LONDON.- The largest and most valuable single owner collection of Moorcroft pottery ever to come to auction is for sale at Bonhams in London on 21 September.

The Richard Wright collection has been put together over 25 years by Jackie and Richard Wright and is estimated to be worth over £300,000.

It includes a very rare ‘Carp’ vase of 1902 painted, unusually, in yellow and blue estimated at £8,000 – 12,000; the iconic ‘The Yacht Vase’ from 1899 (£6,000 – 8,000); an early twin-handled Florian vase made in 1903 (£3,500 – 5,000); and a rare Exhibition plaque made Moorcroft’s flagship Pomegranate pattern in 1913.

Bonham’s Head of Decorative Arts, Mark Oliver, said, “I was astonished by the breadth and diversity of the Wright collection. Richard and Jackie have an amazing feel for these pieces, and have managed to source some wonderful examples. Their knowledge, passion and dedication shine through and it’s been a real privilege and pleasure to work with them.”

Moorcroft Pottery owes its reputation to the innovative designs pioneered by William Moorcroft, first as an employee of James Macintyre & Co and later on his own account. His technical skill and ability to anticipate public taste brought him critical and commercial success and made his work among the best loved of all English pottery. During a long career, starting with his first registered designs in 1898 and ending only with his death in 1945 Moorcroft created a business which provided work for hundreds of people in the Potteries. Although there is no longer a Moorcroft family link, the name and the business live on.

The renowned pottery specialist and television personality Eric Knowles, summed it up when he write in the latest Bonhams Magazine, “Moorcroft Pottery continues to offer an ever-expanding repertoire of quality design that never fails to delight. Yesterday, today and no doubt tomorrow the end result remains undeniably Moorcroft, and the Richard Wright Collection encapsulates the best of this enviable heritage.”