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…
Because this particular section of my site is intended as a reference source for Connoisseur of Malvern porcelain, it seems appropriate to create an index. It will be continuously updated as new images and/or sculpture data are discovered and added. Unlike the other studios profiled in my ‘Lost Porcelain Studios’ series, I will be including…
Having looked at their roses, orchids, and flower baskets in separate posts, the remaining Connoisseur of Malvern floral studies can be separated into limited and non-limited editions. Here are the known (to me; more will be added as I obtain photos of them) limited editions florals produced by the original 1980-1994 Connoisseur of Malvern studio.…
The Connoisseur studio created a marvelous group of porcelain studies focusing on butterflies; in fact, one series was called Butterflies of the World and was produced in collaboration with the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Brimstone with Bluebells at 10″ high, was a limited edition of 200 in 1980. It is said…
