Ultra China - Antique China / Fine China Query

by Rhonda-Joy VanGrafhorst

Ultra China - Antique China / Fine China Query: Hi! I am but a lay person, & try as I may- cannot find ANYTHING* on the pottery mark stamp or maker of 'ULTRA China made in England'. I gave a small Jug with Scenes similar to some done by artist`s in the 1930`s (cottage,fluffy clouds & trees ) this is so FRUSTRATING!!!obviously not 'Clarice Cliff' but similar style. Would love some advice from an expert like yourself*

Thankyou

PLEASE Help******

regards

Rhonda-Joy VanGrafhorst

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Reply by Peter (admin)

to Ultra China - Antique China / Fine China Query

Nice query from Rhonda-Joy on Ultra China. This one is a bit obscure, so it got me going a bit. Thanks.

Before I give you my answer, some general china antiquing tips:-

If you are thinking of maybe selling your stuff at sometime in the future and want to get the best possible price, I recommend you get a certified appraisal – it particularly helps on ebay where people are not able to inspect the items, and therefore have to take your word for it.

Q. “HOW do I get one of those?!!”

A. By far the quickest, easiest & cheapest way is to contact www.figurines-sculpture.com/whats-it-worth.

They have a team of enthusiastic specialist collectors and experts on hand to answer queries in detail. An appraisal only costs about a fiver (GBS), and for the cost of a couple of coffees, you will get a higher price for your wares, simply because they are certified genuine. They can authenticate your wares, give insurance valuations and also tell you what all the small artist squiggles and date marks mean.

If visitors feel like expanding their own knowledge (or want to buy a nice gift for a friend or loved one) they can also purchase a short online course at WhatsItWorth. They are the top online experts and very friendly.

With 9 queries out of 10, I can point visitors in the right direction, but I can’t value or authenticate. That's the job of an antiquarian.

The other thing budding china antiquers would benefit from is a fun and interesting ebook with all the tips and tricks of the pros called 'How To Buy & Sell Antiques For Fun & Profit'. Buy it and find out why ebooks work – much more efficient than carrying around lots of heavy books on antiquing!! Have it on your laptop and it will save you time, money and effort - and show you how to earn a few bob whilst having fun (like a mobile library).

'How To Buy & Sell Antiques For Fun & Profit'.

Check it out here:

www.figurines-sculpture.com/buy-and-sell-antiques-for-fun


Now onto the query……

Hi Rhonda-Joy

Thank you for dropping by the website. Hope you are having a fun time!

There are so many small English makers it is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack when you see an unusual name no one ever heard of.

'Ultra China' is one of those. That is the bad news. The good news is the wares of such firms are not very common and in my view should be of great interest to the speciality collector of say, Stoke-on-Trent Stafforshire wares.

The reason I say 'Staffordshire Wares' is because I believe your Ultra wares to be from a little known Staffordshire maker called Wood and Maddock. They called this pottery mark "Ultra Virified" or "Royal Ultra Vitrified".

I can't find anything on the formation of this company, but a firm called John Maddock founded 1842 in Burslem is quite a well known maker and I believe to be the "Maddock" part of Wood and Maddock. Who the 'Wood' is, I do not know. Wood is one of the most common Stoke-on-Trent pottery makers surnames and my books have page after page of different Wood or Woods.

What I think happened is that sometime in the 20th Century, J Maddock, who continued or continues to trade into the modern era (at least to 1991) formed some type of partnership with one of the Wood firms. Often in the close knit and inter-related communities of the Staffordshire pottery towns there was a mix of ownership between various firms in close proximity to one another.

Most likely it was one of the three main Burslem Woods - H J Wood, Thomas Wood or W. Wood. Anyway, this company named Wood & Maddock produced the 'Royal Ultra Vitrified' wares possibly only for a short time as evidenced by their relative rarity.

Other pottery mark by John Maddock give clues as to the connection with the Royal Ultra Vitreous stamp.

They include:

Royal Vitreous
Royal Ivory
Royal Semi-porcelain
Embassy
Ivory Ware
Maddock Ironstone China

Enjoy your rarified wares as I don't think there are too many Royal Ultra Vitreous wares around.

Bear this in mind when you come to sell them.

Best regards

Peter (admin)