NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle is honored to present the landmark auctions of The Joan Stacke Graham Majolica Collection. The late Joan Stacke Graham was a preeminent expert in the field of majolica – the brilliantly hued ceramics that filled the hearts and homes of Victorian collectors. This important and extensive collection will be offered in two sessions with Part I taking place on Tuesday, December 14 at 2pm. Part II will take place in Fall 2022.
As we prepared the collection for auction, everyone involved was charmed by the objects. We wanted to share our passion for Joan Stacke Graham’s collection and have gathered favorites from just some of the many talented people at Doyle working to bring these sales to the floor. Here they are in conversation with Specialist Jenny Pitman:
Collin Albertsson, SVP/Director, Florida Operations
Lot 1006. George Jones Sea and Sky Cheese Keeper. View Lot
Jenny: Collin, we were so excited to show off our majolica highlights in Doyle’s new Palm Beach gallery on Brazilian Avenue. As a native Floridian, we thought you’d love this collection.
Collin: It’s absolutely true, I do. The Graham Collection is so fun! Before these pieces arrived in Palm Beach, I wasn’t as familiar with the variety of forms and designs of majolica. I’ve grown to love the colorful exuberance and naturalism. It’s an ideal look for Florida.
My favorite is the marine-themed cheese dome because it captures that beachy feeling so well – the undersea view of fish and creeping crustaceans, the movement of the water, the circling and diving seagulls, and the whelk shell finial. While it’s intended to hold a generous stilton, I’ve no doubt the real purpose of these domes was to command attention on the Victorian sideboard - something it still does today, most beautifully.
Laura Doyle, CEO
Lot 1002. Minton Shell Flower Holder. View Lot
Jenny: Laura, you picked the shell flower holders. Could you tell us why?
Laura: I have two of the shell flower holders similar to lot 1002 that were a gift from my Mom. I like to use them for table decorations along with a couple of majolica shell-form and coral vases and Raynaud coral plates. I don’t put flowers in them so they can be a last-minute addition if I haven’t bought flowers. They are also useful because they have a narrow footprint on a long table. Mine aren’t a pair but are similar and it is fun to be able to have that variety – perfectly imperfect.
Malcolm Mac Neil, VP/Director, 19th & 20th Century Decorative Arts
Lot 1144. George Jones “Mr. Punch” Bowl. View Lot
Lot 1010. Mintons ‘Fish Dish' and Cover. View Lot
Jenny: As the Specialist for this sale, Malcolm, you’ve been involved with the Graham Collection from Day 1. Having closely worked with every piece in the collection, is your favorite piece now the same one as when you began working on the project?
Malcolm: An early favorite of mine was the punning Mr. Punch bowl by George Jones, a leading majolica firm known for a sense of humor in its designs. The holly-clad punch bowl, festively decorated for the holiday 
season, is supported by a figure of Mr. Punch. It’s the last lot in the sale, and perfect timing for finding a new home before the holidays.
My current favorite is Mintons large ‘Fish Dish and Cover’. It appeals to me on many levels. It is certainly decorative, beautiful and utilitarian, but it is also imbued with a pleasurable sense of entertainment, excitement and whimsy. The cover is formed as a naturalistic amber colored carp with a sliced lemon-form knop that sits above a bed of green reeds. It is truly a feast for the eyes. The high degree of naturalism of the fish makes it appear quite real; it brings to my mind the illusionary technique in art called trompe l’oeil (to trick the eye).
I can also imagine the precise moment when the host presented this fish dish and cover to the guests and then lifted the cover to make the dramatic ‘big reveal’ of the flavorfully prepared fish inside. One can only hope the real fish compared favorably to its majolica cousin.
Jocel Delosreyes, Art Handler
Lot 1062. Mintons Hunt Themed Ice Stand. View Lot
Jenny: Jocel, you’ve been the art handler on this project, ensuring that everything is safely packed and accounted for. You’ve got a big job ahead of you, setting up the preview for December 11th. What makes the hunt-themed ice stand your favorite piece?
Jocel: It caught my eye because it was front and center in Mrs. Graham’s apartment. It is decorated as part of a hunting scene, with stag heads and fox heads and pelts. The base includes multiple compartments that you could fill with whatever you choose – Mrs. Graham had it filled with fruit.
Sebastian Clarke, SVP/Director, English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts
Lot 1023. Mintons Garden Seat. View Lot
Jenny: Sebastian, your favorite is one of the many garden seats in the sale. Why did you pick this one out of the dozen or so examples in the collection?
