Welcome

Do you ever consider, slumped in front of the T V, wine in hand, watching Antiques Road Trip on catch-up, you could be achieving more? No offence to Timothy Wonnacott et al, but such was my thought on reading this month’s article, about pioneering Victorian (female) collectors.

Take Charlotte Schreiber, for instance. Married at 21 to a wealthy ironmaster; after bearing 10 children and widowed at 40, she took over the family ironworks. Along the way she taught herself Arabic, Hebrew and Persian. And this was

before her career as a collector even took off, after which she donated 12,000 pieces of porcelain to the V&A. Mind you, in our defence, this was before the advent of BritBox. Read her astounding tale on page 50.

While that feature celebrates International Women’s Day on March 5, on page 44 we put out the bunting for St David’s Day on March 1 by taking a look at two Welsh porcelain manufactories: Swansea and Nantgarw, the latter being widely regarded as the finest porcelain ever made. It’s a fascinating article by Ben Rogers Jones and, with the price of a lot of Welsh porcelain currently in the doldrums, this could be the perfect time to buy.

Talking of the finest ever made, many collectors consider the treasures made in the Meiji period in Japan from 1868 to 1912 the pinnacle of human achievement in the decorative arts. Discover more on page 18.

Elsewhere in the magazine our resident columnists reveal their expertise on a variety of topics including misericords (Christina Trevanion, page 10); nests of tables (Lennox Cato, page 42); a rare Gibson guitar (Marc Allum, page 66) while, on page 29, Charles Hanson goes typically off piste with an absorbing tale of the history of George Formby’s kimono. Enjoy the issue.

Georgina Wroe, Editor

FIRST WORD

IN THIS ISSUE

BEHNAZ ATIGHI MOGHADDAM Behind the scenes with an Islamic arts expert, page 28

JEFFREY LASSALINE

Previews a single owner

collection of Russian decorative arts, page 30

SARAH FERGUSSON

Celebrates Audemars Piguet’s iconic watch the

Royal Oak, page 34

KEEP IN TOUCH Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, or email magazine@accartbooks.com. Visit the website at www.antique-collecting.co.uk and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AntiqueMag

Antique Collecting

subscription £38 for 10 issues annually,

no refund is available.

ISSN: 0003-584X

We love This silver pitcher by the

Danish artist and designer, Henning Koppel (1918-1981) which has an estimate of £3,000-£5,000

at Dreweatts’ sale on

March 8-9

LENNOX CATO Gives the essential low-down on the most collectable nests

of tables, page 42

THE TEAM

Editor: Georgina Wroe, georgina.

wroe@accartbooks.com Online Editor: Richard Ginger, richard.ginger@accartbooks.com

Design: Philp Design, james@philpdesign.co.uk Advertising: Charlotte Kettell 01394 389969, charlotte.kettell

@accartbooks.com Subscriptions: Jo Lord jo.lord@accartbooks.com

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 3