Collectable Majolica Butter Pats

A few years ago, when the price of majolica was a its peak, collecting majolica butter pats was as expensive, if not more expensive, than collecting majolica plates or platters. It was not uncommon to see these tiny plates bring several hundred dollars a piece at auctions and antique shows. Since then the market has leveled out quite a bit and the prices of most pats has come down from the astronomical levels of that time to a somewhat more reasonable level. That's not to say that you won't still come across pats that command high prices because you will but unlike then, you can still put together a nice little collection of butter pats without mortgaging the house.

Butter pats, also referred to as butter chips, are tiny little plates used at the well set Victorian table to hold butter. Like everything else, Victorians had a special serving piece to hold your butter, the butter pat. They were made in all kinds of ceramic bodies and can be found in transfer ware, flow blue, ironstone, etc. of which the most colorful were majolica.

Every major majolica manufacturer made them and the variety can be staggering.

Wedgwood

Wedgwood

George Jones

Wedgwood

Adams & Bromley

Joseph Holdcroft

Wedgwood

Etruscan

Etruscan

Etruscan

Hawley & Co.

George Jones

Holdcroft

Fielding

Etruscan

Etruscan

Etruscan

Fielding

Shorter & Boulton

Etruscan

Tenuous

Wedgwood

Tenuous

Copeland

Holdcroft

Etruscan

Etruscan

Etruscan

Etruscan

Etruscan

Wedgwood

Holdcroft

Tenuous

Samuel Lear

George Jones

Etruscan

Fielding

Hawley & Co.

Fielding

Fielding

Joseph Holdcroft

Adams & Bromley 

Attributed to Hawley & Co.

Wardle Chrysanthemum 

Samuel Lear

So what constitutes a collectable, desirable butter pat? Just about anything! Like in any other type of majolica color, condition, design and rarity will affect the price. Name manufacturers also affect price. The two colorful Jones pats shown above can command prices of $250-$400. Colorful Wedgwood and Holdcroft pats generally bring around $100-$200 on the retail level, as do some of the more desirable Fielding and Etruscan pats. The others generally bring in the $25-$100 range.

The majority of majolica pats that are fresh to the market will require cleaning. The fat inside the butter will discolor the pat significantly. You should either clean them yourself using hydrogen peroxide and great care with the directions we supplied in this blog or have a professional restorationist do it for you. Only then can the full beauty of the majolica colors shine through.

The Leo Lerman-Gray Foy Majolica Auction Results at Doyle

The Leo Lerman-Gray Foy collection we wrote about a couple of weeks ago went under the hammer at Doyle New York earlier this week and I must say, the majolica sold quite reasonably.

The biggest surprise was the unusual Wilhelm Schiller & Sons pine cone molded majolica glazed Jardiniere which was appraised at $500-$700 but brought, with premium, $2000

The biggest price brought by a lot of majolica was no surprise--the pair of Minton monkey vases which brought $4688.

Both the Wedgwood Argenta Lincoln umbrella stand and the Adams & Bromley heron centerpiece brought $988 each.

The George Jones cheese stand brought $1375, the Minton foliage jardiniere brought $2000, and the unmarked monkey figurine brought $813, all with buyer's premium included. 

The entire sale totaled $831,519 against a pre-sale estimate of $413,600-630,600.

For complete auction results go to the Doyle New York Web site.

The Leo Lerman & Gray Foy Collection at Doyle

Doyle New York is offering a small but lovely group of majolica pieces in their upcoming auction of the fabulous Leo Lerman & Gray Foy Collection of decorative arts later this month.

Leo Lerman was an author and editor at Conde Nast and his partner, Gray Foy was an artist, taste maker and bon vivant. Together they were the at the center of New York society in the last half of the Twentieth century. A whirl of celebrities like Callas, Graham,  Dietrich, Fonteyn and Nureyev frequented their home.

We first posted an image from their collection in November of 2010 in a post about decorating with majolica. Then we wrote about their collection of majolica last year after the publication of a lovely New York Times magazine photo essay. At the time Mr. Foy was about to celebrate his 90th birthday in the home that he and Mr. Lerman shared  in New York. His companion since Mr. Lerman's death in 1994 was Joel Kaye who lived in the home and cared for Foy until his death last December.

Now the entire collection of decorative arts from their fabulous apartment at the Osborne has been consigned to Doyle New York.
Majolica by Minton, George Jones and Wedgwood are included in addition to a large collection of pineapple majolica.

In addition to the majolica is a marvelous collection of rare books, Tiffany lamps, furniture and other decorative arts.

If you'd like to learn more about the Leo Lerman and Gray Foy Collection auction you can download the catalog here or view it online at the Doyle site.

The auction takes place in New York on September 24, 2013.

More Celebrity Majolica: Osbourne, Streisand, Wood, and Hope

In the past we've shown majolica from the collections of Greta Garbo, Whoopie Goldberg and Bernard Madoff. Well, we've come across a few more from celebrity auction site Julien's Auction house to share with you.

The first is a group of Joseph Roth and French Barbotine majolica as well as Royal Winton earthenware wall pockets from the estate of Ozzie Osbourne.

Royal Winton and Joseph Roth wall pockets from the Osbourne estate

Barbotine majolica wall pockets from Osbourne estate

French Barbotine majolica, Fives Lille majolica and 

unattributed earthenware wall pockets from Osbourne estate

The next is a Bretby jardiniere and pedestal from former Jeff Beck/ Faces/ Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood.

Breathy majolica jardiniere and pedestal from Ron Wood estate

Here is a French piece from the estate of .

French jardiniere from Streisand estate

Finally we have a set of contemporary majolica serving pieces from the estate of Bob Hope. Of all the celebrity majolica collections this was the largest with a group of 120 pieces.

Representative green majolica from Hope state

I'm always fascinated by the objects owned by celebrities. These people have unlimited resources and can afford anything they want. What attracted them to the pieces shown? There's no way of ever knowing but it does offer us a tiny window into the lives --and the taste-- of the rich and famous.