The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 48 No 3 November 2009

Technical: Selling Ceramics
Building a Ceramic Collection
Helen McKenzie talks with Andrew Shapi ro about auctioning Australian studio
ceram ics
Jenny Orchard. Totem.
c. 1980, glazed ceramic,
h.230cm; sold 52640
Andrew Shapiro is well placed to comment on the state of the market
in Australian pottery sales. Shapiro worked on the auction of the Marjorie
Graham collection in 1990 for Lawson's and has since held a number of
Australian pottery auctions under his own banner. He said, " It was Marjorie
Graham's book Australian Pottery, published by The National Trust in
1979, that helped catch the attention of collectors and gave rise to sales of
works from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The ceramicists from this
period, such as Marguerite Mahood and Klytie Pate, are in high demand."
Shapiro hopes that we will not have to wait too long for a definitive book
on post war Austra lian pottery. "Proximity to Asia has given our potters
opportunity to gain knowledge of glazing techniques that are centuries old.
Many experts from Asia came to teach at Australian universities and colleges
in this period and have had a great influence on local ceramicists."
Interest in Australian pottery is almost equally divided between private
buyers and the institutions. Shapiro says that " compared w ith studio art
pottery in Europe and the US, Australian art pottery is still undervalued and
this offers a great opportunity for buyers to build a blue chip collection." In
2008, Newcastle Gallery paid $25,000 for a luncheon and tea set by John
Olsen . The items will go on permanent display in a purpose-built section of
the gallery that w ill also feature a ceiling by Olsen, donated by Anne Lewis.
In Shapiro's July sale this year, Bathurst Regional Ga llery picked up works by
Shigeo Shiga, Jenny Orchard and Ivan Englund. Shapiro comments that "the
institutions have clicked on to buying pottery as it is well priced, despite the
fact that many of the potters have significant international reputations."
Shapiro's next ceramics sale is scheduled for November 2009 and will
feature eighty works from the private collection of Melbourne potter Eric
Junkert. Pieces by Les Blakebrough, Milton Moon and Shigeo Shiga w ill also
be for sale. Individual items from other vendors will make up the remainder
of the lots. Technology has made appraisa l a simpler task than in the past.
Now vendors simply photograph works then send by email for appraisal;
all parties can make decisions more quickly. Technology has also changed
cataloguing. Andrew Shapiro sa id, "Well photographed and produced
online catalogues are our major marketing tool. Buyers, both loca l and
international, now depend on and demand this form of cataloguing and w e
spend a great deal of time and effort getting the catalogue right" .
Helen McKenzie is a freelance journalist/writer who lives in Sydney,
66 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2009