One of the first pieces of porcelain I ever bought, was from a dealer called Maude Suffling, who had a small shop in St Benedict’s in Norwich; that would have been way-back, probably in the 1970s or 1980s.
It was a small little patty-pan, which I think in those days, cost me about £8.00, which was a lot of money, but I was determined to have a piece of Lowestoft porcelain.
Obviously, it is our local factory, established way-back in the 18th century, and has been popular with local people ever since; mainly people who are keen collectors, and were anxious to have something that was made in local East Anglia.
Much has been written about the history of Lowestoft porcelain, established in the town in the mid-18th century, at a time when there was still enormous experimentation going on, with how to make this “stuff” called “Porcelain”.
At first, in this country, we thought it was a form of glass, but the Meissen factory in Germany had already perfected the method of making porcelain, which compared with pottery, if you hold it up to the light, porcelain, is translucent, whereas pottery is not.
So, this high fired china was the new amazing material that revolutionised domestic utensils.
Lowestoft was quick to cotton-on to this new product, and it is believed they actually mined clay on the cliffs at Gunton, near Lowestoft, and much of their trade was done with local people, and if you are very fortunate, you may find a piece with a local name on it, which was bought for birthdays, weddings or other celebrations.
These title pieces make considerably more than those without any reference to a person.
Sadly, there is nothing left of the Lowestoft factory in the town.
It would have been a wonderful feature to have that to illustrate just where it all began.
They, obviously, employed local painters and decorators who became very skilled at what they did.
There have been numerous collectors in East Anglia, and there is an enormous display on show at Norwich Castle Museum, and I still am bewildered on how much there is on the market.
One great enthusiast was a man called Russell Sprake, who in 1984, started having small auctions devoted entirely to this factory’s wares.
I see that his wife has continued this after his passing, and on October 21, she held a sale of over one hundred pieces embracing all aspects of the Lowestoft output including two great rarities, which I illustrate below.
One is a Lowestoft blue and white mustard pot, but with an unusual conical lid, which makes it a really great rarity.
The fact that these items are used domestically, and could easily have got broken, makes them all the rarer.
Also, a set of three mugs, called “The Wroxham Mugs”, yes, they do show a river scene with craft on the river, but unbelievably, a castle in the background.
Well, I have lived in the Wroxham area all my life, and I have yet to see a Castle, I don’t think one ever existed, so here was a certain amount of artist’s licence, to make it look very colourful.
The whole scene in a wonderful cartouche that frames the subject perfectly.
These two items are expected to make large amounts of money, and rightly so, taking in the scarcity value and the fact that they were made hundreds of years ago.
Collecting Lowestoft is not just a local thing anymore, it is now collected widely, I can say, all over the world there are people wanting a small piece from this tiny factory, which closed in 1802, but I am pleased to say, it is always very warming and gratifying to find a piece of this rare factory that had not been discovered before.
Mike Hicks has run Stalham Antique Gallery at 29 High Street, Stalham (NR12 9AH) for more than 30 years. His business is open Mondays to Fridays from 9am-1pm and 2-4.30pm, and on Saturdays from 9am-1pm. You can contact Mike on 01692 580636 or info@mikehicksantiques.co.uk or www.mikehicksantiques.co.uk
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