David Battie

Last updated

David Battie
Born
David Anthony Battie

(1942-10-22) 22 October 1942 (age 82)
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 programme Antiques Roadshow , in which he appeared for 43 years, from the first series in 1977 until his retirement in 2020.

Personal life

David Battie married Sarah Francis, a glass expert from Sotheby's, in 1972. The couple have two daughters. [4]

In 2012 Battie broke his leg in a fall. While in hospital he contracted an antibiotic-resistant infection and ultimately remained in hospital for six months, undergoing eight operations, including four skin grafts. Battie suffers from the genetic disorder haemochromatosis and has also developed Type 2 diabetes. [5] He is an ambassador for the charity Antibiotic Research UK. [6]

In 2022 and 2023 a number of Asian art, ceramics, antiques and historic textiles from the David & Sarah Battie Collection, were auctioned by Tennants and by Dominic Winter Auctioneers. The pieces included those from Qianlong period and from the 17th to 19th-century. [7] [8] [9]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>Antiques Roadshow</i> British BBC TV antiques programme (since 1979)

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">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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonhams</span> Auction house of fine art and antiques

Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought together two of the four surviving Georgian auction houses in London, Bonhams having been founded in 1793, and Phillips in 1796 by Harry Phillips, formerly a senior clerk to James Christie.

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)

Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, decorative techniques, and "a glorious pot-pourri of styles - Rococo shapes with Oriental motifs, Classical shapes with Medieval designs and Art Nouveau borders were among the many wonderful concoctions". As well as pottery vessels and sculptures, the firm was a leading manufacturer of tiles and other architectural ceramics, producing work for both the Houses of Parliament and United States Capitol.

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kataro Shirayamadani</span>

Kataro Shirayamadani, also known as Kitaro Shirayamadani, was a Japanese decorative ceramics painter who worked for Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1887 until 1948.

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

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<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

John Sandon is a British expert and prolific author on ceramics and glass. He is best known as an expert on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, which he joined in 1985.

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

Rouen porcelain is soft-paste porcelain made in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France, during a brief period from about 1673 to 1696. It was the earliest French porcelain, but was probably never made on a commercial basis; only nine pieces are now thought to survive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audrey Atterbury</span> British puppeteer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vezzi porcelain</span> Porcelain factory in Venice

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sang de boeuf glaze</span> Deep red ceramic glaze

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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. "The David & Sarah Battie Collection, Asian Art, Antiques & Historic Textiles". www.dominicwinter.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  5. 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 12 February 2024.
  6. "Antiques Roadshow presenter David Battie: "Antibiotic resistance nearly cost me my leg"". 4 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  7. admin (16 June 2022). "David Battie ceramic collection in sale". Antique Collecting. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  8. the-saleroom.com (19 October 2023). "Dominic Winter Auctions | The David & Sarah Battie Collection, Asian Art, Antiques & Historic Textiles". www.the-saleroom.com. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  9. "David Battie: A Study Collection". auctions.tennants.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2024.