Clarice Cliff Feature Articles
On the 29th June 2003 my life changed – I started collecting Clarice Cliff. I purchased a small Crocus beaker at a shop in Lewes, Sussex, and paid £150, and questioned myself all the way home whether I was mad to pay that sort of money for a piece of pottery, but I was hooked. I didn’t buy another piece until four months later when I bought my first Muffineer salt and pepper, also in Crocus. Luckily my wife shared my passion for Clarice and our journey began.
I started to research Clarice and then found the CCCC website and my obsession was fuelled. Looking at photos of other collections, checking out prices, had I paid too much, had I got a bargain? It was soon obvious to me that I liked a lot of the very expensive pots with the rarer patterns and shapes and would need deep pockets if I wanted to collect the pieces that I loved. In 2004 my wife and I went up to Christie’s to view a Clarice Cliff auction, which confirmed this, but I also discovered there that I could collect the small cruets at a lower cost and it would still give me a beautiful display of colour and a wide variety of patterns. Due to the nature of the shape of the cruets, the designs which make up the main body of the patterns are in many cases painted around the cruet, front and back, giving a different view of the pattern; twice the display for your money! I quite often spend many a happy hour turning my cruets to show another wonderfully painted view of the design. With regard to displaying these superb works of art I have also discovered the acrylic stands and ‘risers’; these are a marvel because they lift the pots and display without distraction.
At the beginning of my collection I did not realise just how many different condiment shapes Clarice produced: Bon Jour, Conical, Lynton, Shell 480, Muffineer, My Garden, ‘Fancies’ such as Chicken, Fish, Bunny, Peg Doll, United Services, Raffia, Marguerite, Hen and Chick.
The Muffineer shape makes up the vast majority of my collection as there seems to be more around to purchase, but when I saw my first shell/bullet (shape 480) being only 4cm high - WOW! How did the Bizarre boys and girls work with such small items? It must have been breathtaking seeing them in the 1930’s set out on a dinning table, each place setting with their own individual salt, pepper and mustard pot! The Conical shape is another great example, just a smaller version of the sugar Sifter (see photo displaying Conical cruets with Sifters). The May Avenue sugar Sifter was originally painted by Rene Dale and mine is one she produced in the year 2000. She has been quoted as saying ‘her later versions are painted to a better standard’ presumably due to no pressure of speed as they were paid on piece- work originally.
At the beginning - like many collectors - I began buying anything with the Clarice name and purchased several single cruets naively thinking that I would be able to find its partner soon. Well that idea soon proved imprudent, I have just made up a pair and it took 6 years to find its companion! I now only buy pairs or trios but I even broke that rule recently when I purchased a Tennis salt Muffineer because the pattern is very rare.
My collection has been purchased in several different ways:- internet auction site Ebay, auctions, antiques fairs and dealers. “Warning!” When buying abroad off Ebay think import duty – it can be very costly and make a relatively cheap pair of cruets more expensive as I know to my cost; £90 duty plus postage on top of the cost of what I had paid for a pair of Muffineers from Australia!
As I mentioned my collection of cruets started due to cost. You can purchase salt and peppers for as little as 100 pounds sterling but the rarer more sought-after patterns can cost several hundreds and my new May Avenue Conical set a lot, lot more!
The mustard pot seems to have suffered the most over the years with its separate lid (presumably if one or the other broke they would throw it away) so I have very few of these which is a shame as the mustard is the one piece that is usually back-stamped. The salt and pepper are not always marked as there is little room on the base, but as with most things Clarice, there are always exceptions.
My favourite sets are:
1. May Avenue Conical
2. Kew Shell
3. Orange Picasso Muffineers
4. Apples Muffineers
5. Blue Autumn with my only mustard Muffineer
6. Blue Crocus Bon Jour Cruets
May Avenue is my most recent acquisition and it is painted beautifully. It is a pattern that seems to work on most shapes. It is one of the most expensive, sought-after patterns and I believe my Conical cruets are quite rare. The Kew shells are so cute and with so much of the pattern displayed on such small pieces, just as good as a mini, and a very rare pattern. Apples Muffineers - again a great pattern, well painted and very rare. Blue Autumn another which is well painted and the mustard lid is painted too. When researching Clarice I found that sometimes the lids of pots were just banded or plain so presumably they could be used with several different patterns and shapes. Just one example of Clarice’s trait of being thrifty! I also guess that some shops when selling Clarice did not always put the correct lid with the base which can cause problems or concerns for the collector now. Blue Crocus Bon Jour Cruets – well painted with the blue not oxidised, as is sometime the case with this colour on Clarice pieces. It is a great shape (anyone got a mustard lid!!)
Since our collection started we have bought other pieces of Clarice and my favourite pattern is Windbells. My wife loves Honolulu and we have several stunning pieces that we both love. But, as you can see from my photos, the cruets have given me the opportunity to have a wide range of colour, different shapes and patterns and they display well and don’t always break the bank.
During this journey we have met some very interesting, kind and knowledgeable people who have encouraged and helped us on our way and it is always fun to meet up discuss and share our passion.
Welcome to our Clarice world!
Ray Forder
Edited by Doreen Mann
Photo 1: A superb range of Muffineer sets, the majority of which illustrate the front and back of the patterns, collected by Ray Forder.
Photo 2: Ray’s favourite cruet sets in assorted shapes and patterns.
Photo 3: l to r: A Tulip Conical cruet, a May Avenue Conical salt and pepper with a matching patterned Conical sifter painted by Rene Dale, a Windbells Conical salt and pepper with Conical sifter (Ray’s favourite pattern) and a Crocus Conical salt and pepper with a Conical sifter.
Photo 4: A further selection of cruets from Ray’s collection; this time shape 480 Shell cruets.
Photo 5: Bon Jour and Lynton cruets from the collection of Ray Forder.
