Provenance
Sotheby’s, Belgravia, “Studio Ceramics,” November 8, 1973, lot 487
Dr. Washington, 1973
Richard Dennis Gallery, London
Sotheby’s, Belgravia, “Studio Ceramics,” July 12, 1979, lot 219
William E. Wiltshire, London
Sotheby’s, London, “The William E. Wiltshire Collection,” November 18, 1991, lot 80
John S. M. Scott, Esq., London
The Fine Art Society, London
Sinai and Sons, London, 2014
Acquired from the above
Exhibited
"The Martin Brothers Potters," Sotheby's Belgravia, London, September 16-October 14, 1978
“The John Scott Collection: Decorative Arts from the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries,” The Fine Art Society, London, June 11-20, 2014
“Fantastique,” Sinai and Sons, Masterpiece, London, June 25-July 1, 2015
Literature
The Martin Brothers Potters, exh. cat., Sotheby's Belgravia, London, 1978, p. 19, no. 333
Malcolm Haslam, The Martin Brothers Potters, London, 1978, illustrated p. 132
The John Scott Collection: British Art Pottery, Volume 3, exh. cat., The Fine Art Society, London, June 11 - 20, 2014, illustrated cover, pp. 34-35
Timothy Brittain-Catlin, "Full House, Every Inch of John Scott's Notting Hill Home...," The World of Interiors, July 2014, illustrated p. 103
Fantastique, exh. cat., Sinai and Sons, London, 2015, illustrated pp. 48-49
Catalogue Essay
Robert Wallace Martin may have felt some sort of kinship to Sir Edward Clarke (1841-1931). They were born in the City of London, less than half a mile apart, and within two years of each other, Clarke being the older man. Both had shown a fierce independence of spirit and a determination to succeed in their chosen, albeit very different, careers.

Wallace's caricature of the famous barrister emphasizes the narrowness of Clarke's eyes (whether that was a natural feature or a forensic gimmick) and has not spared his victim's tendency towards corpulence as he had grown older and more successful. Sir Edward had stood for the defense in several high profile cases, including the so-called Royal Baccarat Case, in which he had famously cross-examined the Prince of Wales, and, most notably, the three trials of Oscar Wilde in 1896. There is a contemporary photograph of this bird along side another bird with a note on the verso of the print, in Clarke's handwriting, that identifies this piece as a caricature of himself, and the other as a caricature of the Liberal prime minister William Gladstone.

Wallace always kept abreast of the major news topics of the day and sometimes drew on them as a source of inspiration for items of pottery. For example, when the public was avidly devouring newspaper stories about polar expeditions, Wallace made several of his so-called "Eskimo" jugs. As well as bird-jars caricaturing Clarke, Gladstone, and Disraeli, there were low-relief portrait plaques of Queen Victoria, commemorating her Golden and Diamond Jubilees. At the height of the political debate over tariff reform, in the early years of the twentieth century, Wallace modeled a face-jug with Arthur Balfour caricatured on one side, and Joseph Chamberlain on the other. It should be remembered that one of the many jobs Wallace had after abandoning his formal education was working as an office-boy for a parliamentary reporter in Westminster.

Wallace maintained a keen interest in current affairs right up to the end; Sydney Greenslade, visiting the pottery during WWI, found Wallace (then in his seventies) modeling a three-handled mug commemorating the destruction of a zeppelin, and carving an allegorical group with personifications of Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Turkey riding a grotesque beast. By then, of course, Walter and Edwin were dead and the pottery virtually defunct. Fortunately, this bird-jar caricature of Sir Edward Clarke was sculpted, colored and fired when the Martin brothers' skills were at their zenith.

Property from a Private Collection

28

R. W. Martin & Brothers

Sir Edward George Clarke QC caricatured as a tall distinguished fantastical bird jar and cover

February 1898
Salt-glazed stoneware, ebonized wood.
15 1/8 in. (38.4 cm) high
Collar incised Martin Bros/London + Southall/2-1898, base incised 2-1898/Martin Bros/London + Southall, and firm's printed paper label MARTIN BROS./POTTERS,/16. BROWNLOW ST.,/HIGH HOLBORN,/LONDON and James Bourlet & Sons Ltd. printed paper label. Together with period photograph signed and dated E.C 7.11.1925.

Estimate
$150,000 - 250,000

Sold for $175,000

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

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

28

R. W. Martin & Brothers

Sir Edward George Clarke QC caricatured as a tall distinguished fantastical bird jar and cover

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