CLARICE CLIFF

DATE: Thursday 11 February | 6pm

LOCATION: Timed Online Auction | 124 James Street, Leichhardt, NSW 2020

Theodore Bruce is delighted to present a Private Collection of the dazzling ceramics of Clarice Cliff and of the Wilkinson Pottery which first encouraged her work in the 1920’s. The Wilkinson Pottery is among the best of the renowned Staffordshire Potteries in England. Today the work of Clarice Cliff & the works she made in collaboration with The Wilkinson Pottery have become some of the great collectables from the Twentieth Century. The exuberant colours and bold shapes of her classic Art Deco pieces have caught the imagination of collectors the world over.

Clarice Cliff was born on January 20th 1899 in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent and started work at the age of 13 in ‘The Potteries’. In 1916 she moved to the Wilkinson Pottery Factory where she was given her own studio, it was here that she started creating her own patterns and where the Bizarre wares were launched in 1927.

The Bizarre range includes some of Clarice Cliff most popular patterns including Crocus flowers which was hand painted in bright colours with individual brushstrokes, Lot 1007. Included in the Auction are some Original Bizarre pieces dating from her earliest period of bold geometric designs handpainted on often slightly imperfect vessels, Lot 1019 & 1020. Given the rapid success of her initial Bizarre pottery and her novel design Cliff was invited in the mid 1930’s to join a team of other artists to help develop new designs for ceramics that spoke to the modern era. At the same time Cliff continued to design new themes in patterns in her Fantasque range including the Orange House, Lot 1011 and Blue Chintz, Lot 1015.