There really is only one name associated with the equine sculptures by Connoisseur of Malvern, and that is Richard Sefton. In particular his horse-and-rider sculptures truly capture the essence of the partnership between rider and steed. Originally an architect and builder, Mr. Sefton became a sculptor in the mid-1970s and launched a successful artistic career…
Although we’ve already examined many of the felines and birds that were produced so beautifully by Connoisseur, there are yet more animals to explore. They range in habitat from the wilds of Africa, to the ice floes of the Arctic, to a cozy corner of a typical home. They are arranged here in chronological order…
Although designer Christopher Ashenden is perhaps most well-known for his Connoisseur of Malvern bird sculptures, he created quite a number of wonderfully detailed felines and other animals as well. Almost all of them were limited editions. Even though some of the limited-edition examples shown below do not have wood bases, most originally did come with…
Compared to the quantity of known (to me) open-edition floral studies, the same category when it comes to the birds is much smaller: To date, I have found only twenty, and six of those are part of a single retailer-exclusive series sold only at Neiman-Marcus stores in the USA. There may, of course, be a…
Few Connoisseur of Malvern designs have such a convoluted life history as their cowboy astride a bucking bronco. There are six known iterations of the Connoisseur piece but only one of those was created by the original Connoisseur of Malvern studio owned by Diane and Terry Lewis. #1: The Original by Connoisseur of Malvern (1993)…
Here is a veritable aviary of limited-edition porcelain bird studies by Connoisseur of Malvern. Most were sculpted by Christopher Ashenden, although there are a few exceptions. The only limited editions not included here are the ones previously shown in my overview of their Raptors, Parrots and Water Birds. I have sorted these by introduction/issue year…
My overview of Connoisseur of Malvern’s porcelain bird studies will be divided into three posts, this first one focusing on the categories that I personally consider to be the most magnificent of their ‘birds’ genre. The incredibly talented sculptor Christopher Ashenden designed almost all of Connoisseur’s birds as well as most of their animals. RAPTORS…
The most frustrating thing about trying to catalogue the ‘open’ editions from Connoisseur is that their backstamps (unlike those on the limited editions) don’t always include the issue/introduction year. For example, if you didn’t happen to know – from a price list or other dated Connoisseur advertising – that the Azalea Blossom was part of…
The Chatsworth Lady 