Bretby art pottery – the sum of a 30-year collecting passion

Some 350 pieces bearing the famous ‘sunburst’ logo of the South Derbyshire firm represent more than 30 years of collecting by the late Carolyne Stanforth.

She first started to buy Bretby pots while a student at Newcastle University in the 1970s when (much as today) the similar wares of Christopher Dresser’s Linthorpe factory in Middlesborough commanded much higher prices.

The large offering, covering the history of the factory from the years of the Henry Tooth and William Ault partnership in the 1880s to the inter-war period, will be sold in 143 lots. Bretby mould numbers, used to describe different models, are listed in the cataloguing.

Affordable Victorian art pottery

Bretby is among the most affordable of decent Victorian art pottery with most estimates here pitched under £100. However, more will be expected for wares that follow the avant garde designs used at Linthorpe (where Henry Tooth had worked prior to his move to Derbyshire).

Some of these, such as a pair of double-gourd vases (below) estimated at £150-250 or a twin-handled jardiniere in the Egyptian revival taste estimated at £100-150 are well-known Dresser models.

The top estimate of £300-500 is for a Bretby exhibition piece, a one-off square-section tapered vase with the model number 600 and patent lace-work decoration standing 2ft 5in (72cm) tall.

Pictured here is a selection of five highlights – all available to purchase online via thesaleroom.com.

1. Double-gourd vases

A pair of Bretby art pottery double-gourd vases, model no. 198, to a design by Christopher Dresser, 5.5in (14cm), good condition, estimate £150-250.

This pair Bretby art pottery double-gourd vases, to a design by Christopher Dresser, 5.5in (14cm) are estimated at £150-250.

2. Arts and Crafts style ewer

A Bretby bronzed and jewelled Arts and Crafts style ewer, model no. 1592, 17in (42cm) tall, estimate £100-150.

This Bretby bronzed and jewelled Arts and Crafts style ewer is estimated at £100-150.

3. Majolica bear vases 

A pair of Bretby majolica spill vases modelled as bears and tree trunks. model no. 1248, 13in (32cm), estimate £150-250.

A pair of Bretby majolica spill vases modelled as bears and tree trunks estimated at £150-250.

4. Exhibition size lace-work vase 

A Bretby exhibition size vase with lace-work decoration, model no. 600, 2ft 5in (72cm) tall, estimate £300-500.

A Bretby exhibition size vase with lace-work decoration estimated at £300-500.

5. Tomatoes on a plate

A Bretby trompe l'oeil model of tomatoes on a plate, model no. 1269, 11in (27cm), estimate £50-80.

A Bretby trompe l'oeil model of tomatoes on a plate estimated £50-80.