Collectables Don’t Have To Be Clutter

One danger with any collecting hobby is that your collection will take over your home. Perhaps it’s already happened to you - every spare surface covered with your collection, which, to many other people, just looks like clutter!

Luckily, there is a solution - the useful collectable. If space is a restriction or you want to cut back on your collectable spending, why not restrict yourself to buying collectables that are usable in your home? There is more choice than you might think, even if you leave out obvious ceramic choices such as tea and coffee sets.

This month, I thought I’d look at some examples of usable collectable pottery from British potteries.

Children’s money boxes are a perennial favourite gift, but instead of some ugly, mass-produced plastic thing that was made in China, why not buy a piece of British-made collectable pottery?

Carlton Ware made a range of money boxes in the 1970s, and these retro-styled items are becoming increasingly popular with collectors. The bold and colourful designs go well with modern home interiors and they are thoroughly usable, too.

Carlton Ware Blue Horse Money Box Carlton Ware Pottery Clown Money Bank Carlton Ware Money Box - Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe Carlton Ware Pottery Scots Guardsman Money Box
Novelty Carlton Ware Money Boxes - Blue Horse, Clown, Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe & the Scots Guarsman

If you’re looking for something that will enhance your living room, then a lamp base could be ideal. Ceramic lamp bases have a similar appeal to ornamental vases but offer the benefit of being useful, allowing you to combine ornamental appeal with function!

Troika Pottery Double Base Lamp Base Troika Pottery Rectangular Lamp Base
Troika Pottery Double Base Lamp Base & a Troika Pottery Rectangular Lamp Base

Another alternative is kitchen ware. TG Green Cornish Ware is always popular and still made today (now called Cornish Blue) - but why not combine older, collectable pieces of Cornish Ware with your modern shapes? Although some of the rarer, older shapes may be too expensive and elusive to be used, more common original storage jars and sifters (such as sugar and flour) are comparable in cost to their new equivalents and have much more charm.

T G Green Cornishware Sugar Storage Jar T G Green Cornish Ware Currants Storage Jar
TG Green Cornish Ware storage jars - Sugar & Currants

Of course, many other objects are usable if you are willing to risk a little wear and loss of value. How about a Troika egg cup or a Royal Lancastrian fruit bowl?

Brown Glazed Troika St Ives Double Egg Cup Royal Lancastrian fruit bowl
Super brown glazed Troika St Ives Double Egg Cup & large Royal Lancastrian fruit bowl

That's it for this month, if you have any comments or suggestions please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Kind regards,

Perfect Pieces

Newsletters

Here you'll find a list of our past newsletters. They feature information on different potteries, some of our featured stock and information on antique fairs and general news from the antique and collectors world!

Happy reading!