An ugly mug that is badly chipped and cracked has sold for a whopping £22,000. The 4ins tall blue and white object turned out to be a rare piece of Lowestoft Porcelain that was made in the middle of the 18th century.
It was painted by Richard Phillips who illustrated it with a fisherman tending to three lines of herring. During its lifetime the mug had been dropped by a previous owner and smashed into several pieces before being crudely glued back together again.
Despite the obvious damage that occurred well over 100 years ago, the mug was described as a 'desirable' piece of Lowestoft Porcelian. Richard Phillips was an important painter and the scene he illustrated was a highly unusual subject. Only one other Lowestoft mug bearing Phillips' initials or signature is held in a museum.
It has been in the ownership of a private collector from East Anglia for many years but it has now been sold by Woolley and Wallis Auctioneers of Salisbury, Wilts. It went under the hammer for £17,000. With fees added on the overall price paid by winning bidder was £22,000.
Clare Durham, of Woolley and Wallis Auctioneers, said: "The mug is a really rare item. The decoration is nice as it is a representation of the local fishing industry which was important to the Lowestoft area. It has the name of John Cooper on and the year 1768. We do not know who he was but we must assume he worked in the fishing industry. It could be a depiction of him.
"We know the mug was last sold at auction in 1902 and it definitely had the large crack in it then. It appears to be old animal glue from well over 100 years ago. Without the damage it would probably be worth twice as much as it is but it still achieved a fantastic price for our vendor."
Lowestoft Porcelain is known for its Chinese-style blue and white colouring but some of the very early work, like this mug, used polychrome techniques.
