Vintage View: Jazz age collectibles

Here are just three areas to explore that are well within a modest budget. The first, Keith Murray (1892-1981), was a New Zealand architect who also tried his hand at ceramic and glass design. His work in pottery, glass and metalware with Wedgewood & Co, was some of the most influential of the 1930s and 40s. His tankards, bowls, vases and tableware are so starkly contemporary, it’s hard to believe they are the better part of 80 years old. Murray’s ceramics are prized for their colours, flat matt glazes in green, blue, black, straw and a gorgeous stone white termed Moonstone.
They are plain in colour with just a simple incised decoration of a few scored lines, so sit perfectly with an early 20th century collection or in a brand new home. A Keith Murray tankard with its Arts & Crafts cosiness, signed by the artist in any colour and in perfect condition is a great place to start and will set you back around €100. Move onto his cylindrical vases w in good condition around and they’ll cost around €200 -€300 depending on colour.