William Staite Murray – A Rediscovered Painting

William Staite Murray Painting

Mark Hill examines a newly rediscovered 1930s Modern British painting by studio potter and artist William Staite Murray.

SylvaC & Falconware – The Grecian Range

Sylvac Grecian Vase

Last month, I was lucky enough to be asked to be the special guest at the biannual SylvaC collectors’ event in Peterborough. After a thoroughly fascinating day with friendly, warm and dedicated collectors, I was presented with a thank you gift of a piece of SylvaC for my collection – how incredibly kind! I had […]

Labels Are Useful And Fascinating!

Kurt Franke Fat Lava Vase Label

I love finding a piece with its original label or sticker still attached, as it can yield a lot of useful information, especially if the piece is otherwise unmarked. Most labels were washed off, or otherwise removed, by the original owner when they got home, so survivors are scarce. Obviously, the first indication a label […]

Bruton Antiques Fair & Mary Wondrausch Pottery

Bruton Decorative Antiques Fair

The third Bruton Decorative Antiques Fair will be held from the 19th to 21st October 2018, near the beautiful and deeply trendy Somerset town of Bruton. I’ve been attending since it began in 2016, having been a fan of its big sister, the Bath Decorative Antiques Fair, which was first held in 1989! At the […]

Michael Andersen & Marianne Starck – The Persia Glaze

Michael Andersen Persia Vase Rim

When I attend the Antiques For Everyone fairs in Birmingham, or the Art, Antiques & Interiors Fair in London’s ExCel, I generally tend to give a short afternoon talk. In these, I always say that these fairs are great places to buy – which they are. I believe in practising what I preach, so I […]

An American Studio Pottery Pioneer – A Forgotten Vase

Herbert Sanders Vase

It’s all about the first look, and then about identifying and questioning what first made you think “Oh, that looks like a good thing”. It’s instinctive, even if you don’t quite know what or why. But there’s usually a feature or two that mark something out from the rest. We were visiting Saugatuck in rural […]

Complex Glazes – A Vase By Dr Felix Singer

Felix Singer Ceramics Glazes Vase

I’m a great believer in writing verbal history down when possible. I always advise it when I hear family stories relating to a treasured object on the Antiques Roadshow – go home and write the story down. People forget, or stories get warped, and then it just becomes an ‘object’ that is devoid of context. […]

London Antiques Legend Alfie’s Hits 40!

Last Thursday Alfie’s Antiques Market in Church St, Marylebone, London hit a major anniversary when it turned 40. It’s almost as old as me! A day of festivities, including a lecture on 20thC Glass given by me, culminated in an intimate party, held as part of the London Design Festival. Exhibiting in a pop-up shop […]

A Decade of Fat Lava – 10th Anniversary

Ten years ago today, the first retrospective exhibition of West German ceramics of the 1960s & 70s, featuring the Graham Cooley Collection, closed at the King’s Lynn Arts Centre. Over 500 ceramics were included, and over 3,500 people came to visit. It was accompanied by a catalogue of the same title, written by me, of […]