Alison Wilding, Ceramic Sculpture 'Bowl or Art Object', 1999 for Tate Gallery

The redoubtable British ceramics maker Royal Doulton has long embraced popular tastes and enjoys a devoted following among aficionados of English pottery. Some are drawn to the company’s intricately decorated bone china dinner services; others are passionate collectors of Royal Doulton’s artfully hand-painted figurines, vases and bowls.

When founded by John Doulton, Martha Jones and John Watts in 1815, in the Lambeth section of suburban London, the manufacturer produced bottles and other storage containers and even sewer pipes in stoneware, a cheap but durable cousin of porcelain. Amid the Victorian era’s rising concern for hygiene, food safety and sanitation, the company flourished. During the late 1850s — having rebranded as Doulton & Watts and then Doulton and Co. — the firm was colloquially referred to as Doulton Ware. And in the late 1870s, it expanded its business into the applied arts.

The firm took over a factory in Staffordshire, in northern England — the traditional home of British ceramics manufacturing — to produce tableware. Around the same time, Doulton opened an art pottery studio in Lambeth, where vases, urns and other forms were decorated with painted scenic images, flowers or historical motifs. 

Taking a cue from the venerable Meissen porcelain workshops in Germany, Doulton artisans began crafting figurines modeled on characters from literature and theater. The firm also helped popularize Toby Jugs and other “character mugs” — handled cups shaped as the heads of figures from folklore and popular culture. Doulton purchased a factory in Burslem in 1882, and King Edward VII granted the factory his Royal Warrant in 1901.

Royal Doulton china will always make an elegant yet not-too-formal appearance in a traditional table setting. Prices for dinner services vary according to size, age and condition, but generally range from $2,000 to $15,000. 

Authentic Royal Doulton art pottery might be used by some as a bright decorative note; others collect the company’s figurines with the same interest and dedication as stamp and coin enthusiasts. A typical Toby Jug might fetch $50, while very rare figurines can sell for $7,000. Most of the finest Royal Doulton art pottery pieces sell for around $500. 

As you will see on these pages, few decorative-arts companies are as aesthetically and stylistically diverse as Royal Doulton. The firm truly offers something for everyone.

Find Royal Doulton figurines, plates, vases and other collectibles for sale on 1stDibs.

Born in India, Anish Kapoor has lived in England since the 1970s. Beginning in 1973, he studied in London at the Hornsey College of Art before going on to the Chelsea School of Art. After spending some time in India in 1979, Kapoor gained recognition on the international scene during the early 1980s.

"The void is not silent. I have always thought of it more and more as a transitional space, an in-between space,” Kapoor has said.

Since the early 1980s, Kapoor has not only produced some of the most innovative work in contemporary sculpture but has also done much to re-establish certain original sculpture forms. Although he is influenced by his cultural origins, the artist continues to incorporate new ideas into his work.

Born out of spiritual reflection, Kapoor's pieces strive to give form to the vital and opposing forces, as in his series of “Shadow Prints” — full/empty, material/spiritual, light/darkness, visible/invisible, aware/unaware, male/female, land/sea. Through a visual vocabulary that incorporates color pigments in particular as well as glass fiber and stainless steel, the artist has developed an ambitious body of work in sculpture and installation that at times approaches design and architecture.

Often displayed in public spaces, Kapoor’s sculptures are striking for their apparent simplicity. Yet his work is hard to overlook and has a hold on its audiences.

Find authentic Anish Kapoor prints and other art on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Weng Contemporary – ArtXX AG)