Provenance
Allen Harriman and Edward Judd, Los Angeles
Sotheby's, New York, "The Harriman Judd Collection: British Art Pottery," January 22, 2001, lot 300
Jonny's Antiques (Jonny Kalisch and James Bisback), Ontario
Judith Morgan, Canada
Wilkens Auction, Toronto, “Fine & Decorative Arts,” November 30, 2016, lot 2109
Sinai and Sons, London, 2016
Acquired from the above
Literature
Garth Clark, The Potter's Art: A Complete History of Pottery in Britain, London, 1995, illustrated p. 125
Catalogue Essay
One of the largest "Wally-birds" ever made, this rather meditative example testifies to an unusually flourishing period in the history of the Martin brothers' pottery. A measure of commercial success in the early 1880s gave Robert Wallace Martin the opportunity to develop his grotesques and experiment with tobacco jars in the form of strange—but very human—birds. An account of the Martins' work, written by Holbrook Jackson for T.P's Magazine in 1910, discusses Wallace's bird-jars and proposes humor as their chief motivation and achievement. He comments: "Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear thought along the same lines as Wallace Martin; they dreamed similar dreams, only Wallace Martin has dreamt them in clay." But did Wallace have a hidden agenda? When, as a young assistant, he had worked for the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Alexander Munro in the early 1860s, he might well have met both Carroll, one of Munro's intimate friends, and Lear who sometimes dropped by the studio. He might too have become aware of, perhaps even browsed through, Thomas Wright's book A History of Caricature and the Grotesque, published in 1865, which contained a lengthy chapter on medieval carvings. It was also in 1865 that Wallace joined the Plymouth Brethren who totally rejected any sort of ecclesiastical organisation. So he would have read with delight Wright's assertion that medieval grotesque art often carried an anti-clerical message, either overt or hidden. "The popular feeling against the clergy," Wright stated, "was strong in the middle ages, and no caricature was received with more fervour than those which expressed the immorality or dishonesty of a monk or a priest." Moreover, at Munro's studio, Wallace would have heard, if he had not already known, about an instance of such lampooning in modern times, for amongst the ornament of the new Oxford Museum (for which Munro made statues of several leading scientists) the stonemason O'Shea had caricatured members of the university Convocation as parrots. Some of Wallace Martin's birds are modeled as tonsured monks, while others caricature pillars of the establishment such as judges or generals. There is, more often than one had perhaps realized, a subversive element in these tobacco jars, an element Wallace would have been loathe to disclose to the mostly middle-class readers of T.P's Magazine. Who knows which parson, magistrate or major-general has been morphed by Wallace into this magnificent, giant bird?

Property from a Private Collection

27

R. W. Martin & Brothers

Massive mendiculus aquatic bird jar and cover

January 1883
Salt-glazed stoneware, ebonized wood.
21 1/8 in. (53.5 cm) high
Collar incised Martin London + Southall. 1. 1883 and body incised R.W./Martin/London/1.1883. Underside of base inscribed MARTIN BRO/LONDON.

Estimate
$100,000 - 150,000

Contact Specialist
DesignNewYork@phillips.com
+1 212 940 1265

Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018

1
Line Vautrin
"Sequins" mirror
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $72,500
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2
Line Vautrin
Unique "Satellite Orange" mirror
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $125,000
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3
Jean Royère
"Étoile" double-sided illuminated bar, from the Parachini residence, France
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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4
Jean-Michel Frank
Table lamp
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $175,000
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5
Jean-Michel Frank
Large "Block" table lamp
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $68,750
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6
Jean-Michel Frank
Large "X" table lamp
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $40,000
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7
This lot is no longer available.
8
Alberto Giacometti and Jean-Michel Frank
"Bird," mounted on box
Estimate $25,000 - 35,000
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9
Jean Royère
Rare wingback armchair
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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10
Luigi Caccia Dominioni
Rare table lamp
Estimate $8,000 - 12,000
Sold for $18,750
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11
Carlo Mollino
Unique pair of wall-mounted bedside tables from Casa Orengo, Turin
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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12
Gio Ponti
Large covered vase
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
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13
Gio Ponti
Illuminated "Parete Organizzata"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $87,500
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14
Hans J. Wegner
"Peacock" easy chair, model no. JH521
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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15
Hans J. Wegner
"Roman" armchair
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $33,750
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16
Eugene Schoen
Important table from the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) Roxy Theatre at Rockefeller Center, New York
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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17
Luis Barragán
Pair of stools from the Cuadra San Cristóbal, Mexico City
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $30,000
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18
Ron Arad
"Blo Void 4"
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $81,250
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19
Scott Burton
Pair of "Perforated Metal Chairs"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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20
Wendell Castle
Unique and important "Environment for Contemplation"
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $312,500
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21
Wendell Castle
Unique "Chaise Rocker"
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $325,000
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22
Wendell Castle
Unique "In God We Trust" chair
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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23
Jun Kaneko
Untitled
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
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24
Harry Bertoia
Monumental "Sonambient" sounding sculpture
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $125,000
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25
This lot is no longer available.
26
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Exceptional and monumental mantel clock case
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
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27
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Massive mendiculus aquatic bird jar and cover
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
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28
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Sir Edward George Clarke QC caricatured as a tall distinguished fantastical bird jar and cover
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
Sold for $175,000
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29
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Colossal and extraordinary grotesque grinning crab
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $275,000
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Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018

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Provenance

Literature

Catalogue Essay

27

R. W. Martin & Brothers

Massive mendiculus aquatic bird jar and cover

Design Evening

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