A COLLECTION of rare Poole Pottery is set to go under the hammer at an auction later this month.

Built up by Dorothy and Jim Watson, the collection goes on sale at Cottees Auction Rooms in Poole on February 29.

Poole Pottery specialist Chris Brown said this is one of the most important collections to come on to the open market for a long time.

Included in the collection are a large amount of early Carter & Co pieces dating back as far as 1908, including some rare lustre examples.

Noted items include a pair of early lustre vases with applied snake and lizard decoration with an auction estimate of £800 to £1200, an unusual Aladdin’s lamp oil burner by Carters & Co dated 1908 with an estimate of £300 to £400, and a Carter Stabler Adams goat modelled by Harold Stabler with an estimate of £2000 to £2500.

Many items of the collection were photographed and used in The Poole Pottery Book by Leslie Hayward & Paul Atterbury.

The collection can be viewed on Friday, February 28 prior to the sale at the saleroom in Poole, from 10am-5pm, and the morning of sale from 9am.