PRESS RELEASE : Hans Coper bottle at risk of leaving the UK [December 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 11 December 2023.

A temporary export bar has been placed on a work by Hans Coper to allow time for a UK gallery or institution to acquire the work for the nation.

• The bottle was gifted to and owned by the renowned sculptor and artist Henry Moore and was displayed at his home until his death
• The bottle is valued at almost £600,000

A mid-20th century stoneware bottle which connects two well-known UK-based artists is at risk of leaving the country unless a domestic buyer can be found.

Created by one of the 20th century’s leading ceramic artists, Hans Coper, this monumental bottle with disc top is valued at £584,200 (plus VAT of £24,840). It was commissioned as a Christmas gift for the celebrated British artist and sculptor Henry Moore. It became a prominent feature in his Hertfordshire home, Hoglands, and was displayed in the large sitting room where he conducted his business and entertained guests throughout his life.

Born in Chemnitz, Germany in 1920, Coper came to England as an émigré and joined the London studio of Austrian potter and fellow émigré Lucie Rie. Coper became known for his abstract sculptural vessel forms, which were considered ahead of their time. Thanks to the success of his work, Coper became a leading figure in the studio pottery movement and was one of Britain’s most influential potters.

This is one of the earliest examples of Coper’s series of monumental bottles, made in the 1960s and early ’70s, and emblematic of the transformative influence of Jewish émigrés on post-war British art.

Arts & Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said:

This fine piece is not only of exceptional significance to the study of the development of Hans Coper’s work, but also to the understanding of Henry Moore, given he displayed it in his living room at Hoglands – all the more reason to hope that a UK buyer will come forward so that it can stay here to be studied and enjoyed for generations to come.

The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

Committee member Stuart Lochhead said:

Hans Coper was commissioned to create this monumental bottle vase by Harry Fischer, the influential dealer, as a Christmas gift for Henry Moore, Britain’s greatest living sculptor at the time. It subsequently stands at an important intersection between the development of Coper’s career and the angst of the post-war artistic landscape to which both artists responded in their own way. The bottle was displayed in Moore’s sitting room at Hoglands for the rest of his life, where it was seen by a multitude of key figures in the international art world during this period.

These links between the émigrés Fischer and Coper and the celebrated sculptor Moore cannot be underestimated and are a testament to the importance of this bottle vase, which also helps scholars to understand the development of Coper’s art at a crucial moment in his career. Of extraordinary grace and on a striking scale, the export of this work of art would be a misfortune for the nation.

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the basis that the bottle met the first, second, and third Waverley criteria for its outstanding connection with our history and national life, its outstanding aesthetic importance, and its outstanding significance to the study of the work of Hans Coper and the wider interdisciplinary modern British art movement, and the understanding of Henry Moore, through his collecting and display of art and artefacts.

The decision on the export licence application for the bottle will be deferred for a period ending on 10 March 2024 inclusive. At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase the bottle at the recommended price of £584,200 (plus VAT of £24,840 which can be reclaimed by an eligible institution. Artist Resale Royalty of £7,791.87 would also be payable). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for three months.

Offers from public bodies for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale arrangements, where appropriate, may also be considered by the Minister. Such purchases frequently offer substantial financial benefit to a public institution wishing to acquire the item.

ENDS

1. Lord Parkinson discussed the Waverley criteria in a speech to mark their 70th anniversary, and used the opportunity to invite thoughts on the way they work – for instance, whether the Committee should say more about how it has considered items’ connection to the history of other countries as well as to the UK’s, or whether the items it considers are destined for public display rather than private collection. His full speech can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/lord-parkinson-speech-at-a-reception-to-mark-70-years-of-the-waverley-criteria
2. Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the bottle should contact the RCEWA on 02072680534 or rcewa@artscouncil.org.uk
3. Details of the bottle are as follows: Stoneware, layered porcelain slips and engobes over a textured body, the neck, lip and interior with a manganese glaze. Height: 66.5 cm. Made by Hans Coper (1920–1981) c. 1959–62
4. Provenance: Harry Fischer, commissioned directly from the artist; Henry Moore collection, gifted from the above.
5. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by the Arts Council (ACE), which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.
6. Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Its strategic vision in ‘Let’s Create’ is that, by 2030, England should be a country in which the creativity of everyone is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. ACE invests public money from the Government and the National Lottery to support the sector and deliver the vision. Following the Covid-19 crisis, ACE developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90 per cent coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. It is also one of the bodies administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund.