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George Wooliscroft Rheads masterwork Sacrifice to Neptune
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Frederick Alfred Rhead pate-sur-pate porcelain vase
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Waterford decanter & stopper
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The Penrose Irish shell cabinet with fantasy grotto
Private Collections Light The Way at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
Hidden away across the region are many private and family collections that have never seen the light of day, passing from one generation to the next. These collections are not often consigned to auction and generate enormous attention when they are. So, when two private collections were consigned to Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood for their January Fine Art auction of 21st & 22nd January 2014, international attention focused on the salerooms in Exeter to see the result.
The Rhead Cronin collection of ceramics and pictures drew particular interest due to the families long established tradition of potting. The Rheads were an old North Staffordshire family who had been connected with pottery production since the 18th century. Frederick Alfred Rhead [1856-1933] was to follow the family tradition of potting but combined it with that of artist and designer. Five of Frederick’s six children were involved in the pottery business; Frederick Hurten Rhead [1880-1942] and Charlotte [Lottie] Rhead [1885-1947] are probably the best known. Frederick Hurten worked for most of his life in the United States for firms including Tiltonville, Wheeling, The Weller Pottery, Roseville, his own firm Rhead Pottery and the Homer Laughlin China Company. Charlotte Rhead [1885-1947] started her career at Wardle & Co. in Hanley and it was here that she developed her skills as a tubeliner. She subsequently worked for Keeling & Co., T&R Boote and with her father at Wood & Sons. She is probably best known for her work at Burgess & Leigh [Burleigh Pottery] and A.G.Richardson [Crown Ducal].
Among the many tiles, vases and plaques within the collection, a fine Frederick Alfred Rhead pate-sur-pate porcelain vase of cylindrical form decorated with an angel holding aloft a large bowl with text below ‘And when the angel with his darker draught draws up to thee-take that and do not shrink’ , proved to be the most desirable. Bidding in the room, on the telephones and internet saw it eventually sell for £17,000.
George Wooliscroft Rheads masterwork Sacrifice to Neptune [92 x 204cm.] was exhibited at The New Gallery in 1904. The themes within the painting are Authority, Retribution, Vanity, Love, Trust, Innocence, Beauty and Renaissance and Rhead draws inspiration from the ancient Greco-Roman story of Perseus and Andromeda. Rhead was taught by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Maddox Brown. Few paintings by the artist appear on the market and indeed there are a number of small paintings with the same title as the masterwork A Sacrifice to Neptune. The example from the collection consigned to the auction, did not disappoint with such provenance and realized a hammer price of £14,000.
The second private collection within the auction comprised fifteen lots of Waterford and Irish glass from the Penrose family. George and his nephew William Penrose, both prominent Quakers and astute businessmen, established the Waterford Glass House in 1783 to take advantage of the dropping of the glass levy, on Irish glass, by the English Parliament. The family connection brought international Waterford buyers to the auction with a decanter and stopper owned by Elizabeth Penrose selling for £4,700, while The Penrose Irish shell cabinet with fantasy grotto, decorated by Elizabeth Penrose fetched £23,000.
As the antiques market becomes increasingly more competitive, buyers are seeking the more unusual and interesting pieces. Private and family are the holy grail to these collectors’, with unseen and undiscovered treasures proving irresistible additions to their own collections.
For further details please contact 01392 413100
First published By The Dart March 2014