Antiques & Potteries Specialisms

Antiques and potteries are our specialist subject matter at auction and we always know which items will fetch a good price at auction.  You can also find out more on our specialist potteries page for examples of interesting lots sold at auction.

Get in touch if you have similar or unusual items that need a valuation.

Selling Royal Doulton Animals and Birds at Auction

We sell many different Royal Doulton animal and bird figurines at auction. Get in touch if you are looking for something in particular, or if you are looking to sell at auction. Royal Doulton Animal and Bird Figurines are, arguably, some of the best-known and best-loved figurines produced by Royal Doulton. But what are your …

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Why Is Royal Doulton Flambe Collectable?

We sell many different Royal Doulton pieces at auction including Flambe. Get in touch if you are looking for something in particular, or if you are looking to sell at auction. Royal Doulton Flambe glaze is made with copper oxide and gives a fiery red finish that became known as ‘flambe’. Royal Doulton were European …

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What is a Character Jug or a Toby Jug?

We sell many different Royal Doulton pieces at auction including character jugs and Toby jugs. Get in touch if you are looking for something in particular, or if you are looking to sell at auction. Royal Doulton have produced character jugs since the early 1900s, where a character jug features the head and shoulders of …

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Check Out the Chintz!

Lot 55 in our March auction is an Egg cup set on a tray and a metal framed condiment set by James Kent Chintz Du Barry Fenton Pottery We are taking the opportunity to talk about Chintz Pottery at auction in this article. In our upcoming auction on 14 March, we have lots of Chintz in …

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Why is Wedgwood Jasperware so popular?

Lot 1046 – £400.00 – Wedgwood dark blue Jasperware Panel: Wedgwood dark blue Jasperware framed panel, 14cm x 44cm long, excluding frame & slip. The work of Josiah Wedgwood to refine his stoneware to produce the unique Jasperware style helped the pottery to become a household name, and the work produced by Wedgwood in modern …

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How Much is My Moorcroft Vase Worth?

Lot 437 in our March 2019 sale was this beautiful pair of Moorcroft vases decorated in the Leaf and Berry design, presented in the unusual two tone green and blue colourway – Sold at auction for £580 At Potteries Auctions, and as our name suggests, we are pottery specialists and have been for many years. …

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A Shout Out to Shelley!

A collection of Shelley Mottled Vases We have a magical collection of Shelley Pottery coming up for sale in the 14th March Antiques and Fine Art Auction. We’ve put this article together to share some of the gems that will be going under the hammer at our March auction. If something piques your interest, then enquire …

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Is That Tea Set Worth Anything?

You might have inherited a tea set from a distant relative and it’s just gathering dust in the back of a cupboard. You don’t want to throw it away, but you don’t want to use it either. Let’s take a look at figuring out if your tea set is worth anything. Homemaker tea set We …

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Bargains To Be Had At Car Boots, the Local Tip & Charity Shops

Set of SEVEN early graduated bronze Imperial measures for the County of Worcester comprising Imperial Gallon to Imperial half Gill, each stamped VR and ER sold for £3700 This week, Rod, our resident valuer shares his thoughts on car boots and table top sales. He finds that people with valuable possessions often unwittingly sell or …

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Fine Art Preview: Highlights Of Our Up-Coming November Fine Art Auction

Lot 1447 Anthony Forster local artist: original watercolour of Trentham Hall and Gardens , titled ” Trentham Summer” , 44 x 62cm  £50-£100 Our next auction of fine art will be a three-day sale of decorative arts including an exciting watercolour by artist Anthony Forster pictured above.  Anthony Forster is a contemporary local artist renowned for …

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Selling a collection at auction?

