Guides...and blogs
Carlton Heraldic China Titanic Memoriam Miniature Urn
Sunday 16th August 2015
There's none so blind as those that will not see.
OK, it's stretching the meaning of the saying but after all the studying of the lots at a recent auction (including us looking at detailed photos of the lots the night before) how come nobody spotted this little beauty?
Titanic memorabilia is a major collectable area and the hairs on the back of our necks should have been standing on end when this was included in a mixed lot of crested china. Crested china was produced by a number of porcelain companies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the most well known being Goss. They would feature the crest of a town or city and made in interesting shapes, such as model cottages, animals, lighthouses and WWI items, like the Shelley cannon shown in the additional images below. At that time patriotism and jingoism were rampant, we once sold a plate from WWI that was entitled "How to Cook a German"! Very incorrect nowadays, but valuable nonetheless and it formed the centrepiece of an exhibition of crested china in 2014 to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War.
Although collector interest is not quite as strong as it used to be there are very many collectors who want to either purchase crested china for a specific location (usual home town or birthplace) or who collect themed items such as WWI memorabilia or nauticalia.
Collections can be started quite cheaply, individual pieces costing only a few pounds. But at a Bonhams auction in 2006 a similar piece to the Titanic vase illustrated sold for £106 including buyers premium. More recent sales have seen prices between $300 and $400. Carlton Ware World has some other examples of Titanic pieces.
So when we unpacked our won lots and finally noticed this Carlton China Titanic piece and started our research we soon confirmed our initial view that this is a highly sought after piece.
Which begs the question, why did the many people at the auction preview miss this beauty? Not that we're complaining!