IMITATIONS
FAKES
It has come to our attention that Keith Murray fakes have begun to appear in the UK. The ceramics are believed to be coming from the USA although the definate origins of manufacture are not known. We do not have any photographs of these items so please be extra cautious when buying, especially if you are spending a lot of hard earned cash on a piece. If you are worried about buying over the internet, we recommend buying from reputable dealers or auctioneers.
We have, in our years of collecting, come across 'Annular' wares which have had the 'KM' initials added to the Wedgwood back-stamp. Annular ware does not normally carry these initials, though there may be a few exceptions.
REPRODUCTIONS
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Wedgwood reproduced a small number of shapes in the latter part of the 20th century. Shown here is a powder bowl (shape 4113) with a matt green glaze from the 1930's in earthenware, carrying the full signature backstamp. On the right is a later, bone china powder bowl with a design called 'Clementine' applied to it. | |
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| 'Clementine' was also used on candlesticks (shape 4108) designed by Keith alongside other modern shapes. The later bone china wares do not carry any Keith Murray backstamp and are clearly marked Wedgwood 'Clementine'. |
DESIGN SIMILARITIES
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You
could easily be forgiven for thinking that these vases and bowls were designed by Keith
Murray. In fact, they were designed by a man called Ernie Shufflebottom. Ernie is believed
to have worked for Wedgwood, under Keith Murray . After leaving the factory he
returned to New Zealand to work for Crown Lynn, where these pieces were made. Shufflebottom was obviously greatly inspired by Murrays' shapes and the techniques used in their production. |
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Photos & info courtesy of 'Style Junkies'. http://members.tripod.com/~stylejunkies/ |
All of these pieces have the same characteristic, lathe turned bands cut into the pottery that Murrays' designs have. Some of the vases are so similar it can be hard to distinguish one from the other. One very definite difference is that the Crown Lynn pieces are lighter in weight than Murray's, relatively speaking. The pieces are usually marked 'Crown Lynn' on the underside. |
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Sylvac
produced vases which were almost identical in size and shape to the 'Ridge' vase (shape
3765) designed by Keith Murray. Photographed here are two examples of Sylvac, one with a
stylised foliate design, the other with a mottled drippy glaze. The white vase (top left)
is an original Keith Murray moonstone vase. Copeland Spode also produced a very similar vase to the ridge vase. The foot and body shape are similar although it does not have the cylindrical neck that the Wedgwood vase has. Photographs courtesy of Greg Stevenson |
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This lamp base was made by Poole pottery and is very similar in style to the two-tone slipware's designed by Murray. This example has been made using the same technique of using two different coloured clay slips. The the top, turquoise, layer has been lathe cut through to the white slip layer. |
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A Beaker in a
matt white glaze produced by Langley showing turned grooves on the lower portion of the
body, characteristic of Murrays designs. Photograph courtesy of Greg Stephenson |
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A vase produced by Copeland Spode during the 1930's. Very similar in style to Keith Murray's designs. The turning on this piece is also much like that on the 'Annular' wares designed by John Goodwin and Tom Wedgwood. The glaze is in a matt cream colour and the base clearly marked with a Spode backstamp. |
IMITATIONS |
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