The 2ft (61cm) plaque, painted in the Art Nouveau style with a scene from classical mythology within a border of fish and seaweed, was making a relatively swift return to the auction block.
In April 2015 – after its acquisition for just £20 at a boot fair – it sold for £7000 at 1818 Auctioneers in Cumbria. The estimate this time was £4000-6000.
The plaque bears an impressed Burmantofts Faience mark and is inscribed with the date [18]87 and the monogram LK for the decorator Leonard King. The extra painted ‘shell’ mark is thought to denote pieces made for a Saltaire exhibition timed to mark Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee.
The price shares the factory record with an Anglo-Persian style vase sold in 2005 at Anderson & Garland in Newcastle.
A full report on the near sell-out single-owner sale will appear in a future issue.