Selling a collection at auction is an good way of disposing of complete collections of items as well as single items. At auction the prices achieved can differ greatly from sale to sale.  However, in the majority of selling circumstances the best way to achieve optimum financial gain is by selling a whole or part …

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The Life Of The Barlow Sisters Of Royal Doulton

The Life of The Barlow Sisters, Pottery Artists Pictured centre, Hannah Bolton Barlow (1851-1916) and pictured right, Florence Elizabeth (Birdie) Barlow (1855-1909) Two famous Lambeth School Of Art artists, Hannah and Florence Barlow, worked for Doulton in the 1870s painting pottery for Doulton at their factory in Lambeth. Hannah and her sister Florence were two of nine children born to Benjamin Barlow, …

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Susie Cooper

The Life Of Susie Cooper, Ceramicist Susie Cooper was a local lady, born in October 1902 in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Susie was the youngest of seven children and from an early age she was a child with artistic flair who developed an interest in drawing. She began her art education at the Burslem School of Art where …

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A Brief History Of Royal Crown Derby

A Brief History Of Royal Crown Derby Royal Crown Derby is one of the oldest remaining English porcelain manufacturers, and is based fairly locally to Potteries Auctions in Osmaston Road, Derby. The company is known for its high-quality bone china and has been producing items of tableware and ornamental ware since 1750. Lots 475 & …

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Ceramic Furniture Rests

CERAMIC FURNITURE RESTS Potteries Auctions have received approximately 160 furniture rests for our next Antiques, Rare Pottery & Fine Art Auction to be held on 14th July 2018. Ceramic furniture rests were made in large numbers in Staffordshire, the North of England and Scotland in the late 18th Century, early 19th Century.  Evidence of dates of manufacture is …

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Andrew Hull

 Andrew Hull is a freelance artist, designer and sculptor, who has worked in the industry for the past 19 years.  Andrew has worked on a wide range of subjects and created several successful ranges for retail and collectors worldwide.  The ranges have varied from wildlife to fantasy and caricatured characters. Andrew attended Loughborough College of …

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Local Miner wins National Welsh Eisteddfod

To the west of Tunstall lies the mines ‘Talk- o’th Hill’ and this was where James Whewall grew up in his youth. He became a choir master for the Wesleyan chapel and there he founded a juvenile choir for competiting in local singing competitions. James Whewall choir took first prize. Talke juvenile choir went from …

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Kobe Dolls

KOBE DOLLS Kobe Dolls are the name given to mechanical wooden dolls unique to Kobe, Japan.  They were once as well-known as the port itself.  The Kobe Dolls were produced from the mid-Meiji era (ca. 1890) until about 1920, and sold at souvenir shops on Motomachi Shopping Street and near Nunobiki Waterfall where tourists gathered.  …

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Shelley Pottery

SHELLEY POTTERY Shelley Potteries, situated in Staffordshire, was earlier known as Wileman & Co. which had also traded as The Foley Potteries. The first Shelley to join the company was Joseph Ball Shelley in 1862 and remained a Shelley family business until 1966 when it was taken over by Allied English Potteries.  In 1881 Joseph …

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PORTER REQUIRED

We are currently looking for the right person for the role of Head Porter If you are organised with good attention to detail, confident working on your own initiative with previous auction house experience then we could have the career for you. Candidates should have good computer, numerical and verbal skills but most importantly, good people …

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January Roundup

On Saturday 13th Jan we held the first auction of the year with 1100 of the most eclectic selection of lots to date! The first one hundred plus lots consisted of despatch returned goods, unclaimed items and catalogue returned lots, some of which were, to add a sense of eager anticipation, still in sealed boxes! This …

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WH Goss

WH GOSS Goss crested china is typically in the form of small white glazed porcelain models, made from 1858 to 1939, carrying the coat of arms of the place where they were sold as souvenirs, thus being a form of heraldic china. Other factories, including Carlton, Shelley and Arcadian, also made souvenir ware but Goss is still …

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Another snippet of local interest…

APEDALE HALL was a manor house near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, it was rebuilt in 1826 by the Heathcote family in the Elizabethan style by Richard Edensor Heathcote.  The building was demolished in 1934, due to subsidence from the coal mines underneath.  Richard Edensor Heathcote (1780 – 1850) was a British Industrialist.  Born the son of Sir John Edensor Heathcote …

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Toys

TOYS  A toy is an item that is used in play. Playing with toys can be an enjoyable means of training young children for life in society. Different materials like wood, clay, paper, and plastic are used to make toys. Many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be …

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November News

The Antiques, Rare Pottery & Fine Art Auction on 11th and 12th of November created quite a stir amongst collectors due to the interesting and eclectic range of lots on offer. 1600 lots went under the hammer over the weekend kicking off with 700 lots of pottery and ceramics. The sale commenced with tea and dinnerware with …

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