Clarice Cliff Sunray Bizarre Tea Set

Sold for £3,400

Art Deco enthusiasts and ceramic collectors had a spectacular opportunity, and it delivered an outstanding result—this complete Clarice Cliff Sunray (Night and Day) tea set for six sold for £3,400. Dating back to circa 1929, this incredibly vibrant set captures the absolute peak of Cliff’s avant-garde vision, featuring her celebrated, highly stylized abstraction of the New York City skyline. The hand-painted design radiates with a bold graphic energy, expertly balancing a color palette of fiery orange, yellow, black, deep blue, delicate lilac, and tan across the earthenware forms.

This comprehensive, matching service is a remarkable survival from the early days of her legendary studio. The set included six cups and saucers, a sugar bowl, a milk jug, six side plates, and a coordinating cake plate to anchor the collection. Every piece proudly displayed the authentic, printed ‘Bizarre’ by Clarice Cliff backstamp alongside the Newport Pottery factory marks. Representing one of her most iconic and rhythmically complex geometric patterns, this Sunray tea set drew strong international interest from serious design collectors, with the final price reflecting its status as a defining piece of 20th-century decorative art.