Monday, January 28, 2013

Fairyland Lustre...by Bisto!

 Wowsers!  Another first for my Porcelainporn blog - a Bisto ware ginger jar decorated with a Fairyland lustre type of design, dated 1931.  The pattern is hand decorated and signed by the artist R Innes.  Having never seen one before, one can never be sure if this was a factory produced thing, a one off or even a blank decorated at home by an amateur.  Having seen Fairyland lustre wares by Wedgwood and similar by Royal Winton and Cartltonware, one can say that this piece was jumping on a bandwagon that was first started by the artist Daisy Makeig Jones.  I can't find any trace of this artist, Innes, but no doubt they were inspired by DMJ's work for Wedgwood.  The ginger shape is a classic one for Bisto, shape number 13 and was used over and over again with different surface designs.  In this case, this jar (being sold on ebay) has been priced a bit too highly for me and perhaps the seller is hoping it will ride the  crest of the DMJ wave.  I would personally estimate it around £100-150 at this point in time (Jan 2013) but who knows, if more of this fairyland lustre by Bisto comes to light, it could increase in value as a there will be more for collectors to build on.




2 comments:

The Ticcy Knitter said...

well, well, well. Look what's coming up for auction 5/6 Dec 2013 at Mitchells sale room in Cumbria

http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/mitchells/catalogue-id-2880710/lot-20241641?searchitem=true

Can't tell from the photo if this is the same piece sold on Ebay in January of this year, or another lustre piece painted by R Innes, but what is encouraging is the auction estimate. Someone there obviously rates it as much as I do!

The Ticcy Knitter said...

The hammer came down at £400 - so below the £500-800 estimate, but I would say that is still a good price for a Bisto ginger jar. No doubt, they were hoping the fairyland lustre connection would help it fly. But without any firm information about the artist or any potential connection to Wedgwood's own range, it is inevitably limited. Encouraging though :-)

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