To my regret, I never got to meet Murray Pollinger in person. Yet I consider myself fortunate that my life has been enriched by him in recent years. It all started when I first tried to find out more about early 19th-century porcelain by Samuel Alcock. I kept coming across it, but could find no documentation and I noticed that many pieces were misidentified. The pattern numbers made no sense and virtually nothing was marked.
Where to begin? I asked around, and I heard on the grapevine about a gentleman in Norfolk with a large, meticulously researched collection. Rumour had it there was no plan to publish his work. Keen to meet him, I tried in vain to discover his name, before abandoning my search in late 2022. Merely three weeks later, I received a phone call from someone seeking assistance with a large porcelain collection amassed by her father, Murray Pollinger, who had recently passed away. I asked some questions, and immediately knew that the elusive Norfolk collector had come to find me posthumously.
This was to be the start of many trips to Norfolk over the course of the following year. I stayed with Murray's daughter and her family in the large family home, and they were not only the gateway to this important collection, but also quickly became close friends. By spending long weekends photographing the porcelain as Murray had left it, and delving into his copious notes, the collection and the painstaking research behind it came to life - as did the man himself.
So who was Murray Pollinger? Ask anyone who knew him and you get the same answer: 'a true gentleman'. Getting to know his family, I understood this was not just a superficial description; Murray really was a gentleman in the full sense of the word.
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Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Homes & Antiques.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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48 hours in FUNCHAL
Jenny Oldaker discovers Madeira's capital to be an elegant, artistic place with wide open spaces, verdant beauty spots and a picture-perfect sea-facing location...
LUKE HONEY'S Enthusiasms
On an autumn day in 1783, a sheep, a duck, and a rooster became the first living creatures to fly in a hot air balloon.
Collecting NUTCRACKERS
Not just for Christmas, these nostalgic keepsakes come in an abundance of novelty shapes and styles, offering character and affordability for budding collectors
WHY I COLLECT Medals
Oliver Miller, managing director of Bishop & Miller Auctioneers and Valuers, is fascinated by medals - for him it's all about the preservation of stories for future generations...
Fashionably CURATED
Roni Lang's home in Deal, situated above her clothing store, is every bit as creative and stylish as you'd expect from a fashion designer
Work life balance
Lucy and Guy Rutter - a ceramicist and artist respectively - have found the ideal place to live and work: a Victorian property in Faversham attached to a once-neglected studio...
Farm FUSION
A farmhouse near Cape Town has been given a rustic-meets-industrial makeover, using found materials and objects, as well as treasures brought back from afar
SAVVY Sophistication
Affordable and intriguing charity shop and eBay finds are teamed with statement pieces in this impressive Victorian home in West Yorkshire
DARREN APPIAGYEI
The wood artist talks to Dominique Corlett about seed pods, creative reinvention and the life-enhancing feeling of turning a lathe
Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS
From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place