In anticipation of the February 2023 Collectables & Classics auction, Abbeys Auctions team member Alex provides an insight into the history of collectable Australian Pottery.
JOHN CAMPBELL POTTERY
After John Campbell’s move to Tasmania from Bendigo in 1880, he married Mary Jane Jory and formed a partnership with William Jory in Glen Dhu, with his first son Colin continuing his business of Campbell’s Pottery.
With inspiration from the British ‘drip glaze’ movement, popular in the Art Nouveau and beginning of the Art Deco, John’s profession and his family business continued crafting exquisite pieces of pottery featuring the wonderful ‘drip glaze’. With Campbell’s passing in 1929, Colin continued his father’s legacy and produced many pieces with the iconic Australian late Deco and early Mid-Century glaze (of which we have a few pieces in this auction!).
REMUED POTTERY
A notible ‘inspiree’ is the renowned pottery, Remued. The early Remued pottery, Preston Premier Pottery (P.P.P.) took such inspiration from John Campbell’s pottery, thus influencing the renowned late-Deco and mid-Century pottery fashioned for many a home.
Remued pottery originally was established as “Preston Premier Pottery” in Preston, Melbourne c.1929. The early pieces produced by the pottery are highly sought after due to the “Pamela” design drip glaze. Rebranded as “Remued” in 1934 (after increased production), these Art Deco Australian pottery pieces became highly recognised due to their drip glaze and iconic branch handles that mimic the native gum tree of Australia.
Though produced in quantities of various shapes and sizes, finding pieces in excellent condition can be hard to come across, considering the worldwide post-war change into the well known Mid-Centry / Retro pottery era.
Succeeeding the Art Deco era, the Ellis pottery was formed in Abbotsford in 1953 by Dagmar and Miloslav Kratochil. the iconic pieces crafted by the pottery are synonymous with the Australian Mid-Century era. An outstanding array of finely glazed ashtrays, vases and homewares are up for auction in February 2023.
MELROSE POTTERY
Three pieces of Melrose Pottery also feature in the February 2023 Collectables & Classics auction. The Merose Pottery originated from the Hoffman Company in Brunswick, Melbourne in the 1870s and continued as part of the brick co-operative in Northern Melbourne. With an expansion into artwork pottery in the early 1930’s – despite the worldwide depression – Melrose Pottery produced an array of famous designs. Synonymous with the Remued Pottery branch handles, Melrose produced pottery with the gum leaf pattern as seen above. One of the rarer designs is a twin handled vase with a Koala at the front.
Other well known pottery often featured in Collectables & Classics auctions include Moorcroft, William Ricketts, Martin Boyd, Arthur Merric Boyd, and Bendigo Pottery to name a few.
To view more images and to bid online, please visit our upcoming auctions page and use the search functionality to see if any unique pieces are in upcoming auctions!