BERNARD MOSS (1923-2012) FOR MEVAGISSEY POTTERY
TWO HEAL'S FABRICS ADVERTISING FIGURES, DATED 1958 AND 1960
£750
Auction: 23 February 2017 at 10:00 GMT
Description
one modelled as a man riding a chicken, with nodding head, bearing inscription YES, MR BULPITT/ HEAL'S FOR FABRICS and with maker's marks to the interior MEVAGISSY POTTERY HF-60, 14.2cm high; the other modelled as a girl with outstretched arms, and bearing inscription around the base YES, MR BULPITT/ HEAL'S FABRICS ALSO CIRCULATE, and with maker's marks to the interior MOSS/ HF-58, 14cm high (2)
Footnote
Note: Born in London in 1923 Bernard Moss was descended from Russian émigrés and it was while working as a fabric designer that an acquaintance taught him how to make moulds. He moved with his family to Mevagissey in Cornwall in 1949, due to the high cost of living in London. He was approached by a local artist to produce a moulded sculpture and from this commission set up a pottery of his own. Moss made the moulds and his wife Moreen decorated them. His fascination with automata led him to experiment with moving figures - he had heard that Heals in London was a good outlet for ceramics and took an example of one of his nodding figures to sell. After some negotiation the orders grew and Heal's bought eighty or so each year as gifts for their best clients.