Tag Archives: Burslem

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An A-Z of Collecting Royal Doulton – Awards

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From the 19c into the 20c Doulton was represented at all the major exhibitions and has been detailed in the great tomes on the Royal Doulton Potteries by Eyles and Irvine, the company itself won many of the major prizes at these exhibitions. The first exhibition Doulton took part in were in 1851, the year of the great Crystal Palace exhibition.

One of 9 awards given to Doulton at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.

The awards mentioned are but a selection from the hundreds the company won over the centuries. The first offerings presented were of utilitarian nature such as drain pipes and sanitary wares as one would expect.

At the South Kensington Exhibition of 1871 Doulton showed their first selection of set pottery, Sir Henry having been persuaded to branch out into art pottery.

A mere five years after this, Doulton presented over 1500 items at the American Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. At the Chicago exhibition of 1893, Doulton won more prizes than any other pottery in the world. The success in Chicago brought the award tally then to 94 Gold medals and 1st class awards, plus 101silver medals and second class awards.

The Peggy Davies study that won the Grand Prix at Brussels in 1958.

The last of the major world exhibitions took place in Brussels in 1958 and befittingly, Doulton won the only Grand Prix awarded to a British pottery firm for the Peggy Davies study ‘Art and Technology’. Manufactures were subsequently not included in world exhibitions.

Here is a selection of Doulton’s awards…..

  1. Philadelphia 1876
  2. Cork 1883
  3. Wirral 1874
  4. Paris 1889
  5. Lyon 1872
  6. London 1839
  7. London 1904
  8. Trieste 1891
  9. London 1851
  10. Caen 1867
  11. Cornwall 1876
  12. Folkestone 1921
  13. York 1879
  14. Brussels 1910
  15. St Louis 1904
  16. Melbourne 1880
  17. Chile 1875
  18. Versailles 1873
  19. London 1862
  20. Hamburg 1863
  21. Paris 1878
  22. London 1865
  23. Vienna 1873
  24. Cape Town 1877
  25. Far worth 1876
  26. Tasmania 1891
  27. Chelsea 1905
  28. Birmingham 1872
  29. Columbia 1892

That is not to mention the individual awards won by the company’s artists for their work for the great firm. 

Images from the Royal Doulton Review 1980.
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Something magical this way comes…. A 1918 Royal Doulton china box with wizard final in Titanian.

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Of the handful of china boxes produced by Doulton in the first decades of the 20c, few can be said to be as rare as this example. Featuring a wizard as the box’s finial and with sterling silver mounts, it is the epitome of frivolity from the deco period. 

The box can be traced through the model book and is model 217 and it caries an impressed date of 1918. This model, like a handful from the early HN range was produced on a Titanian body, to enhance the colour of its eventual decoration. 

The auction will take place at 2pm on Wednesday 10thSeptember at Adam Partridge’s Macclesfield saleroom, here is a link to the website

https://auctions.adampartridge.co.uk/auction/search/?au=177

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A trio of thieves by Royal Doulton!

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This wonderful trio of characters from the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, which was adapted into the operetta achy Chin Chow and which was first performed at His Majesty’s Theatre, London in 1916 and proved a huge success running for more than 2000 performances.

With over thirteen different models by Harry Tittensor, all quite different in size, this series offers something for every collector – rarity, unique colourways and a handful of prototypes that never entered production. Those with HN numbers began appearing from 1920 onwards but their limited production had ceased by 1936, by which time these early models were simply made to order.

The three wonderful examples illustrated above of models from the series in unusual colourways are coming up at Lion and Unicorn Auctions 24 August 2025! 

Inspired by the colourful illustrations of Edmund Dulac. Dulac was born in Toulouse, France. His artistic ability showed itself early on and drawings exist from his early teens. He won the 1901 and 1903 Grand Prix for his paintings submitted to annual competitions whilst at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. A scholarship took him to Paris and the Academie Julien where he stayed for three weeks. That same year (1904) he left for London and the start of a meteoric career. Dulac’s Picture Book for the French Red Cross (1915) contains several illustration that inspired Royal Doulton figures, including several models for this series. 

Dulac’s illustration of the Forty Thieves.
Artists, Burslem, C. J. Noke, Eastern delights, Figure Articles, Figure inspiration

Come one, come all….another wonderful early Royal Doulton figure coming up this week – A Mandarin!

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Collectors will certainly be spoilt for choice this week at Adam Partridge Auctioneers.

As part of the fabulous collection they are putting under the hammer this week is this early and rare Charles Noke Model ‘A Mandarin’ introduced in 1918.

The auctioneers write:

CHARLES J NOKE FOR ROYAL DOULTON; ‘A Mandarin’, a very rare figure, HN791, 1st version, model 189, (26-36), ‘Royal Doulton’ backstamp, ‘A Mandarin’, ‘C.J. Noke. sc.’ and ‘Potted by Doulton & Co’ handwritten in black script, impressed marks, height 25cm.

This is believed to be the only known version of HN791 and is actually the figure illustrated in Eyles (D) & Irvine (L) & Baynton (V), Royal Doulton Figures, published Richard Dennis, 2004, page 91.

The model is as inspired by an Edmund Dulac illustration in his Picture Book for the French Red Cross from 1915. Several other important figures can be traced to this book including the legendary Princess Badoura and several of the One of the Forty (Thieves) models.

Dulac’s original illustration that inspired Noke.
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Introducing the rare ‘Shylock’ coming up this week!

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What a collection of Doulton Adam Partridge Auctioneers have coming up this week!

