One of the most important collections of Shelley Pottery is about to go under the hammer at auction. This extensive collection is owned by Robert Senft, not only a collector but also an authority on the factory. He has co-written a book and organised a travelling exhibition in order to make people aware of this prolific Staffordshire Pottery, but now after 30 years of collecting has decided to sell his prized pieces onto others so they too, can gain as much enjoyment as he has.
Born in Arnhem, Holland, Robert was taken by his family at a young age to live in Amsterdam, in order to avoid the bombing. In 1962 he came to England and it was here that his passion for pottery began. A successful businessman, Robert owned a catering company and close to his factory was a studio where you could attend pottery classes. Robert joined the classes and learnt how to throw pots, a natural; he combined his catering skills with pottery and made a stunning Art Deco style 12” pot by rolling the clay out like pastry. This was to be the start of Robert’s interest in pottery and the beginning of his long journey into discovering the designs of the Shelley factory.
Robert started to hunt out pieces of art deco from antiques markets and shops. He first bought a few pieces of Clarice Cliff, however, he didn’t really like the quality or decoration and even back in the 1970s Clarice Cliff was quite expensive to buy. So when one day Robert stumbled across a piece of Shelley Harmony Ware, he was instantly attracted to the design and snapped it up for a very cheap price. Robert explained to me that “Harmony Ware was originally designed by Eric Slater. Eric had come up with the idea by accident, one day he had mixed too much turps with the glaze, when he tried to paint bands on a vase the paint ran down the sides. Eric liked the effect and decided to experiment and eventually in 1932 created a whole range of Harmony Ware which sold in all the shops.”
After purchasing his first piece Robert then started to discover that there was a whole host of different sizes and colour ways available, so set about trying to buy every piece. Systematically attending antique fairs and shops Robert cleared out the dealers of any Harmony Ware they had in stock he now owns well over 200 pieces, including some rare teapots and coffee pots.
Robert’s interest in the factory grew and he would spend hours researching the history by going through the V&A museum’s reference library, then one day he took a stab in the dark and dialled directory enquiries to get a phone number for Shelley. Royal Doulton had purchased the factory in 1966 so there was still a company called “Shelley Furnaces.” This was how Robert became friends with Donald Shelley who actually invented the “Top-Hat” kiln. Donald invited Robert to his home and then introduced him to Chris Watkins, another avid Shelley collector. Chris had managed to research the history of Shelly from the beginning through to the 1930s. Together Chris and Robert were then introduced to William Harvey, an antique dealer who had extensive knowledge from the post war years onwards, so together the three could cover the whole history of Shelley from beginning to end.
The three carried on the research, by interviewing ex-employees and whilst doing this Robert stumbled across some interesting pieces of Shelley named “Intarsio”. Eager to find out more he was placed in contact with Dan Klein who had written a book on Art Deco pottery and owned a shop in London. Robert met with Dan and bought all the “Intarsio” pieces that Dan had in stock. Then Robert remembered that some years previously he had seen a pair of vases at a shop in Portobello Road, now he recognised them as “Intarsio.” He could not believe his luck when he returned to the shop all those years later, as the vases were still there sitting on a shelf covered in dust. He snapped them up and began to learn about this exciting new Shelly product that he had discovered. Robert explained that “after a trip to Holland, Frederick Rhead, father of Charlotte had been influenced by Rozenburg pieces and returned to England to use this inspiration to design the “Intarsio” range, it is especially special to me as a lot of the vases have Dutch influences which, is of course where I grew up.”
Whilst continuing his search for pieces to add to his ever growing collection, Robert along with Chris and William were working on a book called “Shelley Potteries” which covered the whole history. They then came up with the idea of an exhibition as between the three of them they had very large collections of every Shelley design ever made. After a lot of hard work, the exhibition was in place and travelled from the Jeffrey Museum in London, to Stoke-on-Trent, then arrived at Bristol before finishing at the Huntley House Museum in Edinburgh. A lot was involved as the collectors and their partners had to set up and pack up each exhibition. This ran in conjunction with the launch of the book in the early 1980s and was a huge success.
Mark Oliver, Auctioneer at Bonhams and I met with Robert at his home and were truly amazed as it was the most impressive collection I have ever seen Mark explained that some of the “Intarsio” pieces were so special that in his 25 years of being an auctioneer he had never come across such stunning quality designs. Along with the Harmony Ware and Intarsio Robert also owns many Art Deco Shelley teasets, his favourite being “Vogue” which was again, designed by Eric Slater in the 1930s. He also has a figurine model of the advertising “Shelley Girl” which he acquired from an ex-employee at Shelley. “I won’t be parting with my Shelley Girl as she means so much to me and I also will not be able to sell the one-off mug designed by Eric Slater for the 1951 Festival of Britain which was never actually placed into production. This mug was given to me when I met with Eric, and again is very special.”
However, Robert will be parting with the two ultra rare umbrella advertising stands, his amazing collection of “Intarsio”, “Harmony Ware,” “Lustre” and nursery Ware to mention just a small portion of his collection that is going up for sale. The nursery ware is very special because although most know that Mabel Lucie Attwell designed for Shelley, and Robert does own some of her designs, another children’s illustrator Hilda Cowham created some stunning ranges for Shelley in the late 1920s early 1930s and these are sure to draw attention when being sold.
Robert’s collection is to be split between Bonhams in London and Staceys in Essex. The high-end examples of “Intarsio,” “teasets,” “Lustre” and “Nursery Ware” will be sold at Bonhams and the extensive collection of “Harmony Ware,” some teasets, “jelly moulds” and various Shelley wares will be auctioned at Staceys.
Mark Oliver of Bonham told me “that they are delighted to have this amazing private collection of Shelley in their March “Ceramic Design” sale. It represents the finest private Shelley collection ever to come to auction and the range and diversity is truly breathtaking. I particularly like the range of “Intarsio” wares which contain many rarities, some of which rarely are seen on the open market. The Moorcroft Shelley range is also rare and has attracted good money in Australian auctions of late and my personal favourite pieces are the umbrella stands of which there are only two rare examples in different designs.”
Stacey’s are also excited to be involved with this important sale, as their specialist collectables expert, I have learnt so much from talking to Robert, and now understand the importance of his collection and believe that the sale will go down in auction history, as not only is it one of the largest and most important collections to be sold, but also includes many rare pieces of Shelley that will probably never come up for sale again in our lifetimes.
Robert explained to me that he has decided to part with his collection because he has so much it is hard to display, and now he collects “Goldschieder” figures and wants to make room in the display cabinets for more of these. “I have had a wonderful time collecting, researching and writing about Shelley, and the highlight was probably when I discovered the “Intarsio” ware, although meeting Donald Shelley and Eric Slater was a once in a lifetime opportunity as well.” Robert’s passion for the factory and is history is so evident when talking to him, although his collection is about to go under the hammer the years of memories will always be with him
Further Information
Bonhams Sale will take place on Wednesday March 14th at 10.30am
Viewing is on Sunday 11th, Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th. Catalogues will be available on Monday 26th February and the sale can be viewed online at www.bonhams.com. To order a catalogue please contact 016-6650-2200.
Stacey’s auction will take place on 20th March at 10am at the Rochford Freight House.
Viewing is on Monday 19th from 8am until 8pm and on the morning of the sale. Please contact Tracy Martin on 01702 475614 or visit www.staceyauction.com for further information.
