A rare 260-year-old plate which lay hidden for decades is for sale and could fetch over £20,000.
The porcelain piece, dating from 1766, was found carefully wrapped in wool in a wooden tea chest, hidden out of sight.
It was part of a collection assembled by late clothes designer Annemarie Lobbenberg and was packed away following her death in 1971.
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It lay completely untouched until it came to light just a few months ago in Oswestry, Shrops.
It is considered a rare gem within the collection, as it is from a renowned factory in Lowestoft, Suffolk, which was one of the most important porcelain manufacturers of its time.
It was celebrated for its documentary wares – objects that carry personal inscriptions recording moments of everyday life directly onto the porcelain.
The plate for sale has a hand-inscribed message that was also formally recorded in ceramic scholarship.
It belongs to a select group that combines personal historical testimony with established academic recognition, as reported by What’s The Jam.
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Its listing says: “Such pieces are exceptionally scarce, as very few objects survive that both speak directly from the eighteenth century and have been securely anchored within the scholarly record.
“Painted in underglaze blue with a flowering auricula, the reverse bears the dedication, ‘Charles Ward… July the 5 1766’ framed by symbolic motifs including a bird, cross, heart and scrolling initials.
“Measuring 22.7 cm in diameter, the plate is visually captivating and of outstanding historical importance, offering a rare convergence of personal history, artistic excellence and academic significance.
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“It last appeared on the open market in 1968, when it was purchased at Sotheby’s by Annemarie.
“Czech Republic-born Annemarie and her German husband Hans Lobbenberg fled to England from Nazi occupied Germany in 1938.
“They set up a corsetry factory and settled in Shropshire, England.
“As a former art student she became the head of the firm’s design department.
“Throughout her life, she developed a passionate interest in British 18th century ceramics, guided by what contemporaries described as “a keen eye for the unusual and aesthetically pleasing.”
“On her death in 1971, her collection was carefully packed away by her family, where it remained forgotten for more than five decades.”
Expert John Axford, said: “It is a great pleasure to be offering for sale a collection that has remained hidden for 57 years.
“Finds of this quality, with such clear provenance and scholarly importance, are exceptionally rare.”
The plate carries a pre-sale estimate of £10,000 to £20,000.
It is being auctioned by Woolley and Wallis, at Salisbury, Wilts on 22 January.
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