Included in their choice gathering of rare figures is this fabulous example of Charles J. Noke’s Shylock, that most famous of characters from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. in Shakespeare’s play he is outwitted by Portia in his claim for his ‘pound of flesh’. Interestingly the role was played by two theatre greats who inspired Noke and other modellers to create some of the most recognisable Doulton figures produced – Sir Henry Irving and Herbert Beerbohm.

Noke had previously modelled a similar but monumental version of Shylock as part of the Vellum figures range in the late 19th century. this HN example is 19cm.

Returning to our example in hand – you can see that the piece is marked underneath Titanian and that is because this body was used in a selection of early figures from Spook HN50 through to A Mandarin HN382. There is no particular rhyme as to why a Titanian body was used other than the suggestion that the decorating technique may produce a richer result. A further example HN 317 has been discovered and even a completely lustred one.

This wonderful example at Partridges fits the description of HN 79 with his yellow sleeves and multicoloured cloak. He was produced from 1917 until his mild was destroyed in the 1930s, although he cannot have been a popular figure at the time due to his complete scarcity today.

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Introducing (Royal) Doulton’s Robert Allen, who ran one of the main studios at Nile Street.

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Robert Allen began work at Nile St. when it was still owned by Pinder Bourne, after a brief period at Minton’s as a boy worker. Robert flourished under the guidance of John Slater, then art director, eventually taking over a painting department of his own. Work from his department is denoted by his initials R.A. followed by a number. Robert Allen’s own signed work is however, rare. Yet, he and his department were entrusted with much of the finest and most expensive decoration carried out at Burslem notably for the great exhibitions at which Doulton exhibited from the late 19thcentury. Robert was notably involved in the early development of Titanian ware.

Robert Allen in his studio c1910

The versatility of the RA studio meant that artists there worked on all manner of Doulton wares from early Vellum figures, to tablewares, to exhibition wares and even glaze wares.

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Royal Doulton’s legendary Sung Glaze

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Sung by Royal Doulton

@LionAndUnicorn

#Rare #AuctionDay
Bid live 26 January

Charles Noke continued to experiment with glazes long after the departure of Cuthbert Bailey with whom he had perfected the Flambé glaze in the early 1900’s. And so in 1920 Sung was introduced, whereby painted decoration, colour and gilt are fused with the a flambé glaze.

I am sure you will agree that from this publicity photograph the pieces are magnificent. However, it is in the flesh that these pieces must be enjoyed to full effect as in this slide. Vases, large and small were decorated with exotic birds, pixies in woodlands, fish in seascapes along with many other subjects.

These pieces were painted principally by Harry Nixon, Arthur Eaton and Fred Moore. Sung glazes can be found on Buddhas, as seen here in this advert from the 1920’s, a handful of suitable early figures from the HN range such as A Spook, as well as animals, in particular elephants, a favourite of Charles Noke.

All lots coming up @LionAndUnicorn

#Rare #AuctionDay

Bid live 26 January
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Doulton’s Vellum Marguerite and Mephistopheles @Bonhams 11.08.20 lot116

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This rare double sided Vellum figure by Doulton’s Charles Noke is part of a choice selection of Doulton wares ex being offered @Bonhams on 11 August 2020.

Lot 116 is believed to have been part of the Doulton exhibit at the Chicago Exhibition of 1893, at which much acclaim was heaped on the company.

This unusual variation sees Mephistopheles decorated in a cobalt costume with raised gold dragons, no doubt a design from the Robert Allen studio.

Art deco, Artists, Burslem, C. J. Noke, Child figures, Colourways, Displays, Doulton, Factory, Figure Articles, Figure inspiration, Floral fancies, History, Leslie Harradine, Nile Street, Peggy Davies, Pretty Lady, Prototype, Reflections

Part 2 of my celebration of 100 Years of Doulton’s HN Collection for Seaway China

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Here is another link, this time to part 2 of my account of the first 100 years of Doulton’s HN collection of figures, published naturally by Seaway China.

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Click to access 2013-Summer-Catalog-cover-and-features.pdf

Burslem, C. J. Noke, Character Jugs, Charles Dickens, Dickensware, Displays, Doulton, Doulton Collectors club, Figure Articles, Figure inspiration, Leslie Harradine, Seriesware

Dickens Doultonised

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Some early Doulton advertising booklets for Dickensware ca. 1912 – the Centenary of Dickens’ birth, together with  2 seriesware trays a calendar with a Dickens figure and an early Tony Weller

When it comes to the works of Dickens, Charles Noke, Doulton’s art director at Burslem was blatantly a fan if not obsessed by all things Dickens.

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A facsimile of a letter from Dickens’ son to Doulton & Co. expressing his pleasure at their Dickens range

From the early 20th century and throughout his time as art director and even after, Doulton have produced a wide variety of wares to commemorate Dickens’ works.

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Three of Leslie Harradine’s original models for the miniature Doulton Dickens figures

The lengthy of time these many wares were produced mean that there is something for every collector, old and new and something for every pocket size too!

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Another of Harradine’s Prototypes, this time the full size Dickens figures, together with an early Mr Pickwick HN556
Here is a glimpse at the sheer variety of wares produced by Doulton, the majority under the direction of Noke himself!

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Two sterling silver trays mounted with Dickens miniatures.

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Three sizes of character jugs (L, M & S) and a derivative ash bowl

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Three Doulton Dickens tinies including Charles Dickens himself

This is but the tip of the so-called iceberg and there are many collectors throughout the world who share Noke’s enthusiasm for all things Dickens. I have been lucky enough to see two huge collections outside the UK, but why not share any unusual finds to our facebooks page? Search for:

Doulton Collectors Club

See you there!
Christopher