By RENEE KIRIONA
Pieces in one of the world's largest and rarest collections of fine ceramic art are expected to fetch up to $20,000 each when they are auctioned in Auckland.
Auction company Dunbar Sloane will put more than 250 pieces by British artist Clarice Cliff on sale this Wednesday.
Dunbar
Sloane manager and decorative art specialist Hamish Walsh said the prices of each piece would range from $12,000 to $20,000.
"Most of these pieces have never been sold before, and besides being in the Holland Museum [in the United States] they have never been to any other country but New Zealand, so are very rare."
Clarice Cliff is regarded as one of the most influential ceramics artists of the 20th Century. Her work, from the 1930s, is collected, valued and admired the world over.
"Her work encompassed a whole social change and for her time she was quite radical," Mr Walsh said. "No one else was doing what she was."
The hallmarks of her work were bold, bright hand-painted designs and outrageous shapes.
"There are some great shapes and patterns in this collection and that's one of the main things that collectors and admirers will be looking at."
The auction had received a lot of interest.
Mr Walsh said a charger plate, part of the Caravan Collection, was expected to sell for the most.
"That piece has never been out of New Zealand or sold before so we're expecting it to reach no less than $20,000."
Dunbar is selling on behalf of Lex Van Hessen, who lives in Amsterdam and owns a meat-processing company.
Another Clarice Cliff auction is scheduled next year.
