Fairyland Finds New Fortunes: Rare Wedgwood Vases Realize $130,500 at Woody Auction
More than a century after their creation, Wedgwood’s Fairyland Lustre vases continue to bewitch collectors with their rich colors and fantastical charm.
Two rare Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre vases lit up the bidding at Woody Auction’s March 22, 2025, sale in Douglass, Kansas, combining for an impressive $130,500. The top-selling piece—an exquisite vase in the Dragon King pattern—achieved $87,500, while a second vase in the rare Ghostly Woods pattern brought $43,000. The auction, held live and online, featured 366 lots drawn from several prominent collections.
The Dragon King vase, marked Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre #Z4968, dazzled bidders with its deep cobalt background and flawless gold stencil work. Designed by Daisy Makeig-Jones and illustrated in Una Des Fontaines’ definitive book on the subject, the vase far surpassed its $20,000 high estimate. The winning bidder, inspired by the legacy of his late friend and collector Paul Pellett, outpaced three other determined competitors over four and a half intense minutes. The Ghostly Woods vase, also designed by Makeig-Jones and standing over 13 inches tall, brought fierce interest of its own. Its eerie, “occult-like” design—considered too unconventional for broad appeal at the time of its production—likely contributed to its rarity and desirability among today’s collectors.
The enduring magic of these vases can be found in the fantastical world from which they sprang. Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre is among the most visually captivating ceramic lines of the early 20th century. Produced between 1916 and 1941 (the production timeline of Wedgwood's Fairyland Lustre has some variability based on different sources), these pieces were the brainchild of Daisy Makeig-Jones, one of the few women designers at a major pottery house during her tenure. Her dreamlike motifs, infused with fairies, gnomes, tree spirits, dragons, and floating lanterns, brought a fanciful, mythical twist to Wedgwood's otherwise traditional neoclassical offerings.
Fairyland Lustre’s signature aesthetic combined opulent iridescent glazes with richly layered gold decorations. Many pieces were executed on existing Wedgwood forms, transformed by intricate transfer designs and hand-painted embellishments into shimmering portals to other worlds. Influenced by Western folklore and Eastern decorative styles, these wares stood apart in their day—and remain highly coveted now.
The line was launched during World War I, a time of tremendous worldwide upheaval. Makeig-Jones’s enchanted visions provided a form of escapism, bringing an ethereal beauty into households weary of the harshness of reality. But, as they tend to do, consumer tastes shifted by the 1930s. Art Deco modernism took hold, and the elaborate fantasy of Fairyland Lustre fell out of vogue. Wedgwood ceased production in the early 1940s, and Makeig-Jones retired shortly thereafter.
Today, Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre is beloved by collectors for its artistic whimsy and technical mastery. The recent Woody Auction results remind us that when imagination meets transcendence, collectors are still willing to pay a king’s ransom.
You may also like:
