It generated most interest from private buyers rather than the trade as there were few exceptional pieces and the quality and condition of the collection was mixed.
Prices realised ranged from £50 for three run-of-the-mill 19th century blue printed vine leaf-shaped dishes to £1870 bid to secure the Nelson commemorative jug right. With yellow-lined rim and handle, inscribed Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, the c.1810 jug was moulded as a pineapple. It showed a bust of the great admiral and his ship, The Victory, together with the stirring nationalist sentiment Nelson England Expects Every Man To Do His Duty.
It was estimated at £300-500 but Guy Schooling – who said Nelson commemorative material more commonly dates to around 1830 or later – had private higher hopes and several interested buyers contested the jug to £1870.
Elsewhere, a pair of Minton Bewick Stag printed oval baskets and stands, 1800-20, made £1150, and a Spode Indian sporting series meat platter, Shooting a Leopard, c.1820, brought £800.
A late 18th century Leeds knife rest printed in blue with a complex diaper pattern fetched £220, while a feeding bottle decorated with butterflies and flowers, c.1830, brought £370.
Nelson is pride of blue and white
English blue and white pottery may not be the most fashionable ceramic collecting area, but the 144-lot Patricia Davis collection offered in the June 11 morning session at Sworders Essex rooms suffered only 22 casualties.
