First and foremost a big thank you to all of you who have phoned, emailed,

recommended us and offered advice in 2011.

stivesmodern wishes you all a prosperous and happy 2012

I have found that one of the nicest things to come out from replying to all the queries is

that there are so many of you out there who share my passion in this field.

Sometimes I even sense a wave of relief from individuals who are told they do not

own a Coper or Rie since they can then keep it and admire it as opposed to tucking it

away in a cupboard or feeling forced to sell it!

These are some of my personal highlights of 2011

The Brian Smith Collection

A lovely collection of mainly Leach Pottery from the collection of a born and bred

Cornishman who lived opposite the Leach Pottery in St Ives.

stivesmodern helped to advise on the dispersal of this collection which was sold

with a 100% success rate at auction in November

          Bernard Leach Large Globular Vase £1300 hammer       Janet Leach Porcelain Vase £450hammer

"In my role as Executor for my late Uncle, I recently had need to value and arrange sale of part of his ceramic collection which he had accrued over most of his lifetime as a St Ives resident, in close proximity to the Leach Pottery. Memories of conversations with him and my own personal research revealed some of the potential value of pieces by Bernard and Janet Leach, Trevor Corser and Benny Sirota (Troika), but the books and websites I used initially were only of limited help. After several attempts using different search criteria I combined St Ives and Modern Ceramics and came across the website "stivesmodern", which invited contact with its proprietor Mr Alex Tonkinson. Through his help and assistance the collection has been very effectively dispersed by private sales and specialist auction not only realising appropriate monetary value but notably, in several instances, an appropriate emotional valuation by the purchaser; something that would have greatly pleased my late uncle. I have no hesitation in recommending Mr Tonkinson's services, whether in the circumstances I found myself in or simply to learn a little more about this amazing group of ceramic artists that were drawn to produce their amazing works in the environs of St Ives"

Two Private Collections

Two good collections of important 20th Century British Studio Potters.

stivesmodern helped advise on their potential value and liaise between the clients and Auction House.

The two collections were subsequently sold and acheived a near perfect sale rate of about 95%

             Joanna Constantinidis Wave Vase £320 hammer       Bernard Leach Faceted Vase £950 hammer

Exquisite Lucie Rie Miniature Bowl £1800 hammer

"When looking for a way of selling my small collection of inherited studio pottery, I found Alex Tonkinson at Stivesmodern. He proved to be informative, enthusiastic and involved in his subject and above all completely honest. I found my initial trust to be well founded, I could rely on his advice and support implicitly. This made my experience of the whole process, constructive, interesting and worthwhile. I have no hesitation in recommending him. "

A Surpise Find

Whilst visiting a friends house in West Cornwall I spotted an interesting little glazed bowl in a

pile of ceramics which were intended "for the kids" in her words. Upon discovering that it

was indeed a Lucie Rie bowl she was delighted with my £600-800 estimate for auction and even more

delighted when it acheived £1100 in November at auction here in Salisbury

Lucie Rie White Glazed Bowl with Iron rim £1100 hammer

You just never know what you might have lurking in the cupboards!!

I am always more than happy to answer any queries you may have about items, whether by email or

phone. It is always worth an ask as you can tell by reading above.