The department holds three Design: Decorative Arts 1860 to the Present Day auctions a year. They embrace the Decorative Arts from Gothic Revival to the present day and includes the Aesthetic and Arts & Crafts Movements and the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods. Alongside this, Studio Ceramics and Modern Design of the post-war decades with all their innovation and style and incorporate glass, ceramics, silver, metal wares, sculpture, jewellery, lighting, rugs, textiles and furniture.
Many pioneers of design from the late 19th Century and 20th Century have become house hold names. William Morris and his contemporaries including Voysey, Ashbee, Baillie-Scott, Mackintosh, Hoffmann and Guimard were at the forefront of the ‘Designer’ revolution and are well represented throughout the sales.
Liberty & Co and Heals were leading stores at the beginning of the 20th Century, the former commissioning the designs of Archibald Knox, the latter sold Arts & Crafts furniture by Sir Ambrose Heal and went onto showcase mid-century design. Gimson, the Barnsley’s and Robert Thompson of Kilburn (Mouseman) all had their own their own particular styles within the context of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Successful potteries of the late 19th & 20th centuries, Doulton, Martin brothers, De Morgan, Moorcroft, Amphora, Goldscheider, Zsolnay and Clarice Cliff have all come to have devoted followers since the 1970s.
The auctions feature works from the Art Nouveau period, by artists Gallé, Daum and Lalique, Moser and the Wiener Werkstatte, Reimerschmid, Majorelle, Argy-Rousseau, Loetz and Tiffany. Sculpture and Art Deco by Le Verre Francais, Schneider, Muller, Buthaud, Hagenauer, Lorenzl, Chiparus, Preiss, Bruno Zach, Poertzel, and Guiraud-Riviere, to name but a few.
The department offers specific expertise in Studio Ceramics, ranging from the early pioneers of Leach and Cardew through to the mid-century of Rie and Coper and later potters such as John Ward and John Maltby. Glass names such as Murano, Venini, Sam Herman, Sven Palmqvist and Tapio Wirkkala will be offered along with the furniture of Ernest Race, Kjaerholm, Archie shine, Makepeace and Molino and textiles by Lucienne Day and Peter Collingwood.
With a wealth of in-house experience our team of specialists are available for complimentary auction valuations and to advise on the current market. Please do not hesitate to contact a member of our specialist team.
Nigel Dawson-Ellis