say in whether they sell them off at some point. Long term loans may be better but far fewer museums would be willing to take them on.

The Paul Mellon Yale Centre for British Art might be a serious destination consideration. At this precise moment, they are holding a superb exhibition of British studio pottery THINGS OF BEAUTY GROWING.
A word of caution tho. While Alan Wallwork is a superb and widely admired potter in Britain, he is by no means in the International A list of potters that American Museums would desire. The A List Coper/Leach/Rie he is just not at.

A porcelain ovoid dating from the early 80's which I was delighted to buy cheaply on Ebay recently.

I call mine a dinosaur egg, Joe said the correct name was "pierced form" I think

The amount of work that Alan did using porcelain is quite small, maybe a few % in total, so it wins on rarity value too.

A snow egg?

Two nice examples from Alan Wallwork, circa 1999. 22.6cm and 33.4cm tall. Thnx John

22 Crawford St. wrote:I call mine a dinosaur egg, Joe said the correct name was "pierced form" I think

Alan calls them 'Pierced Spheres'

joethehat wrote:Two nice examples from Alan Wallwork, circa 1999. 22.6cm and 33.4cm tall. Thnx John

I've just checked and they were both exhibited and originally sold from his first solo exhibition with me at the Harlequin Gallery in July 1999. In fact it could possibly have been the first ever solo exhibition that he had. Not that he hadn't been asked before but he didn't like the idea of keep back his best work for a specific date - he much preferred to sell it asap and have the cash!

https://issuu.com/oxfordceramics/docs/awcat22x22

A link to the catalogue of the 2012 Oxford Ceramics Alan Wallwork exhibition. Well worth looking at for both David Whiting appreciation and Alan Wallwork own biographical contribution, as well as numerous photos.

There isn't any mark on this piece, (or is that a small W I can now spot?)

It looks like Alan's work to me - prob a 1960s piece?

It stands about 13cm tall.

An inscribed W means it was made by one of his assistants at the studio, rather than Alan himself - assuming this did come from his studio. I think you’d need to contact the guy who runs Alan’s website and ask him whether Alan can confirm it’s from his studio.

To add, the celadon glaze inclusions makes it more likely it’s by Wallwork imo