Antiques world potty about Scots treasures

Published on Sunday 26 December 2004 00:59

MANY antiques may be cheap as chips in the current market but prices for Scottish silver, pottery and glass are soaring, fuelled by expatriate Scots and their descendants using the internet to locate cultural treasures from their motherland.

Experts have been stunned at the prices paid for unique Scottish collectables with provincial silver, Wemyss Ware pottery, Monart glass, Mauchline Ware and Jacobite memorabilia all commanding soaring prices in an otherwise flat market.

A number of factors have been identified to explain the unprecedented interest in Scottish collectables. Dealers cite a growing pride in Scottish heritage both at home and abroad, with the internet allowing unparalleled access to the market.

In addition, rare Scottish antiques are being seen as investment vehicles against the background of a poor stock market and under-performing pension funds. Many of the antiques also suit modern interiors which, although minimalist and small, are frequently eclectic.

This year, a new world record for Wemyss Ware, the highly-decorative and brightly coloured pottery produced in Fife between 1882 and 1928, was set at a Sotheby’s auction when two sleeping piglet figures were snapped up for 34,800 each, reportedly by Sir Elton John.

Wemyss Ware, famously collected by the Queen and the late Queen Mother, has always attracted a strong following, but prices have recently trebled.

Phil Howell, of Sotheby’s famous ceramics department, said the current market for Wemyss Ware has "never been stronger".

Roland Arkell, deputy editor of the Antiques Trade Gazette, said Scottish collectables, especially Wemyss Ware, are experiencing a major boom. He believes Wemyss collectables had increased by 300% over the past two years.

He said: "All markets need an entry level: people aren’t going to walk in and buy a Wemyss cat for 10,000. So, they are going for the more domestic pieces like the jug and bowl sets, or toilet sets for country houses. They are proving very popular and are getting rarer, but it is the top end of the market that is soaring.

"There are some serious collectors about, and not just from the UK.

"There are many in North America and one very keen Australian collector, and most of them have ex-pat connections. Unusual pieces are fetching unprecedented sums."

The feeding frenzy for Scottish collectables also extends to silver, with top prices paid for provincial pieces bearing rare hallmarks.

Earlier this year, Edinburgh-based auction house, Lyon and Turnbull sold a tiny silver tot cup, dating from 1720 with a rare Tain hallmark, for 22,000.

Trevor Kyle, director of Lyon and Turnbull, reports that Scottish silver is booming, with prices increasing by up to 80% in the past two years and many new collectors entering the market.

Kyle, head of the group’s Scottish silver section, said: "There is a large number of collectors looking for good-quality Scottish silver and not just the mainstream silver from Edinburgh or Glasgow, but from the small provincial works, which are of course a lot scarcer."

Even humble Mauchline Ware, the highly-varnished wooden souvenir objects produced in vast quantities for the 19th-century tourist market, has rocketed, with rare pieces fetching thousands of pounds and prices doubling in the past 18 months.

Becca Gauldie, an antique dealer with a showroom at Glendoick, near Perth, specialises in Mauchline Ware, and has 20 years of experience in the industry.

She said: "There is a strong interest in all things Scottish, particularly in smaller antiques that can be traded easily all over the world.

"There is a renewed interest in people’s heritage, whether they were born in Scotland and moved abroad or just come from Scottish descendants.

"And with that comes with an interest in how their grandparents may have lived and they want items that their grandmother might have used or owned so they can display them in their own house.

"A simple Mauchline Ware box eight years ago would have fetched around 6 - but today, you would be hard pressed to find that same box for under 40 even at the scruffiest antique fair.

"Most things have at least doubled [in price] in the last couple of years, from the bottom end, right through to the top of the market. It is fascinating, but great to see."

Jacobite memorabilia has also fuelled unprecedented interest. Simon Cottle, head of the European ceramics and glass department at Sotheby’s in London, said Jacobite memorabilia has consistently fetched "well over" its auction estimate in the last 12 months.

In July, three Jacobite glasses were up at auction in London, and fetched 17,500, more than 6,000 above their estimates.

Alan Coutts, a leading UK ceramics collector and dealer, believes that Scottish collectables and antiques are providing a welcome alternative to lacklustre pension plans.

He said: "People are now looking for alternatives to pensions and collectables are perfect. I have never known anyone to lose money on them."