Part 3 Of The Ed & Marilyn Flower Majolica Collection Will Be Held Aug. 20 By Strawser Auction Group

By Author: Michael Strawser
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The third and final auction dedicated to the outstanding majolica collection of Edward Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) will be held on Tuesday, August 20th, beginning at 10 am Eastern time, online and live at the Strawser Auction Group gallery located at 200 North Main in Wolcottville, Ind.

The auction catalog in its entirety with all 235 lots has been posted online, at LiveAuctioneers.com. To view click here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/335107_flower-majolica-auction-3/?page=1&sort=lotNumber

“We’re honored that the Flower family has continued this important auction with us,” said Michael Strawser of Strawser Auction Group, which was chosen to handle all three sales. “Ed and Marilyn were longtime customers who had attended our auctions since the mid-1990s.”

The first auction, held on August 23rd of last year, was a huge success. Top lots included two majolica creations by the French artist Charles-Jean Avisseau that sold for a combined $71,340, and a pair of majolica pieces by George Jones that together brought $57,455.

The second auction was just as successful, ...
... with top achievers that included a circa 1875 Minton tete-a-tete tea set in the chinoiserie taste and one of only three sets known ($30,750); and a very rare George Jones junk teapot, circa 1875, 8 1/43 inches tall, one of only a few known ($29,520).

As in both prior auctions, the Part 3 sale will feature many of the finest names in all of majolica production: Minton, George Jones, Holdcroft, Wedgwood, Hugo Lonitz, Palissy, Massier, T.C. Brown Westhead Moore & Co., Copelands and others – 223 lots in all. The collection comprises over 600 pieces, each one carefully chosen for its beauty, rarity, condition and value.

A strong candidate for top lot of the auction is an iconic Minton majolica vulture and snake teapot and cover, circa 1874, designed by Henry Hope Crealock, modeled as a vulture fighting a python, the raptor with a pink neck and head battling the struggling green serpent on a rocky base, 10 inches tall (est. $20,000-$25,000).

A rare and important George Jones majolica centerpiece, 14 inches tall, modeled as a giraffe and a stag eating from a tree beneath a large bowl, emerging from a small burrow, all upon a circular earthy ground pedestal base, one of only two known and arguably the most desired George Jones piece, should hammer for $12,000-$15,000.

An iconic circa 1875 George Jones majolica full nest game tureen with a hen and her chicks atop a bed of leaves and ferns as the cover, the base with rabbits in a meadow, and branch handles with oak leaves and acorns, 14 inches long by 9 inches tall, with a repair made to one of the three chicks, is estimated at $12,000-$15,000.

A large, circa 1875 Minton majolica carp tureen, the cover formed as a large carp with a lemon forming the handle, the oval base with a border scattered with weed, is 7 inches in height and 23 inches long. It has a pre-sale estimate of $8,000-$12,000.

An 18 ¾ inch by 16 inch Charles Avisseau majolica Palissy Art of the Earth dish, circa 1865, the oval basin profusely covered in fauna, leaves, lizards, snails, a frog, a large fish and crayfish, plus a pike to the center, should realize $8,000-$12,000.

A monumental circa 1865 Minton majolica Renaissance Revival ever on a stand designed by Hughes Protat and painted by Thomas Kirby, having a panel of hand-painted putti in clouds to the center, with a seated cherub and dolphin on fluted shoulders and an arched handle formed as conjoined serpents supported by cherubs and an entwined serpent above a circular base, should hit $6,000-$9,000. The ewer is 23 inches tall, the stand 19 inches tall. This is the only known painted example.

A Minton majolica neo-classical vase and cover, circa 1865, the fluted 18th century Sevres-style body having three rams’ heads conjoined by draped laurel, with three satyrs around, the domed lid with a putti with pan pipes finial, all on a circular pierced platform base, 30 inches tall and one of only three known examples, with a repair to a cherub neck on the lid, carries a pre-sale estimate of $6,000-$9,000.

A rare Hugo Lonitz majolica figure modeled as a hawk, circa 1880, perched on rocky ground, standing 16 inches tall, is expected to fly away for $6,000-$9,000.

A scarce Medieval Revival Minton majolica triple horn flower stand, modeled as three white hunting horns entwined about a central brown trumpet, the stem molded and applied with fir branches and cones, on a yellow banded circular foot, the horns banded and conjoined by metal chains, 28 ½ inches tall, should hit $4,000-$6,000.

A monumental and rare Minton Conservatory jardiniere, circa 1865, modeled as a three-seated Melusine draped with garlands facing outward against a column of four outfacing herons, their wings supporting a large circular deep bowl wide border of lilies, all upon three scroll feet, is expected to find a new owner for $3,000-$5,000.

A hard-to-find circa 1875 George Jones tortoise cuspidor, formed as a tortoise, the top of the shell forming the cover, 5 inches tall and 10 ½ inches long, with repair to the shell cover, is estimated to fetch $3,000-$4,000. This piece was exhibited in the exhibition ‘Majolica Mania” held 2020-22 at the Bard Graduate Center, New York.

A George Jones majolica Aesthetic Movement java sparrow jardiniere, circa 1875, the body molded with bold leaves and blossoms with large java sparrows all upon plump leaf feet, 14 inches tall and wide, with a leaf repair to the base, should garner $800-$1,200. The piece is pictured in George Jones Ceramics (Cluett, p. 66).

A preview will be held in the Strawser Auction Group gallery in Wolcottville on Monday, August 19th, from 4-6 pm Eastern time. The buyer’s premium for live, in-gallery bidders will be 10 percent (not the usual 15 percent); for online bidders it will be 19 percent (not 24 percent). Strawser Auction Group prides itself on keeping buyers’ premiums low for its many clients. In addition to live and online bidding, phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

Several pieces in the Flower collection were recently part of the renowned Majolica Mania Exhibition that was launched in New York City in the fall of 2021, traveled to the Walters Museum in Baltimore in early 2022 and finished at Stoke on Trent in the UK in fall 2022. Only the finest pieces of majolica made their way to the show.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Flower collection is the fact that the couple didn’t begin collecting majolica until much later in life – Ed at about age 60. Prior to that, Ed collected other things: coins, stamps and books as a youth, then later on American Impressionist oil paintings, early 20th century American prints and netsuke.

After Ed retired, in the early 2000s, the couple attended nearly every majolica auction held by Strawser Auction Group. And it was a certainty that their hands would go up several times at each auction. The couple simply refused to be outbid when they spotted a piece they had to have. They could also be found at every majolica convention – usually a bi-annual event. Also, Ed served for a time on the Board of Directors of the prestigious Majolica International Society.

To learn more about the Strawser Auction Group and the third and final auction dedicated to the majolica collection of Edward Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) on Tuesday, August 20th, visit www.strawserauctions.com. To view a flip-booklet for the auction, click here: https://flipbooklets.com/pdfflipbooklets/flower-auction-august-2024#page1