Pottery Values N'stuff

A recent Dickinson's Real Deal featured two guys who decided to sell in auction two large Troika lamp bases (Clive having offered a mere £200 for the two!). They sold for something like £260 & £240 a lot less than I thought they'd make. Ebay currently have lamp bases Buy it Now for well in excess of the two sold in the Real Deal auction. It's amazing, despite predictions of falling prices for Troika for the last five years, that they have managed to hold their own. The desire for good modern studio pottery from the fifties onwards will continue to gain fans and "antiques" such as Doulton vases and Staffordshire flatbacks will finally lose their attraction.

Britains antiques dealers would have gone bust years ago without the sales of vintage design

I don't know what it's like in your part of the world, but in the North East it is VERY difficult to find an Antiques shop or even a Junk shop. They've practically all closed down! There's a handful in and around Newcastle but nothing compared to what there was ten years ago. Even the Antiques Centres, conceived to allow budding dealers to dip their toes in the trade, have gone. One site that remains successful and popular after thirty years is Tynemouth Station fleamarket, held 9-4 Saturdays & Sundays all year round. Always a mixture of sellers, professional and otherwise, with mainly second-hand goods for sale. Our traditional pubs are closing down and Antiques shops are fast disappearing from our towns and villages. Shame really.

In London there is virtually nothing left as well and most dealers have packed it in or dealing in brand new stuff. For example in North London there is something called Alfies Antique Market, which today is largely taken over by Italians selling brand new copies of 60s and 70s Italian design.

Going back to the next big thing. If I was younger, had the energy, bleached my hair and wore stupid glasses I would be collecting up pieces of Tolcarne Pottery that were made by someone called Roger Veal down in Hayle Cornwall. You see them all the time on Ebay being offered as pots by Janet Leach. There is a book in there and profit for the person who does it selling off all the pieces they have collected to illustrate the book.

We have had the same thing happen here in Calgary. Used to be dozens and now there are very few. Some have gone out to bedroom communities, but I think some have gone to the 'net.

Way to wreck a saturday afternoon!

Carolyn

vizibell wrote:I don't know what it's like in your part of the world, but in the North East it is VERY difficult to find an Antiques shop or even a Junk shop. They've practically all closed down! There's a handful in and around Newcastle but nothing compared to what there was ten years ago. Even the Antiques Centres, conceived to allow budding dealers to dip their toes in the trade, have gone. One site that remains successful and popular after thirty years is Tynemouth Station fleamarket, held 9-4 Saturdays & Sundays all year round. Always a mixture of sellers, professional and otherwise, with mainly second-hand goods for sale. Our traditional pubs are closing down and Antiques shops are fast disappearing from our towns and villages. Shame really.

Antiques shops still do OK in Lincolnshire,we have 3 of the biggest antiques fairs in Europe held close by which bring in buyers from all over the world but without the fairs the shops would probably fail to make a profit.

that's why I love the giant flea and the carboots, there are no more junk shops to wander round....and I'm not even 'that' old. But I've been doing junk shops since I was a kid, with my aunt. She used to work for a dealer, so I spent a LOT of time wandering round dusty old places ferreting out bargains (such as old harmoniums and gypsy tables etc!) with her. She had an old floor length hippy skirt that she just used to drape over the said object, having had it delivered when my uncle was out, hoping my uncle wouldn't notice there was a new, rather large, object (to be restored at a later date.....er or not) that had appeared in the house.
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We do have very large car boot sales - my favourites I have to say - in the North East but, for obvious reasons, not throughout Nov - March. Dealers can be found at these venues, some serious, some not and car boot sales are still the places where you'll find the best bargains in 20th century "collectables". I must admit to possessing very few "antiques" in the true sense of the word. I have a collection of early 20th century clear Tyneside pressed glass, mainly Chippendale style. Thought I'd corner the market. Some pieces are very heavy and space consuming. Had the collection about 15 years and recently tried to dispose of it to downsize. Local auctioneer said it would go for less than £40 for the lot! - I believed some individual pieces were worth £40! He didn't want them! That's got to be the worst prediction I have ever made.

We went to the malvern giant flea this morning and basically these are the antique shops today , we went on to Gloucester Antiques ( housed in a new building at the quayside ) one noticeable difference was stands of Fat Lava , something never seen before here , the prices werein the £40 -£100+ range and very nice colourful stuf it was too , so the fat lava imo hasn't peeaked yet and is still worth looking for ( not the brown / beige common shapes though ).

vizibell wrote:How about Chessell Pottery, Isle of Wight? In 1979 I bought a stunning large blue glazed bowl with clusters of small mushroom-like flowers "growing" up from inside. It is brown on the underside and has a metallic ring when you tap it. I used it for floating candles and it was admired on many occasions.
I found a small spherical matt off-white version in the 1990s, second hand, and a further couple of similar small pieces. I think the Pottery may have closed a few years ago, which does not surprise me because they were producing sickly crap designs such as eggs with baby dinosaurs heads sticking out!

I love the dinosaurs and am not so keen on the water gardens

Your large piece is a "Frilled Water Garden" and your small one and flying free's are both called "Porcelain Shell Water Garden".