Sale:
SE48 (04 Nov 2008)
Auction Lot:
0047
Estimate: £2,000-3,000
Realised: £5,300
Three Sèvres plates and a soup plate with marks for Leve, Commelin and Massey, datecode
for 1788.
Sale:
SE48 (04 Nov 2008)
Auction Lot:
0151
Estimate: £6,000-£8,000
Realised: £15,500
Faberge white guilloche enamelled cane handle, struck with marks for Henrik Wigstrom.
Sale:
SE48 (05 Nov 2008)
Auction Lot:
0410
Estimate: £4,000-£5,000
Realised: £11,500
Ferdinand Preiss (1882-1943) 'Con Brio' an Art Deco cold painted bronze and ivory
figure.
Troika Pottery
The Troika pottery was formed in 1963 by a partnership between Benny Sirota, Leslie
Ilsley and Jan Thompson hence the name and the earliest mark a three-pronged trident.
Between them they purchased the Wells Pottery based at Wheal Dream in St Ives. The
birth of this brave new venture was rather looked down on and many locals considered
it something of a lame duck that would sink in months. To be fair to the initial
output of old Wells Pottery tiles, tea wares and even doorknobs didn't exactly fire
the imagination. Once the money started to flow, so did the artistic juices and
this new innovative spirit was not only an artistic one, but a scientific one -
well scientific in the loosest sense. Its seems that the new team thought nothing
of adding melted broken glass, emulsion paint and even slurry from tin mines into
the glazes and finishes by way of experiment.
This rather engaging mix of the accidental and the fearlessly progressive did however
draw it inspiration from eclectic sources. There is a hint of Paul Klee and cubism
in the abstract decoration and the influence of Constantin Brancusi in some of the
larger sculptural forms. Somehow the appearance of Aztec masks within the repertoire
doesn't seem so bizarre. Perhaps the strongest resonance is with the Cornish landscape.
Whether this comes from the rugged granite like texture of most pieces or whether
it is from the anvil shapes and the rectangular forms that echoed tin mines, wheelhouses
and chimneys of the local industry.
Within a few years both the Heals and the Liberty's department stores sold Troika
and before long you could buy it in New York and Sydney. A meteoric rise that saw
the staff increase into double figures, a Cornish cottage industry that had gone
global! Alas when production was at a peak a move was forced upon them. The closest
appropriate site was located in Newlyn and at the end of summer 1970 Troika moved
lock, stock and barrel. Prior to the move Troika often bore the name St Ives, but
afterwards despite the artistic heritage of both towns Newlyn never appeared on
the base of any later pieces. Whilst I'm sure the occupants would be up in arms
to hear, their town just wasn't classy enough.
Perhaps this subsequent lack of pedigree led to the drop off in demand for the more
expensive sculptural 'art house' items, which in turn led to much of the production
being switched to smaller, cheaper items that would have wider appeal to the tourist.
In fact the most popular vase from this period was a kiln filler known by the
subsequently apt title as a coffin vase. In 1978 a mixture of a national recession
and Heals decision to pull the rug from under Troika saw the beginning of an inevitable
decline, which eventually came in 1983.
- Ceramics
- Newlyn
- St Ives
- Troika Pottery
Social Bookmarks
Please click the following links to flag this article to other people on the Internet.
About the Author
 | Nic Saintey
Ceramics and Glass
Nic Saintey is a Director of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, with responsibility for marketing and advertising. He is also Head of the Ceramics and Glass Department.
Nic Saintey's first career was in the Armed Forces where he served both as a military parachutist and paramedic in Europe, North America, East Africa and the Middle East.
He joined Lawrence’s of Crewkerne in early 1995 before moving to their Taunton branch as a general valuer and saleroom manager.
Nic joined Bearne’s in June 2000 to head up the expanding ceramic department, before joining the Board in 2003. His effervescent nature and wide experience has seen him regularly appear as an expert on the BBC’s Bargain Hunt and Flog It programmes.
He undertakes regular talks and contributes articles to both Devon and Cornwall Life magazines. His interests particularly include pottery in general, but especially that produced in Donyatt and North Devon, he is a keen runner and has recently taken up motor sport at a local circuit.
|
Troika Pottery was written on Friday, 2nd January 2009.