Rare Wemyss Ware Trays — History, Prices & Collections
These three auctions refer to the same model of Wemyss Ware comb tray, produced around 1900 at the Robert Heron & Son factory in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.
🔹 The 2012 piece → exceptional, attributed to painter Karel Nekola, featuring the luxury retailer mark T. Goode & Co. London and confirmed to have been exhibited in 1971.
🔹 The 2020 piece → very similar, but without the T. Goode & Co. mark and no mention of Nekola or the exhibition, which indicates it comes from a different production batch.
🔹 The 2024 piece → again attributed to Karel Nekola, featuring T. Goode & Co. and reference to the exhibition — most likely the same piece sold in 2012, later entering George Bellamy’s collection after 12 years.
All these trays are extremely rare, highly collectible, and greatly valued on the antique market.
Prices have remained consistently high: from £1,875 in 2020 to £2,016 in 2024.
Image courtesy of Lyon & Turnbull Auctioneers (Edinburgh, Scotland).
https://www.lyonandturnbull.com/
1.Auction — 18 April 2012 — Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh
Lot: 40 (Decorative Arts)
Description: A rare Wemyss Ware comb tray, dated around 1900. Hand-painted ceramic with the Three Wise Monkeys motif — one sitting in the tree (“I see no evil”) and two below (“I hear no evil”, “I speak no evil”).
Decorator: Karel Nekola, a renowned painter associated with the Wemyss Ware factory.
Marks: Impressed “WEMYSS” mark on the underside, along with the hand-painted retailer’s mark “T. Goode & Co. London” (luxury London ceramics retailer).
Dimensions: approx. 26 × 21 cm
Sale Price: £2,000 ≈ €2,300 (2012)
Exhibition: This model was exhibited at the Scottish Arts Council “Wemyss Ware” Exhibition (18 September – 10 October 1971, catalogue no. 149).
2.Auction — 12 August 2020 — Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh
Lot: 127 (Scottish Works of Art & Whisky)
Description: A rare example of a Wemyss Ware comb tray, dated around 1900. Hand-painted ceramic with the Three Wise Monkeys motif in the same arrangement: one sitting in the tree (“I see no evil”), two below (“I hear no evil”, “I speak no evil”).
Marks: Impressed “WEMYSS” mark on the underside.
Dimensions: approx. 25.5 cm width
Sale Price: £1,875 ≈ €2,100 (2020)
Notes: No information about Karel Nekola, T. Goode & Co., or the 1971 exhibition, suggesting that this is a different piece from the one sold in 2012.
3.Auction — 20 August 2024 — Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh
Lot: 49 (Scottish Works of Art & Whisky)
Description: Another example of the same Wemyss Ware comb tray model, dated around 1900. Hand-painted ceramic featuring the Three Wise Monkeys motif.
Decorator: Karel Nekola (confirmed in the catalogue).
Marks: Impressed “WEMYSS” mark on the underside, along with the hand-painted retailer’s mark “T. Goode & Co. London”.
Dimensions: approx. 26 cm width
Sale Price: £2,016 ≈ €2,300–2,400 (2024)
Provenance: From the collection of George Bellamy (The George Bellamy Collection of Scottish Wemyss Ware).
Exhibition: This piece, or an identical model, was exhibited at the Scottish Arts Council “Wemyss Ware” Exhibition in 1971.
For sharing the photos and information about the Wemyss Ware auctions.
Thanks to contributions like yours, our collection keeps growing, and our knowledge of the Three Wise Monkeys becomes even richer!