Sebastian: I love the motif of neoclassical plumes and I’m struck by the use of classical elements on majolica, which is more typically decorated with naturalistic or whimsical designs. The polychrome palette of turquoise, pinks and greens is spot on for the genre.
As to the many garden seats in the collection, it was a popular form during the Victorian era, where majolica made for the conservatory ran a close second to majolica for the dining room. Brightly colored ceramic seats and garden pots were impervious to fading and rotting, and were ideal for the temperate climate of the conservatory. And, judging by the reception to the garden seats we’ve had on view in Palm Beach, I’m not the only one who thinks they’re great.
Hisao Oka, Director of Photography
F. Gomes D'Avellar Portuguese Palissy Ware.
To be offered Fall 2022.
Jenny: Hisao, as the photographer for the Graham collection, you logged 7 days shooting the ceramics in Part I and Part II, so you’ve got a pretty intimate grasp of the collection. You picked as your favorite the Palissy dishes, which will be sold in Part II. They are based on the 16th century ceramics of Bernard Palissy, whose amazing studies in nature were cast from real-life specimens. What attracted you to these pieces?
Hisao: I was attracted to their dark and slick nature – so much majolica is decorated in brilliant hues – but these works are my kind of thing because they are not “pretty” in the traditional sense. I’m drawn to the depth of the pieces, with their highly realistic rendering of small creatures, snakes and insects set against the mossy ground. It’s like you’re peering into the water at the edge of a pond or looking down at the forest floor and discovering a wonderful world of “unlovely” creatures.
Jenny Pitman, Business Development/Connecticut Regional Advisor
Lot 1047. Mintons Covered Cheese Dish. View Lot
As the project coordinator for this sale, I, too, have been involved since Day 1. It’s been a delight to work with the Graham family to bring Joan Stacke Graham’s encyclopedic collection to auction and to learn how beloved Joan was within the community of majolica collectors.
Without a doubt my favorite is the Mintons oval cheese dish, which depicts mice burrowing into the cheese round, some head-first, others tail-first, while a standing, nibbling mouse serves as the cover handle. What a sense of humor those Victorians had.
David Warga, Traffic Coordinator
Lot 1084. Minton Gothic Revival Match Box Cover. View Lot
Jenny: David you’ve been responsible for making sure that the images for this sale were processed for our catalog – 1,901 of them in Part I alone. Like Hisao, you’ve really been taking a deep dive into the collection. I understand your favorite is one of Minton’s neo-gothic creations.
David: I absolutely loved the match box molded with a Medieval knight lying in state. I’ve always loved Arthurian tales and the like. As it so happens, I also love Coleridge, and this piece has a very cool inscription based on one of his works: "The knights are dust, and their good swords are rust - their soul are with their saints, we trust!"
Nancy Ramos, Graphic Designer/Digital Marketing Coordinator
Lot 1132. Continental Wizard Owl Jar and Cover. View Lot
Jenny: Nancy, you’re responsible for the graphic design for this sale on the Doyle website and digital marketing. I know your favorite, because it keeps appearing in all our digital assets. So, it's time to share with everyone else!
Nancy: My favorite lot is the Continental Majolica Wizard Owl Jar and Cover. This piece really made me understand the appeal and the joy of majolica. The whimsical details (from the funnel hat to the little book of magic clutched in the owl’s hands) paint such a vivid picture of the world a character like this would live in. The care and love the modeler put into the details of the folds of the robes, the little mop of curled feathers and the wonderful construction of his ruff collar add a level of depth I didn’t expect. And I can hide cookies in it! What’s not to love?
Kathy Doyle, Chairman
Lot 1016. George Jones Pelican Sardine Box. View Lot
Jenny: Laura Doyle tells me that you’re a long-time majolica collector and I’ve been dying to ask you about Doyle’s James Beard sale in 1985, which had some great majolica pieces. Joan Stacke Graham bought majolica from that sale and kept a marked copy of the auction catalogue.
Kathy: I wish I had bought more at the James Beard sale! I have a wonderful lettuce leaf serving plate with a rabbit perched on top, a cauliflower soup tureen, an epergne, and a set of salad plates.
My favorite piece in the Graham sale is the pelican sardine box, because it’s both humorous and decorative. It’s hard to grasp the Victorians' intense passion for sardines when they were served as part of the soup course, a cold hors d’oeuvre before the fish course, or even a complement to a family tea! For sardine lovers, we have 11 sardine boxes to choose from across the two Graham sales, and for those otherwise inclined, they also make the most charming trinket boxes.
The Joan Stacke Graham Majolica Collection: Part I
Auction Tuesday, December 14 at 2pm
Exhibition December 11-3
