HUNDREDS of historic pieces by Stoke-on-Trent pottery firm Moorcroft are to be auctioned later this month.

The Richard Wright collection is the biggest and most valuable single-owner collection of pottery Moorcroft ever to come to auction.

Valued at more than £300,000, it has been put together over the last 25 years by Richard and Jackie Wright, who live in Cornwall.

The collection is to be auctioned at Bonhams in London on September 21.

It includes a very rare "Carp" vase designed by founder William Moorcroft in 1902, valued at £8,000 to £12,000, and a rare Exhibition plaque featuring Moorcroft's flagship Pomegranate pattern from 1913, estimated at £3,000 to £4,000.

Other notable lots include an early twin-handled Florian vase made in 1903, and the iconic "Yacht" vase from 1899 – thought to be the only such piece in existence.

Bonhams' ceramic design cataloguer Will Gilding, said: "It's very rare for a collection of this size and importance to come to auction. There are more than 300 lots from a single owner and that in itself always elicits a lot of interest in the collecting world.

"The pieces cover a very good spread of the company's history.

"There is a very strong element of early William Moorcroft pieces; the collection includes some very rare examples such as the early Yacht vase. And the Exhibition plaque is one of only a handful around the world known to have come to auction."

Richard Wright said he and wife Jackie decided to sell their collection as they are planning to move to a smaller house.

Jackie was working at a china shop when the couple met and had already built up a healthy collection of Beswick animals and Royal Doulton figurines, but the couple bought their first Moorcroft piece in around 1987.

Richard, aged 58, said: "It was a piece of Florian ware from 1905. I remember Jackie saying Moorcroft was sold in only the most select outlets and I could see the quality was absolutely superb.

"We've bought an awful lot of pieces by telephone bidding at auctions all over the world, because if there's one thing Moorcroft achieved, it's a global sales network.

"Places like Tiffany's in New York and Shreve's in Boston demanded the absolute best and that was made by Moorcroft in Stoke-on-Trent.

"William Moorcroft was a phenomenally talented artist. You can walk into any auction and spot the Moorcroft pieces immediately."

The Wrights, who have visited Moorcroft's factory in Sandbach Road, are now planning to downsize after giving up their distribution business.

Richard said: "We hadn't actually seen the collection for three years before we took it up to Bonhams.

"In 2007 we were planning to move from Sussex to Cornwall so we had it all boxed up.

"Unfortunately Jackie became ill with cancer, which put everything on hold.

"We finally made the move in 2008 and now we want to move somewhere smaller, but we decided not to open the boxes because otherwise we probably wouldn't have gone ahead with the sale. When we unpacked it at Bonhams, it was the first time we'd seen it in three years so it was emotional.

"We've kept back about 50 pieces, mostly ones that are a bit damaged, because it doesn't make a difference to us."

For more information about the auction click here