Wedgwood John Skeaping terracotta Jasperware trial Duiker deer by Norman Wilson, sold for £440
Norman Wilson may not be a household name, but his four-decade career at Wedgwood left a distinctive mark on 20th-century British ceramics. As Works Manager and later Joint Managing Director, Norman Wilson developed the iconic Moonstone and Ravenstone glazes that defined Wedgwood’s modernist output. Today, Norman Wilson pieces command £100 to £1,600+ at auction, with collectors particularly seeking his valuable experimental Unique Ware and valuable collaborations with designers like Keith Murray and John Skeaping.
A Potter from a pottery family
Norman Wilson (far left) escorting Princess Margaret around the Barlaston factory, 1961. Credit here
Norman Wilson was born in 1902 into a North Staffordshire pottery family. His grandfather Tom Wilson had worked with Bernard Moore, and Norman followed the family tradition when he joined Wedgwood in 1927 as Works Manager at the Etruria factory.
His career coincided with a pivotal period for Wedgwood. Working alongside Josiah Wedgwood V and designer-architect Keith Murray, he was instrumental in planning the move from Etruria to the new purpose-built Barlaston factory in the late 1930s. Wilson eventually became Joint Managing Director from 1961 to 1963.
Wedgwood scholar Robin Reilly assessed Norman Wilson’s contribution as threefold: influential design direction for tableware shapes, technical expertise that raised production standards, and leadership in training skilled managers.
Understanding Norman Wilson’s Artistry
Wedgwood model of a tiger with buck by John Skeaping, in rare light blue / brown colourway by Norman Wilson, dated 1959, sold for £170
Glaze Development
Norman Wilson’s primary technical contribution was developing new glazes suitable for modern Wedgwood production. In the 1930s, he created the Moonstone and Ravenstone glazes that became closely associated with Wedgwood’s modernist pieces.
Moonstone: A matt white glaze with a satin, eggshell finish that provided an ideal surface for Keith Murray’s geometric forms and remains valuable to collectors today.
Ravenstone: The matt black counterpart to Moonstone, complementing modernist design and highly valuable in the current market.
A group of three Unique ware Queensware vases (one footed), decorated with moonstone experimental glaze (interior) and ravenstone and moonstone glaze (exterior), impressed & printed initials
These glazes proved particularly effective on Keith Murray’s designs and John Skeaping’s animal sculptures, helping to define Wedgwood’s 1930s aesthetic.
Norman Wilson Unique Ware
Norman Wilson’s most valuable pieces come from his Unique Ware range, small-batch experimental works incorporating special recipe glazes. These pieces were produced in limited numbers and weren’t sold through Wedgwood’s standard retail channels, making them particularly valuable today.
Unique Ware combined modern glazes with traditional Wedgwood decorative techniques: agateware patterns, incised banding, and turned decoration. The range was shown at the 1936 Grafton Galleries exhibition, an important showcase for Wedgwood’s contemporary designs.
Norman Wilson experimented with various glaze effects, including flambe glazes in yellows and oranges, aventurine glazes in chocolate brown, and two-tone pieces revealing contrasting colours. These experimental pieces represent his most creative output and are the most valuable Wilson works at auction.
How to Identify Norman Wilson Wedgwood
Authentic Norman Wilson pieces bear distinctive markings:
Impressed marks: “N.W.” or “NW” stamped into the base
Factory marks: Standard Wedgwood Portland Vase mark with “Made in England”
Valuable Forms to Look For:
Animal Sculptures: Norman Wilson provided distinctive glazes for John Skeaping’s sculptural animals, bulls, deer, seals, buffalo, and kangaroos. These Wedgwood collaborative pieces are particularly valuable.
Decorative Bowls: Fluted, footed bowls in various glazes, particularly Moonstone, Ravenstone, and experimental Unique Ware finishes.
Vases: From Keith Murray’s forms in Moonstone to Norman Wilson’s experimental shapes in flambe and aventurine glazes. Pilgrim flasks in turquoise and silver are valuable collector pieces.
Tableware: The Napoleon Ivy pattern with aventurine glaze represents successful marriage of decoration and technical innovation.
Limited Editions: Commemorative pieces like the 1951 First Day Vase (edition of 25) are particularly valuable.
Current Auction Market Values
Recent auction results show valuable Norman Wilson Wedgwood achieving:
- Standard Unique Ware bowls and vases: £100-£400
- Moonstone/Ravenstone vases: £150-£550
- Animal sculptures (Skeaping designs): £170-£400
- Rare experimental pieces: £550-£1,600+
The market particularly rewards rarity (Unique Ware and experimental glazes), excellent condition, larger vases and sculptural pieces, collaborations combining Norman Wilson’s glazes with Murray or Skeaping designs, and documented provenance.
Unlike mass-produced Wedgwood Jasperware, Norman Wilson pieces were often made in limited quantities, making each appearance at auction significant.
Norman Wilson Pieces Coming to Auction
Our November 2025 auction will feature some exceptional Norman Wilson pieces, offering collectors opportunities to acquire rare and valuable works spanning his innovative career at Wedgwood. From experimental Unique Ware to classic Moonstone forms, there are over 40 lots for you to enjoy.
This is a rare Unique ware lidded Queensware bowl and cover with marbled/agate black and white glaze. It is c1960 with impressed & printed initials.
We also have a Wedgwood Stoneware studio large vase, designed and produced by Norman Wilson. In ribbed form with the exterior decorated in a tan/grey glaze, interior with an aventurine black/blue panther fur glaze. It is hand signed and dated 1949 (underglaze by Norman Wilson) to base along with factory markings.
An abstract-shaped vase, this rare Unique ware Queensware piece is decorated with dark grey/smoked experimental glaze. It is also impressed and has printed initials, along with a rare BB9A impressed marking.
This is a vibrant Unique ware Queensware footed bowl with double beaded borders and decorated with turquoise (interior) and black (exterior) glaze, again impressed and printed initials.
The final example of a rare Unique ware Queensware in this auction is a tri-footed bowl, with a ruby, black and grey crystalline glaze, c1960, with impressed and printed initials. There are many more lots of Unique ware to be seen in the catalogue.
Thinking about selling your Norman Wilson Wedgwood?
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