LONDON.- The best of British and American art pottery and glass from the late 19th and early 20th centuries will be presented in the Helen and David Milling Collection at Bonhams this December. Helen and David Milling amassed an exceptional collection over half a century from some of the most prominent and influential potters, designers, and artists of the period. More than 350 lots will be offered from the Michigan couple’s collection across three sales this December: 20th Century Decorative Arts and Ceramics on December 5 in London, Modern Decorative Art & Design on December 12 in New York and the dedicated Helen and David Milling Online auction from December 8–18 at Bonhams Skinner.

Helen and David, both with backgrounds in the arts and architecture, were interested in Arts and Crafts ceramics, Art Nouveau tiles and American iridescent shades from a young age. Following their marriage, they deepened their pursuit of collecting. With a shared love of the Art Nouveau movement and using Robert Schmutzler's book Art Nouveau (1964) as a source of inspiration, they gravitated towards vivid colors and the fantastical. They focused on English Art Nouveau tiles and American iridescent, decorated lamp shades by Tiffany Studios, Quezal, and Steuben. Eventually, they expanded their collecting practice to include Arts & Crafts designs as well as ceramics by makers such as William De Morgan (1839-1917), Walter Crane (1845-1915), and Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898) for William Morris (1834-1896). The resulting collection is an ode to the Victorian era and the culmination of a life-long commitment to acquiring high-quality works.

20th Century Decorative Arts and Ceramics in London on December 5 will feature 79 works from the collection including 'Hearing', an Important 'Senses' ceramic figural panel, circa 1900, designed by Walter Crane (British, 1845-1915) for Pilkington’s. Estimated at £8,000 – 12,000, this rare panel depicts a classical maiden cupping one ear with her hand and holding a lyre in the other. An important English illustrator, painter, and designer, Crane was the founding president of the Art Workers’ Guild and in 1888 helped begin the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Also of note in the sale is 'Alfred Ye Greate' panel, after Ford Maddox Brown, 1900 by Harold Steward Rathbone (British 1858-1929) for Della Robbia Pottery, estimated at £3,000 – 5,000. A moulded ceramic panel made in two sections, it depicts the Saxon King Alfred, painted in colors and glazed.

A mosaic panel designed by Louis C. Tiffany, circa 1890, estimated at $30,000 – 50,000, will highlight the 52 works included in Modern Decorative Art & Design on December 12 in New York. Existing examples of mosaic panels by Tiffany Studios, commissioned for specific interiors and architectural projects of the period, are rare, and a similar panel is an important part of the collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sale will also feature William De Morgan’s (1839-1917) Three-tile Frieze, circa 1890-1900, estimated at $15,000 – 25,000. Each tile depicts a fantasy bird done in the triple-lustre-glaze technique that was introduced at the Fulham factory and is an exceptional example.

Bonhams Skinner will offer over 200 lots from the collection in an online sale from December 8 – 18 highlighted by a wide range of ceramics and tiles, primarily from Victorian England and extending to American Arts and Crafts. In addition to a variety of William De Morgan tiles, works from notable design firms of the period such as Royal Doulton, Martin Brothers, Maw & Co., Pilkington, and Wedgwood are well represented. The scope of the collection speaks to Helen and David Milling’s broad interest in the design movements of the time with examples spanning from the Gothic Revival and Aesthetic Movement to Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau.