David Battie

Last updated

David Battie

Born
David Anthony Battie

(1942-10-22) 22 October 1942 (age 81)
England
Occupations
  • Antiques expert
  • Director at Sotheby's auction house (1965–1999)
  • Writer/editor
  • former TV presenter (Antiques Roadshow (1977–2020)
  • Public lecturer
Years active?–2020 (retired)
Known forExpert on ceramics, specialising in oriental works
Television Antiques Roadshow

David Battie FRSA (born 22 October 1942) is a British retired expert on ceramics, specialising in Japanese and Chinese artefacts. [1]

Contents

Career

After attending art school, where he studied graphic design, Battie worked for Reader's Digest magazine for three years. [2] In 1965, he joined the auction house Sotheby's. He worked in the Departments of Ceramics and Oriental Works of Art and was appointed a director in 1976. He retired from Sotheby's in 1999.

After leaving Sotheby's, he became editor of Masterpiece magazine and has written many books on pottery and porcelain. He also undertakes public speaking. [3]

He is probably best known for his many appearances on the long-running BBC television program Antiques Roadshow , in which he appeared for 43 years, from the first series in 1977 until his retirement in 2020.

Personal life

In 2012, whilst travelling to Norwich to give a talk, Battie broke his leg after a simple fall. He was in hospital in Brighton for six months, and subsequently suffered an infection which was resistant to treatment by all antibiotics. He underwent upwards of eight operations, including four skin grafts, of which three failed.

Battie suffers from the genetic disorder haemochromatosis and has also developed Type 2 diabetes. [4] He is an ambassador for the charity Antibiotic Research UK. [5]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>Antiques Roadshow</i> British television programme

Antiques Roadshow is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979, based on a 1977 documentary programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft-paste porcelain</span> Porcelain material consisting of clay and other materials

Soft-paste porcelain is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either its high firing temperatures or special mineral ingredients. There are many types, using a range of materials. The material originated in the attempts by many European potters to replicate hard-paste Chinese export porcelain, especially in the 18th century, and the best versions match hard-paste in whiteness and translucency, but not in strength. But the look and feel of the material can be highly attractive, and it can take painted decoration very well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biscuit porcelain</span> Unglazed white porcelain

Biscuit porcelain, bisque porcelain or bisque is unglazed, white porcelain treated as a final product, with a matte appearance and texture to the touch. It has been widely used in European pottery, mainly for sculptural and decorative objects that are not tableware and so do not need a glaze for protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transfer printing</span>

Transfer printing is a method of decorating pottery or other materials using an engraved copper or steel plate from which a monochrome print on paper is taken which is then transferred by pressing onto the ceramic piece. Pottery decorated using this technique is known as transferware or transfer ware.

Eric Knowles FRSA is a British antiquarian and television personality, whose main interests are in ceramics and glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mintons</span> English pottery company (1793–2005)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capodimonte porcelain</span>

Capodimonte porcelain is porcelain created by the Capodimonte porcelain manufactory, which operated in Naples, Italy, between 1743 and 1759. Capodimonte is the most outstanding factory for early Italian porcelain, the Doccia porcelain of Florence being the other main Italian factory. Capodimonte is most famous for its moulded figurines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nantgarw China Works</span>

The Nantgarw China Works was a porcelain factory, later making other types of pottery, located in Nantgarw on the eastern bank of the Glamorganshire Canal, 8 miles (13 km) north of Cardiff in the River Taff valley, Glamorganshire, Wales. The factory made porcelain of very high quality, especially in the years from 1813–1814 and 1817–1820. Porcelain produced by Nantgarw was extremely white and translucent, and was given overglaze decoration of high quality, mostly in London or elsewhere rather than at the factory. The wares were expensive, and mostly distributed through the London dealers. Plates were much the most common shapes made, and the decoration was typically of garlands of flowers in a profusion of colours, the speciality of the founder, William Billingsley. With Swansea porcelain, Nantgarw was one of the last factories to make soft-paste porcelain, when English factories had switched to bone china, and continental and Asian ones continued to make hard-paste porcelain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Billingsley (artist)</span> English painter

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Alsop Robineau</span> American potter

Adelaide Alsop Robineau (1865–1929) was an American china painter and potter, and is considered one of the top ceramists of American art pottery in her era.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art pottery</span> Pottery produced by artists emphasizing artistic rather than practical value

Art pottery is a term for pottery with artistic aspirations, made in relatively small quantities, mostly between about 1870 and 1930. Typically, sets of the usual tableware items are excluded from the term; instead the objects produced are mostly decorative vessels such as vases, jugs, bowls and the like which are sold singly. The term originated in the later 19th century, and is usually used only for pottery produced from that period onwards. It tends to be used for ceramics produced in factory conditions, but in relatively small quantities, using skilled workers, with at the least close supervision by a designer or some sort of artistic director. Studio pottery is a step up, supposed to be produced in even smaller quantities, with the hands-on participation of an artist-potter, who often performs all or most of the production stages. But the use of both terms can be elastic. Ceramic art is often a much wider term, covering all pottery that comes within the scope of art history, but "ceramic artist" is often used for hands-on artist potters in studio pottery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Atterbury</span> British antiques expert

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sandon</span> British expert on ceramics and glass

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rouen porcelain</span> 17th century porcelain from Rouen, France

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalport porcelain</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vezzi porcelain</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet cup</span> Richly decorated porcelain for display not use

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References

  1. "David Battie, Esq". Debrett's People of Today . Debrett's, UK. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  2. "David Battie". tv-celebrity.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  3. "David Battie F.R.S.A." menspeakers.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  4. Staples, Alison. "David Battie, star of BBC'S Antiques Road Show says 'No, I'm not dead – but I was nearly'". Antibiotic Research UK. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. "Antiques Roadshow presenter David Battie: "Antibiotic resistance nearly cost me my leg"". 4 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2022.