Whether this fall-off was indicative of the health of the market or simply due to the quality of consignments was unclear, but what remained unchanged was the selective bidding by collectors who secured all the most unusual, privately consigned works in reasonable condition.
The foremost entry and the biggest single contributor to the £177,800 total was this large, privately consigned ‘Applique Blue Lugano’ Bizarre wall charger, right, painted in blue, yellow, brick-red, green and black, 1930/31. At 173/4in (45cm) in diameter, not only was it the first recorded full size ‘Appliqué Blue Lugano’ charger, it had the added cachet of being illustrated in Leonard Griffin, Louis K. and Susan Pear Meisel’s book, Clarice Cliff – The Bizarre Affair. It brought £11,000 from a UK collector.
A second privately consigned entry that had also been illustrated in a Clarice Cliff reference book, was a Bizarre conical Sunray tea set for two, 1929. This skilfully executed set was in reasonable condition and had an unusually shaped milk jug with four feet and radially painted saucers. It was taken to £9500 by a UK collector.
Elsewhere, a Fantasque Bizarre Lotus vase, 111/2in (29.5cm), and a slightly smaller Isis vase, 93/4in (25cm), both painted with the Red Autumn design and offered in consecutive lots provided an interesting price comparison.
Collectors did not bid as enthusiastically on the Lotus vase because of its single handle and a stiffer rendering of the Red Autumn design trees. While it fetched £1600, the greater movement in the design on the Isis vase saw it sell to a
different collector for £3000.
£11,000 for Cliff’s view of lake
Clarice Cliff: The latest auction foray into the colourful world of Clarice Cliff at Christie’s South Kensington (17.5/10% buyer’s premium), May 2, did not perform as well as previous specialist sales. Buyers were only found for 62 per cent of the 302 lots compared to their last Clarice Cliff outing in November 2001 that boasted a higher 72 per cent take-up for the 430 lots.
