Wolcottville, IN, USA, July 23, 2023 — The first of three auctions dedicated to the outstanding majolica collection of Ed Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) will be held on Wednesday, August 23rd, online and live in the Holiday Inn ballroom at 1750 Sumneytown Pike in Kulpsville, Pa. The auction will begin at 10 am Eastern time.
Two more auctions will follow, with dates to be determined. The initial sale will be held by Strawser Auction Group, based in Wolcottville, Ind. The Flowers purchased many majolica pieces at Strawser sales. The collection in its entirety comprises over six hundred pieces in all, each one carefully chosen for beauty, rarity and condition.
The August 23rd auction will feature 185 lots, by many of the finest names in all of majolica: Minton, George Jones, Holdcroft, Wedgwood, Hugo Lonitz, Palissy, Massier, T. C. Brown – Westhead Moore & Company, Copelands and others. For those unable to attend in person, online bidding will be via LiveAuctioneers.com.
Two of the pieces in the auction lineup could easily take top lot honors. The first is an iconic Minton Majolica cobalt teapot, modeled as a flat iron with a frieze of mice to the sides and a large white cat wrapped around the handle looking down at a mouse holding a carrot to form the handle of the lid, 7 ½ inches tall. It should hammer for $20,000-$25,000.
The second is a rare and monumental Hugo Lonitz majolica model of a hawk, created around 1875, with glass eyes, perched on a rocky ground with ferns and branches on an entwined branch base, 24 inches in height. The only other known example was sold at Christie’s in New York in 2011; it realized $56,250. The one in the auction has an estimate of $20,000-$25,000.
To learn more about the Strawser Auction Group and the first of three auctions dedicated to the outstanding majolica collection of Ed Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) slated for Wednesday, August 23rd, please visit www.strawserauctions.com.
