A damaged garden pot left abandoned at a London home has sold for almost £50,000 after its owners’ grandchildren accidentally uncovered its unique history.
The ‘monumental’ 4ft pot turned out to be a ‘lost’ masterpiece by a celebrated 20th-century potter, acting as one of the biggest works ever made by Hans Coper in 1964.
The historic artist’s work been displayed in museums such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s Victoria and Albert.
The ‘avant-garde’ vessel was commissioned by a female client while Coper was teaching at the Camberwell School of Arts in south London.
She treasured it for many years until it was accidentally broken and roughly pieced back together.
In its damaged state, it was relegated to a flowerbed in the back garden of her London home where it was used as an ornamental planter.
Then, after inheriting the contents of her home, the woman’s grandchildren contacted Chiswick Auctions of west London regarding the pot which was found by expert Jo Lloyd to be sprouting weeds and covered in snails.
A damaged 4ft garden pot left abandoned at a London home has sold for almost £50,000 after it turned out to be a ‘lost’ masterpiece made by celebrated 20th-century potter Hans Coper in 1964
In its damaged state, it was relegated to a flowerbed in the back garden of a London home where it was used as an ornamental planter (pictured: the vase as it was found in the garden)
The vessel was a composite piece in two sections and when put together measures almost 4ft in height.
Due to its damaged condition, the auction house gave it a conservative estimate of between £6,000 to £10,000.
But interest in the item proved so high that it went under the hammer for £36,500. Additional fees added paid by the winning US bidder brought the overall price to £47,800.
Reflecting on the successful sale, Maxine Winning, head of design at Chiswick Auctions, said: ‘Everyone is thrilled.
‘The vendor didn’t expect the vessel to achieve its estimate so they are over the moon.
‘There was a bidding war involving a bidder from America, Denmark and a lady in the room.
‘The fact that you can sell a really damaged ceramic for that sort of price goes to prove how collectable and highly regarded Hans Coper is.’
After inheriting the contents of their grandmother’s home, the previous owner’s grandchildren contacted Chiswick Auctions of west London regarding the pot which was found by expert Jo Lloyd to be sprouting weeds and covered in snails
Due to its damaged condition, the auction house gave it a conservative estimate of between £6,000 to £10,000. But high interest meant it went under the hammer for £36,500. Additional fees brought the overall price to £47,800
Expert conservators said it could cost £8,000 to fully restore the vessel.
Recounting the moment she first visited the property and laid eyes on the extraordinary pot, Mrs Lloyd, a ceramic specialist, said: ‘We were invited to go to the property for a general house contents valuation and during this the client said there was something in the garden of interest.
‘I went out and brought it inside. From afar you couldn’t tell what it was, especially as it was covered in weeds. But it is quite distinctive in its style and the lower part has his seal on.
‘The vendor’s grandmother mixed in artistic circles. Looking at her diary, she had seen Hans Coper’s work at an exhibition and contacted him. He visited her and it went from there.
‘We don’t know what else she bought from him but she treasured this vessel until it was damaged.
‘It has been crudely repaired and a large section of the top part is completely missing.
‘It is one of the tallest works ever made by Coper. Most of his works usually range from 10cms to 40cms in height. It is in two separate parts and requires careful attention to restore it to its former glory.’
In 2018, an unsuspecting pensioner was also left shocked after their late husband’s Hans Coper vase sold at an auction in Devon for a record-breaking £381,000.
It marked the highest ever price paid for an item of modern and contemporary studio pottery at the time, a shocking realisation for the seller given that her late husband had paid just £250 for the vase in the 1970s.
The owner had left the Cooper and Rie vase abandoned in a cupboard following her husband’s death and was astounded when it was first valued at £5,000 to £6,000 by auctioneer Nic Saintey.
Reflecting on the sale of the vase, from Coper’s 1970s Cycladic series, in 2018, Mr Saintey described it as a ‘perfect storm’.
He added: ‘It was unprecedented: two very big buyers, who, from about the £50k-60k mark, were just slugging it out. Quite often you’ll get two people who are very keen for the same item but that keen? It went for 20 times the estimate’.
