This page serves to provide a record of provenance in respect to the ceramic art items created by Penny Howarth. The record aims to created a verified history of the pieces as they are developed. This page assists individuals who are building collections of Penelope Howarth’s work and wish to understand the background and rarity of the items. The page also serves to protect their ongoing investment in these pieces.
The page is built in chronological order, from earliest to most recent pieces. This is a working page and will be appended to over the years. This page may be considered the single source of truth. All information is accurate and sources from Penny Howarth directly.
The page entries are listed with a title of “Name – Date of production – Rarity”, followed by a description and any rare deviations from the core design.
Note on Rarity
We have adopted a slightly modified “The Scholten Scale” in order to express the estimated rarity. Scholten was a Dutch numismatist who developed this rarity scale in 1953, he applied to the study of coins in the Dutch colonies. We are using it for rarity of ceramic items. This is not a perfect fit as all handmade items are completely unique and therefore can be considered one-offs. For the purposes of the scale the rarity will be based on style of item. For example, a one off produced ceramic statue that was unique and no other similar was created would be considered RRRR rating. After that we calculate based on volume of similar style created. All items are created by hand and by a single artist – Penny Howarth, therefore, volume is very low to begin with so items can never be rated as common at time of writing.
| Rarity | Number of known coins |
|---|---|
| C | Common |
| N | Normal |
| S | Scarce |
| R | Rare |
| RR | Very Rare |
| RRR | Extremely Rare |
| RRRR | Of the utmost rarity |
Worry Monsters – 2018 – Out of Production – (RRR – Extremely Rare)
Worry monsters were a concept developed by Penny to help children take worries away from their minds by writing it on a piece of paper and posting it into the mouth of the friendly ceramic monster. Only around 10 were made and a small proportion sold before they were removed from sale to focus on a different direction.
Miniature Ceramic Houses Prototype 1 (Brown / Green Roof Glaze) – 2019 – (RR – Very Rare)
The original design of the miniature ceramic house. Sold in 2020 for 1 month.
Miniature Ceramic Houses Standard Edition – 2020-Onward – (R – Rare)
The production design of the Penny Pottery Miniature Ceramic House
Miniature Ceramic Bothies – 2022 Onward – (RR – Very Rare)
Cornish Fishing Boats – 2019-Onward – (RRR – Extremely Rare)
Sold online and in galleries in Cornwall. Only around 10 of these were created in total. Individually sold. These beautiful hand crafted fishing boats evoke thoughts of the brave fishing crews of Cornwall. Sat on top of the boat is a cheeky, opportunistic seagull, waiting for the fishing crew to return. Approximate Dimensions (some variation as each item is handmade & unique) Width 13cm, Depth 16cm, Height 16cm.
Special Edition Houses & Sets – 2019-Onward – (RRRR – Of the utmost rarity)
These are special edition houses that were styled in highly unique ways, including a burned out house, a set of “Art Houses” in the style of famous painters (see below). A spotty house, a stripped house and so on. These were one of a kind and the concept was only executed a handful of times of the years, therefore earns the rarity level of RRRR.
Colourful “rainbow” Village Sculpture – 2021 – (RRRR – Of the utmost rarity)
More Information coming soon
Fairytale Cottage – 2021 – (RRRR – Of the utmost rarity)
More Information coming soon
Mediterranean Village Sculptures – 2022 – (RRR – Extremely Rare)
More Information coming soon
Miniature Ceramic Vehicles: Caravans, RVs, Cars, Campers- 2022-onward – (RR – Very Rare)
More Information coming soon
Miniature Ceramic Churches – 2021-onward – (RRR – Extremely Rare)
Made on request to compliment collection. Highly scarce.
Minatare Ceramic Schoolhouse – 2021 – (RRRR – Of the utmost rarity)
Created as a one off for a retiring teacher.
Burke Schoolhouse “Your Home” – 2022 – (RRRR – Of the utmost rarity)
55 handmade caricatures of the Edmund Burke School – an independent college preparatory school in Washington, D.C. The models were created as gifts to students impacted by the tragic event of the Edmond Burke School Shooting. Penny Howarth accepted a commission to create these custom buildings. These were handed to Students leaving that year.
HALL OF SHAME – UNAUTHORISED COPIES
Miniature Ceramic Houses Unauthorised Chinese Manufactured copies – 2022-Onward – (C – Common / ZERO value)
Unfortunately with popularity and collectability comes copycat work. The sellers of these copies have used photographs and text sources from Penny Pottery UK official selling channels in order to market and sell their facsimiles. The majority of people that order these fake versions never actually receive any item, those that do receive an item have shared photos of a low quality rendering with zero artistic merit. So this is far from a flattering attempt to copy, it is an insult to the artist and buyer. Molded out of an unknown material – likely plaster of paris or resin, the exterior glazing is a matt acrylic paint. Fakes have been spotted on Amazon, Aliexpress, Wish, etc. Takedown notices are posted, however, this form of crime is difficult to entirely shutdown. Please be aware that in the majority of cases this is simple fraud and no item is being sold.