About Maak
Leading Specialists in Contemporary Ceramics & Craft
Maak is the market leading auction house and art consultancy specialising in the very best Contemporary Ceramics and Craft.
Since its foundation in 2009 by Marijke Varrall-Jones, Maak has been dedicated to presenting Contemporary Ceramics at the highest levels to international audiences. With a focus on nurturing the market through their regular schedule of auctions in London, they have maintained an unwavering eye to long term sustainable growth, ensuring Maak has been at the forefront of raising the global interest in Studio Pottery and Contemporary Ceramic Art to the levels seen today.
Maak's expansion in 2023 to include the wider remit of Contemporary Craft is a natural evolution that builds on the expertise that Maak has gained to establish an environment where a secondary market for Contemporary Craft can be nurtured and flourish, all the while retaining Maak’s commitment to a dedicated level of specialism.
The Maak team of specialists bring their years of experience and extensive connections to offer wide ranging personalised services to both individual private collectors and public institutions. Handling everything from individual consignments to some of the most important single owner collections to have been offered to the market in recent years, selling through auction or brokering private sales, Maak is unique in its comprehensive approach to the contemporary ceramics and contemporary craft market.
Maak presents regular auctions which are conscientiously curated to offer works by a broad selection of ceramic artists, reflecting all the major developments from the early Anglo-Oriental traditionalists to the contemporary ceramic artists of today. The auctions have a particular emphasis on British Studio Ceramics, however Maak has an international audience and as such also offers Japanese, European and American ceramics on a regular basis.
Following the inaugural auction dedicated to Contemporary Craft presenting the single owner collection of the late Victoria, Lady de Rothschild in September 2023, Maak will hold an annual auction dedicated to this speciality, encompassing the very best international makers working with wood, metal, glass, textiles, basketry, lacquer and jewellery.
The Maak auctions have become well established amongst collectors and the auction viewing exhibitions in Covent Garden, London provide rare opportunities for collectors and enthusiasts of studio ceramics to see significant collections featuring works by the leading names in British and International Studio Ceramics.
Today Maak is the only organisation in the UK to hold regular auctions dedicated to the fields of Contemporary Ceramics and Craft.
Recent Highlights from Maak
The Maak Team
Marijke Varrall-Jones
Founding Director
With over 25 years of experience in the fine art auction market—more than 20 of which have been devoted to specialising in Contemporary Ceramics—Marijke is widely recognised as a leading authority in the field.
A Sotheby's Institute of Art Alumni, Marijke had an early interest in 20th Century Design and Decorative Arts—fostered during her time in the 20th Century Design department at Sotheby’s. She began to specialise in Studio Ceramics in 2004, when she joined the Contemporary Ceramics department at Bonhams, London. At the time, this department represented the pinnacle of the international market for studio ceramics. Marijke led the department as Head of Contemporary Ceramics until its closure in 2008.
In 2022, Marijke founded Maak Foundation, a charitable organisation committed to advancing the understanding of studio ceramics. A particular focus of the Foundation is the support of critical writing, facilitated through regular grants that have helped fund significant publications and non-commercial exhibitions.
Marijke is also the Founding Director of iRostrum Limited, a software house providing online auction platforms and bespoke digital solutions for the auction industry.
Frances Robinson
Senior Specialist & Head of Sale
Frances joined Maak in 2018 bringing with her over 15 years of knowledge and experience in the auction industry. Frances had previously co-founded the Modern Art auctions at Bonhams, Oxford and spent nearly 10 years as multidisciplinary valuer before joining Maak to specialise in her passion of contemporary ceramics and craft.
She holds degree in Fine Art and attended the Gemmology Association of Great Britain where she was awarded her Cert-GA
Frances is also a Trustee of Maak Foundation, a charity providing funding for primary research for the publication of books to advance the education and understanding of studio ceramics.
Fleur Manning
Cataloguer
Fleur joined Maak in 2021, after nearly five years working at Sotheby’s in London. Previously she obtained her MA in Fine and Decorative Arts from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, where she majored in history of ceramics.
Hannah Wilson
Office Manager
Hannah joined Maak in 2020. She has been involved in the ceramic industry for over 20 years. Her passion for ceramics began while studying for her degree in Three Dimensional Design. After specialising in ceramics for the final part of her course Hannah went on to make and sell her own work. She continues to develop her skills as a maker alongside working at Maak.
Lis Fitzpatrick
Accounts
Lis joined Maak in 2023 and manages all things finance with a keen eye for detail.