Perfect Pieces Specialists in British Pottery

The latest Perfect Pieces newsletter is now out….

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This month’s edition looks at West Country Potteries and how the scenery and landscape of both Devon & Cornwall have inspired many artists and potters over the years.

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If you really have left it this late to find a Christmas present then you’ll need to be sharpish in your choosing!

It’s still not too late to order from Perfect Pieces, but tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd December 2009, is the last day that Royal Mail guarantee Special Delivery services before Christmas.

So if you’re after a Christmas gift then why not take a look at a few of the images below to give you some ideas. Items range in price and style so there’s bound to be something of interest.

If you see anything you fancy just click on the image and you’ll then be taken to the more information page where you can view further information and see more pictures of the item.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

If you’re thinking of starting to collect Troika pottery or indeed have built up a collection of Troika pottery then you’ll find George Perrott’s book Troika Ceramics of Cornwall most interesting.

With very little actually in print about this well-known Cornish pottery this is an interesting read. It includes many colour photographs of the different shapes made by the pottery and also a section on the pottery marks that Troika used over the years.

To view full details about this book then visit the online retailer Amazon, where it is available for sale…click here.

Click here to see reviews on other books we’ve had experience of using…

Approximately two years ago (if I remember correctly), a number of unpainted pieces of Troika pottery came onto the market. Also available at a similar time were some of the moulds used in the creation of various popular Troika shapes.

These had apparently all been hoarded by a mysterious person in the north of England at the time the pottery closed.

The unpainted pieces were being sold at auction houses around the UK as unpainted blanks – quite legitimately. However, as they sold for much less than decorated pieces, there was an obvious opportunity for unscrupulous people to buy them, paint them and then resell them as genuine, decorated Troika.

According to a report in the trade publication Antiques Trade Gazette, this now appears to be happening – with fake pieces appearing on eBay and, I have heard personally, in auction house sales as well.

If you are familiar with genuine Troika then it should be easy enough to determine that there is ’something wrong’ about these decorated blanks – colour, glaze and quality of painting are all likely to be wrong.

According to the ATG article, the following errors are likely to be apparent on the recently decorated wares:

• Inappropriate colours, poor finishing and obvious brush marks
• Inaccurate decorator/pottery marks
• Lacking proper hard, shiny white glaze to inside of ware – this should not look like paint

If you aren’t familiar with Troika, then it might pay to familiarise yourself a little – at antique fairs and auctions – before you start to buy, thus avoiding the risk of a costly mistake. To get started, why not take a look at our Troika pottery marks guide, Troika pottery price guide and the excellent Troika resources on the Digital Museum of Cornish Ceramics website?

Read the full report in Antiques Trade Gazette here.

Update: Fellow 20th century ceramics dealer Deco to Modern has also posted a comprehensive report on this issue on its website, including photographs of some apparent fakes recently on sale at a provincial auction house.

In our Troika section we have a new Troika pottery cube vase with a most unusual pattern.

This cube vase has a striking blue base with abstract designs on two sides, a fish pattern on one side and a palm tree design on another side! Quite an unusual and attractive design.

It has been decorated by Vicky Drew. Vicky Drew worked at the Cornish pottery through a Youth Training Scheme and was only there for six months so you don’t often come across her pieces so it makes it especially nice that it is such a striking pattern as well.

For more photographs of this piece of Troika, click here.

We have just added a stunning Troika pottery wheel vase to our Troika pottery section.

This striking vase has been decorated with a vivid blue base and arrow design. The decorator of this piece was Tamsin Ruhrmund. Tamsin Ruhrmund only worked at the Cornish pottery for one year, c1978, so you don’t often see pieces decorated by her.

To see further details about this item of Troika please click here.

Our site has just been updated with a new piece of Troika pottery – a superb blue Troika Spice vase with white glazed top.

This spice vase has a a white glazed top and has been decorated with a deep blue base on all four sides – two sides being picked out with white decoration.

Spice vases are part of the textured range developed by the Troika pottery. They stand approximately 15cm tall and have a solid square base – making them easy to display with no worries of them toppling over (unlike the small wheel vases!). They were produced with different designs in different colourways, some have white glazed tops (like this one), others have deep blue or a brown tops.

This particular Spice vase has been decorated by Louise Jinks (later Louise McClary). Louise began working at the Troika pottery in Newlyn Cornwall in 1976. Progressing well she then became a senior decorator in 1979, finally leaving the pottery in 1981.

This is a lovely example of a spice vase – the contrast of the blue body and white glazed top making it stand out.

If you have any questions about this piece then please don’t hesitate to drop us an email, or if you’re interested in reading more about the Troika pottery why not take a look at our Guide To British Potteries!

We have recently added a new Troika marmalade vase to our Troika pottery page.

This marmalade vase has rather an unusual design with the T emblem on one side and a mushroom design on the other! The T design is often collected so that it can be displayed at the front of a collection (T for Troika), so it’s even nicer that it has an unusual pattern on the other side.

This particular marmalade vase has been decorated by Linda Taylor who worked at the pottery until the early 1970s when they were based in Newlyn in Cornwall.

Troika has become hugely collectable over recent years. Only operating for 20 years it was originally founded in 1963 in St. Ives in Cornwall. During it’s time it produced a wide range of decorative items ranging from smooth glazed wares to textured items such as this marmalade vase.

If you have any questions about the Troika pottery or this particular marmalade vase don’t hesitate to ask!

I’ve just seen this Troika Celtic Cross up for auction on eBay.

Belonging to the textured range the Celtic Cross is quite a tall piece at around 10″ tall. Whilst not everybody’s cup of tea due to it’s tricky display properties – tall and thin – it is a rather nice and unsual piece.

The base of the piece has been illustrated in the listing enabling you to identify who decorated the piece. This particular example has been decorated by Simone Kilburn. Simone joined the Troika pottery straight from school in 1975 and only worked there until c1977.

You can see further examples of Troika pottery marks on our Troika Pottery Marks page and also read all about the history of this popular pottery on our Troika Pottery Pottery Guide page.

The Cornish pottery Troika based in St. Ives and then later in Newlyn made many different styles of vases including standing, hanging and wall pockets. This flower pocket vase was one example of the more unusal pieces they produced from their textured range.

This example is a piece produced when they were based in Newlyn, c1970-1983, and has been decorated by Louise Jinks. Louise Jinks, who later was Louise McClary, worked at the pottery from around 1976 to 1981. From 1979 she was a senior decorator at the pottery.

The wall pockets are around 8″ by 6.5″ in size and have two holes on the back for hooking onto the wall. Not as striking as some of the pieces that Troika made they do hold a certain appeal especially if one were to mount it on the wall and use it for flowers!