The names of Plichta and Wemyss are commonly and often mistakenly
associated and confused. Hopefully the following notes will help
clear up some of the inconsistencies and anomalies that are common.
•
Wemyss was a Scottish pottery producing rare, collectable pottery
until its closure in 1930.
•
Jan Plichta was a wholesale china retailer in London between 1930
and the late 1950's.
Wemyss
(pronounced Weems) pottery has for a long time had a tradition
for producing rare and highly collectable pottery. Prices in the
thousands are not uncommon and a Wemyss cat sold in recent years
at auction for over £12,000.The Fife Pottery of Kirkcaldy
in Scotland started about 1820 as Robert Heron & Son, producing
creamware articles and subsequently used the name of Wemyss Ware
in honour of the family from the nearby Wemyss Castle. Artists
were brought from central Europe in the mid-1880's and the name
of Karel Nekola became synonymous with the Wemyss style of decoration
for the next 33 years.
Wemyss ware was sold exclusively by Thomas Goode of Mayfair, London.Following
the Depression of the 1920's the pottery failed and in 1930 the
Bovey
Pottery
in Devon bought the rights to produce Wemyss ware and employed
Karel Nekola's son, Joseph, as their painter. Distinguishing between
wares from the Fife and Bovey potteries is difficult but experts
can tell from the colouration.
The following photographs are all of Plichta piggy banks - as
yet we do not have a Wemyss!
