Press Release

Wolcottville, IN, USA, July 31, 2024 -- The third and final auction dedicated to the outstanding majolica collection of Edward Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) will be held on Tuesday, August 20th, beginning at 10 am Eastern time, online and live at the Strawser Auction Group gallery located at 200 North Main in Wolcottville, Ind.

The auction catalog in its entirety with all 235 lots has been posted online, at LiveAuctioneers.com. To view click here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/335107_flower-majolica-auction-3/?page=1&sort=lotNumber

“We’re honored that the Flower family has continued this important auction with us,” said Michael Strawser of Strawser Auction Group, which was chosen to handle all three sales. “Ed and Marilyn were longtime customers who had attended our auctions since the mid-1990s.”

The first auction, held on August 23rd of last year, was a huge success. Top lots included two majolica creations by the French artist Charles-Jean Avisseau that sold for a combined $71,340, and a pair of majolica pieces by George Jones that together brought $57,455.

The second auction was just as successful, with top achievers that included a circa 1875 Minton tete-a-tete tea set in the chinoiserie taste and one of only three sets known ($30,750); and a very rare George Jones junk teapot, circa 1875, 8 1/43 inches tall, one of only a few known ($29,520).

As in both prior auctions, the Part 3 sale will feature many of the finest names in all of majolica production: Minton, George Jones, Holdcroft, Wedgwood, Hugo Lonitz, Palissy, Massier, T.C. Brown Westhead Moore & Co., Copelands and others – 223 lots in all. The collection comprises over 600 pieces, each one carefully chosen for its beauty, rarity, condition and value.

A strong candidate for top lot of the auction is an iconic Minton majolica vulture and snake teapot and cover, circa 1874, designed by Henry Hope Crealock, modeled as a vulture fighting a python, the raptor with a pink neck and head battling the struggling green serpent on a rocky base, 10 inches tall (est. $20,000-$25,000).

A rare and important George Jones majolica centerpiece, 14 inches tall, modeled as a giraffe and a stag eating from a tree beneath a large bowl, emerging from a small burrow, all upon a circular earthy ground pedestal base, one of only two known and arguably the most desired George Jones piece, should hammer for $12,000-$15,000.

An iconic circa 1875 George Jones majolica full nest game tureen with a hen and her chicks atop a bed of leaves and ferns as the cover, the base with rabbits in a meadow, and branch handles with oak leaves and acorns, 14 inches long by 9 inches tall, with a repair made to one of the three chicks, is estimated at $12,000-$15,000.

A large, circa 1875 Minton majolica carp tureen, the cover formed as a large carp with a lemon forming the handle, the oval base with a border scattered with weed, is 7 inches in height and 23 inches long. It has a pre-sale estimate of $8,000-$12,000.

An 18 ¾ inch by 16 inch Charles Avisseau majolica Palissy Art of the Earth dish, circa 1865, the oval basin profusely covered in fauna, leaves, lizards, snails, a frog, a large fish and crayfish, plus a pike to the center, should realize $8,000-$12,000.

To learn more about the Strawser Auction Group and the third and final auction dedicated to the majolica collection of Edward Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) on Tuesday, August 20th, visit www.strawserauctions.com. To view a flip-booklet for the auction, click here: https://flipbooklets.com/pdfflipbooklets/flower-auction-august-2024#page1

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