Strawser Auction Group – Majolica Auction
Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 11am
Holiday Inn Ballroom,
1750 Sumneytown Pike,
Kulpsville, Pennsylvania
www.strawserauctions.com

KULPSVILLE, PENN. — The second of three auctions dedicated to the majolica collection of Edward Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) will be conducted on Saturday, March 16, online and live in the Holiday Inn ballroom at 1750 Sumneytown Pike in Kulpsville. The auction will begin at 11 am Eastern time. In addition to live and online bidding, phone and absentee bids will also be taken.

“We’re honored that the Flower family has continued this important auction with us,” said Michael Strawser of Strawser Auction Group, which has been chosen to handle all three sales. “Ed and Marilyn were longtime customers who have attended our auctions since the mid-1990s.”

As in the initial auction, the Part 2 sale will feature many of the finest names in all of majolica production: Minton, George Jones, Holdcroft, Wedgwood, Hugo Lonitz, Palissy, Massier, T.C. Brown Westhead Moore & Co., Copelands and others — 185 lots in all. The collection in its entirety comprises more than 600 pieces, each one carefully chosen for beauty, rarity and condition.

Two items are expected to vie for top honors. The first is the iconic Minton “Hare and Duck” head game pie dish and cover, the model attributed to Paul Comoléra, the tureen affectionately known among collectors as “The Bunny Tureen.” The oval body piece, shape #1990, is 11½ by 18 inches ($25/30,000).

The second is a George Jones teapot, one of only a few known, the angular body formed as a Chinese junk filled with cargo, the spout formed as the helm and the cover formed as a figure in Chinese costume. “In my 30 years of selling majolica this is the first one I’ve ever offered,” Strawser said ($20/25,000).

A circa 1875 Minton tete-a tete tea set in the chinoiserie taste, one of only three complete sets known, is expected to gavel for $12/15,000. The set consists of a teapot, sugar bowl, creamer, two cups and saucers and a tray. The teapot is formed as a yellow lychee with a green stem handle and spout, the finial designed as a leaf.

A circa 1890 Jerome Massier jardiniere on a stand, overall 52 by 19 inches, has a pedestal designed as a painted peacock around a column of grasses, supporting a circular jardiniere surmounted by three butterflies ($6/9,000).

A circa 1880 Delphin Massier elephant floor jardiniere, 30½ inches tall, should hammer for $6/9,000. The jardiniere is naturalistically modeled, the elephant mounted with a painted standing hexagonal howdah sitting atop a tasseled saddle blanket.

A circa 1875 Copeland 1876 memorial vase, 10 inches tall, was produced as a souvenir for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The vase is modeled as three back-to-back grey eagles guarding the American flag with spears and three cobalt blue shields ($/6,000).

A rare Hugo Lonitz model of a jay bird, 17½ inches tall and produced around 1880, features a bird with sharply modeled feathers perched on a tree stump ($4/6,000).

Also expected to bring $4/6,000 is a rare Minton grape chariot, one of only two known, modeled as a cart upon two wheels and draped with vine, showing two boys pulling to the front and a girl pushing behind.

A circa 1880 R.M. Krause (Schweidnitz, Prussia) Renaissance Revival jardiniere, 37 inches tall, probably made as an exhibition piece, should finish at $3/5,000. The piece has a central column of leaves and bullrushes with three maidens holding drapes aloft the central bowl, with acanthus border and fruit cornucopia swags, all upon a pedestal base supported by four griffins.

A scarce circa 1875 Minton ink well and cover, shape #1325, is modeled as an upright pinecone, the upper quarter surmounted by a bird forming the lid, all on a shaped edge circular tray with a branch and leaves forming the pen holder. It’s one of only three known ($1,5/2,000).

A circa 1879 Wedgwood Aesthetic Movement palm pattern cheese dish features a domed lid decorated with Japanese style palms, prunus and birds with a recumbent elephant handle. The base has a border in the Chinese meander pattern ($1,2/1,500).

A circa 1890 Bordalo Pinheiro Palissy wall plaque is designed as a deep wicker basket brimming with vegetables, a cuttle fish and a large lobster, all mounted on a circular plaque ($1,2/1,500).

Also, a circa 1875 T.C. Brown Westhead Moore & Co. glove box, 10 by 3½ inches, is formed as a rectangular rounded shouldered box and cover bound at each end with a belt and buckle, with the handle formed as coiled rope ($300/500).

In addition to live and online bidding, phone and absentee bids will also be taken.

The Strawser Auction Group is based in Wolcottville, Ind. For information, 260-854-2859, 260-336-2204 or www.strawserauctions.com.

THE FLOWER FAMILY COLLECTION #2 – HISTORY, WHIMSY, PASSION, TOGETHER
Preview on Friday, March 15 from 5 to 7pm
Holiday Inn Ballroom, 1750 Sumneytown Pike, Kulpsville, Pennsylvania
180+ lots of Fine Majolica from various makers including Minton, George Jones, T.C. Brown Westhead Moore & Co, Wedgwood, Hugo Lonitz, Copeland, Etruscan, Palissy Ware and much more.
NOTE: This is an in-person auction with live internet bidding. Internet bidding is available on our website: www.strawserauctions.com
TERMS: Cash, Check, MC, VISA. Personal checks ONLY when accompanied by a bank letter guaranteeing funds, NO EXCEPTIONS. 15% Buyer’s Premium in house, 24% online Buyer’s Premium, 4% cc fee. Auction Conducted by STRAWSER AUCTIONS.
200 N. MAIN STREET, WOLCOTTVILLE, IN 46795 | www.strawserauctions.com | Email: info@strawserauctions.com | PH: 260-854-2859 | AU002776R