Ceramics at Bonhams
John Sandon is a consultant for the British Ceramics and Glass Department at Bonhams, the UK’s number one auctioneer for ceramics and glass.
John joined the European Ceramics department in New Bond Street in 1975 as a junior specialist. From 1988 John was head of department, responsible for all of the specialised sales of porcelain and glass at Bonhams. He went on to become International Director of European Ceramics and Glass, and retired in 2019 after 44 years. He retains an active role and continues to take the auctions. To view a full list of Bonhams’ forthcoming sales, visit the British Ceramics and Glass Department at Bonhams.com
Not to be Sniffed At…..The Helmut Joseph Collection Makes £1,700,000
The most important collection of porcelain snuff boxes assembled in the 20th century sold for a fantastic £1,700,000 at Bonhams, New Bond Street on 5th July 2011.
The top lot was a magnificent jewel-encrusted Meissen snuff box made for Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. John Sandon was the auctioneer and could hardly contain his excitement when, after a protracted bidding battle on the telephones, the hammer finally came down on the staggering price of £860,000. This is a world record price for a porcelain snuff box at auction.
The Helmut Joseph Collection was previewed in New York, Munich and Paris and attracted bidding from every continent.
The sale confirms Bonhams’ position as the leading auction house for European Ceramics.
Previous Bonhams Ceramics Discoveries
An Unrecorded Caughley Figure
This tiny figure was one of a kind. At a seminar of the Caughley Society, guest-speaker John Sandon recalled his early interest in the porcelain made at Caughley. John had researched the archives preserved at the museum in Worcester and wrote a paper about Caughley figures. Numerous references in the Chamberlain factory order books mention figures sent from Caughley to Worcester around 1790, but as John noted in his lecture, not a single example has ever turned up—until now.
This tiny figure of a Levantine Lady is simply decorated in blue. The appearance of the body and glaze corresponds with Caughley tableware. Evidence of Caughley making this model can be found in the archives that John studied all those years ago. John discovered that in 1790 this little Turkish girl would have cost about one shilling, which is 5 pence in today’s money. Bonhams estimated the unique survivor would realise £5,000-£8,000. When it was sold on 1 December 2010, a private collector paid £8,640.