For a second, I thought I had walked into a ceramics pottery store. Or one of those “make your own” pottery shops with students’ creations lining the shelves of two tall and expansive stands.
This was one person’s collection, the auctioneer would announce later, and from what I could see, the owner was an eclectic buyer who chose contemporary pieces. An auctioneer/owner mentioned in an online video preview that the pottery had been in storage since the 1980s and was new to the market. All were signed, but some signatures were indecipherable. “Some of it is becoming very desirable,” he said.
Some of the better works were in another room, to be sold as part of the auction house’s Modern Design Sale that would include online bids. Those were from the estate of Ragan A. Henry, a radio pioneer whose fine arts collection was sold a few months ago at this same auction house. I assumed that the pottery in the first room was also from his collection (a few, though, had different owners’ numbers).
The pottery was identified as American Studio Pottery, works crafted by individual artisans and usually made in small sets.
Works in both rooms resembled pottery I’d often seen when I visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show where high-end pottery and other wares were sold by artisans in small booths. The annual event raises money for the museum.
Some of the pottery looked to be made for dressing up a table or a room. Others looked to be utilitarian. I was not in the mood to take any home because I don’t buy much pottery any more. Years ago, I bought a few miniature pieces at auction that now sit on my fireplace mantle. I also bought several pieces with Native American motifs and another marked Vallona Starr.
Since pottery is best seen rather than written about, here’s a sampling of what was there:
