Clarice Cliff Feature Articles
Given the weather and collectors travelling situations this sale turned out to be a momentous and significant point in the CC market and one which collectors not only have been very warmly welcomed but will stay in their memories for many years to come. You and Nick set off at a blistering pace which you valiantly continued throughout until the end at 6.45 p.m. A terrific professional performance and your repartee was a teasing relief too! And, at the time of writing over 90% sold. Well done, Clarice!
D: Will, your Decades of Design sale with its specialized Clarice Cliff section is an array of dazzling iconical styles and shapes which suits Bizarre pottery perfectly. Whose concept was this at Fieldings and why did you feel the need for it?
W: I wanted to create a 20th Century design sale when we first set up Fieldings some 16 years ago. At that time the only auction house presenting true specialist 20th Century design sales was Christies South Kensington however other larger salerooms such as Sothebys and Bonhams included good design items within their calendar of sales. I came up with the idea for a specialist 20th Century sale when we relocated to our new premises as we felt that was the perfect time to start offering the service. 20th Century design has always been my passion and I could see the trend was gaining pace amongst collectors as the fashion for more traditional antiques was beginning to wane. The first sale was held over 12 years ago and was a fantastic success! Looking back I wish I’d been savvy or rich enough to buy more pieces as the market has steadily grown to now becoming the norm in the market place with prices outstripped those of much more established and traditional collectables.
D: On this occasion, have you any idea of the ratio of items received in by you from home and abroad, e.g. Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand and the USA? This is a hard gap for you to fill after the history of Christie’s many offices abroad.
W: As always we had pieces coming from all over the world including Australia, Canada and America however the UK still provides the greatest number of lots offered with over 80 coming from home shores.
D: Take us through the process of what some of us long-term collectors have experienced having purchased at her ‘top price time’ of the early 90’s. Do you find we expect to get the same money spent back?
W: The market is ever changing and certainly from my many years’ experience I have noticed certain patterns and shapes fall in and out of favour. For example I see that flat ware and tea services are a little more affordable than they once were while good classic vases shapes like 365, 360 etc are currently flying very high! I’d also suggest that services are slightly lower than once were; however in another couple of years’ time we could see all of this change. Also patterns certainly have their moment in the lime light! The one thing I would say, however, is that there has been a clear divide and separate with pieces, the very best and rarest will always perform well, as my dad used to say, the best will always be the best regardless. In terms of investment, well that’s tricky, I always say you should never buy to invest you should buy because you love the pieces. If when you return them to market they’ve gone up, well that’s a win, if financially they’ve gone down well so be it….if you truly love something and you can afford it well that should be the main reason for pulling your wallet out.
D: Conversely how do collectors/sellers get advised of prices realized? (See JulianM’s enquiry on site about ‘seemingly winning bids’.
W: In terms of winning bids it depends how the client has left their bids. If someone leaves a commission bid with us and they win they will receive and invoice on the Monday after the sale. We don’t contact unsuccessful bidders as it would take too long, bear in mind that with the internet, commission bidders and bidders in the room we had around 1000 buyers interested in the sale. If you have left an autobid via the saleroom.com you can log into your account and see if you’ve been successful. But I guess the simplest and easiest way to find out is call into the office and ask! We also publish our sold results after the sale via our own website and also the saleroom.com.
D: Saturday’s CC section was both strong and pacey with tremendous internet support and also strong come-back from the much depleted floor bidders fought many a saleroom battle? Because of the weather for far afield journeying bidders were most internet bidders from other parts of the UK? Does this reflect in several higher prices realized?
W: In terms of the online presence we did discuss the impact of the weather and what if any effect it would have on the sale. It became very clear as the week went on however that the buyers were moving towards online bidding as the registration numbers rose very quickly and the condition reports also went through the roof! I think if anything this sale proved the power of online bidding! Personally I love a full room, with everyone there, the atmosphere etc. But thank goodness we did have online bidding otherwise I think the sale would have been a disaster, in reality I think it was an amazing success……I would even cautiously suggest that the weather worked to our advantage in some bizarre way.
D: Any surprises for you on the podium?
W: Well first and foremost the sold rate! Including a few after sales we are well over 90% now. I think on the day probably my biggest surprise was the two cauldrons…….I thought those results very strong! They were both very well painted but the final hammer price was reminiscent of the late 1990s! Generally though I thought it was a strong sale, a good range of pieces and prices and as ever wonderful support from the collectors out there.
D: Certain luxury lots featured from the last sale and were reduced in estimate? How easy was it to achieve this with the vendors?
W: We did have a couple of items which were re-offered with reduced reserves. This was very much led by the vendor who for personal circumstances wished to realise his investment. In terms of the prices achieved its also not always a clean cut as some people commented on the site including the commission rates that we achieve when handling these pieces. Very often with star lots of high value there has been a great deal of negotiation regards commission rates and what the vendor receives back. The Monsoon plate is a perfect case in point where as much as I would have loved to have earned 35% commission as mentioned by some members, the real sum was a lot less than that! But the important thing is that we were very lucky to have been asked to handle its sale and on the second outing that’s exactly what we did!
D: Which CC section interested overseas buyers the most, or was it more than one? Ditto UK buyers?
W: For this sale the greatest number of enquiries was for the landscape section however that may based on the fact that I think this section was particularly good. That said the universal favourite (when you can find the lots) was the Geometrics! Boy do folk love the geometrics!!!
D: You have always been known as, primarily a Landscapes collector and they certainly conquered the Top 10 this time. Have collectors tastes not changed over the years? Have yours? I also recall, many years ago, trying to introduce the outstanding beauty (to me) of the Latona patterns early collected by Michael in Australia and mentioned recently by Kathy. She quite rightly calls him “Mr Latona”. Now some UK collectors are warming to them……..? Does this also mean that Geometrics and Abstracts are not so desirable because they are difficult to find?
I have and will always be a landscape man! I just love them and have so many that I like. They are still the core of my personal collection however I too have now acquired a few choice Geometrics along the way. Personally speaking I don’t want to say that there is one trend or another. You only have to talk to 10 collectors and they all have their own personal favourite patterns……I think it’s about what everyone loves and I would never want to suggest that one market was down while one rose. I think, as I mentioned before, that collectors in recent years have grown to love rarity and quality! Every collector I know is constantly striving to improve their collections within their budget! Also though, and as you mentioned, it’s about what’s available when you have money burning a hole in your wallet!!!
D: Which were your Top 5 favourites in this sale? And which, in your opinion, was this sale’s most ’stand-out piece’?
W: 1) Monsoon Plate – Wish I could have afforded it…..and it’ll be a long hot summer before I get the opportunity to handle a piece of that again!
2) Blue Autumn cookie jar – Just sensational – shape, pattern, had everything going for it
3) Arab Candlesticks – Combination of rarity, pattern and of course story!
4) YoYo vase – Always a rare treat to handle one of these in a sale and I just love having them, to hold them is to marvel at what Clarice achieved
5) Orange Roof Cottage plate – I think without doubt the best painted piece in the sale…..perfect image, perfect condition, absolutely stunning!
D: Less than 24 hours ago you mentioned the Fun section was 98% sold and that the end of sale unsold crocus pieces had sold yesterday to the tune of reaching over 90% sold. Is Clarice’s pottery experiencing a new resurgence in popularity once again?
W: I don’t think it’s about a resurgence as such, I just think that consumer confidence is good at the moment, new collectors are coming online, existing collectors are always looking to develop their collections and I think that keen and sensible pricing will always result in strong results. I like to think that Clarice is in good health and has a long future ahead of her!
D: How do you see the Clarice Cliff market now, while it is no longer the “new kid on the block”? Are we collectors more picky?
W: I think maybe already addressed in other questions – Basically though I think that she is so well established as a market that the collectors are incredibly educated now, they know what to look for, what they like and most importantly what they want!
D: Finally, Here’s a new topic I wish just to touch on at present but up for future discussion by me with you and Andy……one can’t help noticing some auction houses recently presenting “mass jobbed multiple item lots at come and get me prices”? Will Fieldings be doing that anytime soon (as it may be good for dealers but not collectors)?
W: Personally speaking I won’t ever do that! I have been horrified over recent months to see how some collections have been handled. And furthermore I think it goes to show in the results. I think that two auction houses in particular could have achieved much higher prices for the collections had they put in a little more effort and split the lots down. As a collector I find it very frustrating to see a group lot with one item I like surrounded by 20 others I don’t want. For any collector this makes a purchase very difficult, they may not have the finances to step up and purchase a large group lot, and then if they have, what do they do with all the other things that they don’t want. I think you have to nurture new collectors and old alike! So while you might see the odd group here and there I can’t ever see me doing the big mass lots which have hit the market recently.
Co-director of Fieldings Auctioneers Ltd and claricecliff.com talking with website Editor Doreen Mann – An exclusive interview on claricecliff.com
