Top 5 Martin Brothers Pottery Prices at Auction – Amid a surge of record interest and escalating auction prices, Martin Brothers Pottery remains a beacon for collectors and aficionados of the unique and the exquisite. Renowned for their whimsical Grotesque statues and captivating bird sculptures, the works of the Martin Brothers have seen unprecedented demand. This article uncovers the Top 5 Martin Brothers Pottery Prices at Auction, highlighting the burgeoning appreciation and continuing record prices being achieved.
The current Highest and World Record Price for a Martin Bros piece was for an amazing grotesque crab which sold at Philips in December 2018 for $220,000 (£184,000). The current Highest and World Record Price for a Martin Bros Bird is for a Robert Wallace sculpted bird jar which sold at Kinghams Auctioneers in May 2023 for £170,000.
1. $220,000 (£184,000) Martin Brothers Colossal and extraordinary grotesque grinning crab
December 2018, Philips, New York – Martin Brothers Colossal and extraordinary grotesque grinning crab June 1880, Salt-glazed stoneware.
8 1/4 x 16 1/8 x 18 1/8 in. (21 x 40.8 x 46 cm) Incised RW Martin + Brothers/London/6.80 and RW MARTIN.
2. £170,000 Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers, a very large characterful sculptural stoneware bird jar
May 2023, Kinghams Auctioneers – Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers, a very large characterful sculptural stoneware bird jar, 1895, modelled with webbed feet and rotating head, bread beak and sideways glace, incised marks Martin Bros 11-1895, London + Southall, 53cm high Note: used as the original cover illustration for the 1978 Martin Brothers Potters exhibition
3. $140,000 (£117,000) Martin Brothers Sir Edward George Clarke QC caricatured as a tall distinguished fantastical bird jar and cover
December 2018, Philips, New York – Martin Brothers Sir Edward George Clarke QC caricatured as a tall distinguished fantastical bird jar and cover, February 1898, Salt-glazed stoneware, ebonized wood. 15 1/8 in. (38.4 cm) high Collar incised Martin Bros/London + Southall/2-1898, base incised 2-1898/Martin Bros/London + Southall, and firm’s printed paper label MARTIN BROS./POTTERS,/16. BROWNLOW ST.,/HIGH HOLBORN,/LONDON and James Bourlet & Sons Ltd. printed paper label.
4. £90,000 Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers, a grotesque sculptural stoneware jar and cover, 1884, modelled as a dog
May 2023, Kinghams Auctioneers – Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers, a grotesque sculptural stoneware jar and cover, 1884, modelled as a dog like creature with orc head, goatee and spiney crest, one eye open, mottled semi matt body, incised mark R W Martin & Brothers. London + Southall + 11.1884+, and to a patch on the body R W Martin 1883 S + London, 27cm high
5. £8 T0,000 Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers, a very large characterful sculptural stoneware bird jar
May 2023, Kinghams Auctioneers – Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers, a large characterful stoneware sculptural bird jar, 1888, modelled as a grotesque avian figure, the rotating head tilted with a manic expression and wide deep set eyes, partially open broad beak, the wings with green and blue bands, on a brown glazed body, incised marks R W Martin + Bros, London + Southall, 3-1888, and to the head, 36cm high
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