TRENDSPOTTER – Rare Minton Majolica Fountain set to make waves at the Fine Sale

One of the standout lots in The Fine Sale on 25th June is an exceptionally rare Minton majolica fountain with a remarkable political provenance. Purchased at the contents sale of former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's home in 1941, the piece returns to the market for the first time in more than 85 years.

Originally designed in 1858 by architect and sculptor John Thomas in collaboration with Prince Albert, the fountain was created for the Royal Dairy at Frogmore, part of the Windsor estate. Manufactured by Minton, it was widely admired at the time, with the Illustrated London News describing it as "a perfect gem of taste and art."

Lot 513, to be offered in The Fine Sale on 25th June.

The design would later form part of Minton's celebrated Saint George and the Dragon fountain, created for the London International Exhibition of 1862. Standing an impressive 39 feet high, the monumental structure featured a sculpture of St George slaying the dragon, supported by four winged figures holding laurel wreath crowns. Beneath these were alternating groups of griffins and lions carrying heraldic shields, while the lower section incorporated four fish-tailed figures kneeling in shells held aloft by herons – a design element adapted directly from the original Frogmore fountain.

Following the exhibition's closure in 1863, the fountain was gifted by Minton to the South Kensington Museum before later being relocated to Kensington Horticultural Gardens and subsequently to the Bethnal Green Museum Department of Science and Art in 1872.

Despite its acclaim, the fountain gradually fell into disrepair. By the 1920s it was deemed beyond restoration, with even Queen Mary reportedly considering it an eyesore. In 1926, the structure was dismantled, with only a handful of elements surviving. The four heron sculptures were sold separately, while the remainder of the fountain was destroyed.

Examples from related Minton exhibition fountains are now exceptionally scarce. One comparable heron sculpture from a fountain created for the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition sold at auction in New York in 2009, while another remains in the collection of Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery.

Now offered as Lot 513 by a Cambridge-based private collector, this surviving section represents a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of Victorian design history.

Majolica has always had a particularly strong following among collectors, especially with the American market. The rarity of this piece, combined with its fresh-to-market status, should position it strongly at auction, particularly given the continued interest from collectors in exceptional majolica examples

The fountain carries a pre-sale estimate of £3,000–£5,000.

To view the full catalogue for The Fine Sale, click here.