Walk through any serious Australian antique market and you will find Pates. On the lustreware shelf, on the mantle vase table, tucked between the Crown Crystal and the Remued — the distinctive iridescent glaze of a Pates piece catches the eye before you even read the base stamp. Pates Potteries was one of Australia's most prolific and technically accomplished mid-century potteries, and their output was far broader than the pink lustreware they are most famous for today.

The Pottery

Pates Potteries was established in Sydney in the 1930s and operated through the mid-twentieth century. Founded during the Depression era, the pottery was built on a practical premise: Australians wanted beautiful things for their homes, imported European ceramics were expensive and increasingly scarce, and there was no reason a local pottery couldn't fill that gap with quality work. Pates did exactly that, growing through the 1940s and 1950s into one of the most recognisable names in Australian decorative ceramics.

The pottery produced an enormous range of wares across its operating life — decorative vases, mantle pieces, posy vases, comports, bowls, wall pockets, figurines, and functional tableware. Their output reflected the changing tastes of the Australian domestic market across several decades, from the Art Deco influences of the 1930s through to the softer, more organic forms of the 1950s and 1960s.

The Lustreware

Pates is best known today for their lustreware — ceramics finished with metallic oxide glazes that produce an iridescent, light-shifting surface. The technique has ancient roots in Persian and Moorish ceramics, was revived by the Arts and Crafts movement in the late nineteenth century, and reached its Australian peak in the hands of potteries like Pates in the mid-twentieth century.

The Pates lustre palette was wide. Pink — the warm, rose-to-blush Val lustreware that collectors prize most highly — was their signature, but they also produced pieces in gold, green, mauve, blue, and multi-toned combinations that shifted across the spectrum as the piece moved in the light. Their lustreware was not a thin wash but a properly fired metallic glaze, which is why the best examples still retain their iridescence decades later.

Beyond Lustreware

Pates also produced a significant body of work in matte and satin glazes — earthier, more subdued finishes that appealed to a different buyer and reflected the influence of the Arts and Crafts and early Modernist movements on Australian pottery. Their matte green and brown glazes in particular have a quiet, organic quality that sits comfortably alongside Remued and other Australian bush-inspired ceramics of the era.

Their figurative work — animals, birds, and decorative figures — was produced in both lustre and matte finishes and represents some of their most charming output. Pates animal figurines, particularly their birds and native Australian fauna, are increasingly collected as examples of mid-century Australian decorative art in their own right.

Marks and Attribution

Pates pieces are typically marked on the base with an impressed or printed stamp — variations include "Pates" alone, "Pates Sydney", and "Pates Australia", sometimes accompanied by a pattern or shape number. Some pieces left the factory with paper labels only, which have long since been lost, leaving the base unmarked. Attribution of unmarked pieces relies on the glaze characteristics, form, and comparison with confirmed marked examples.

The Val lustreware designation — seen on some pink lustre pieces — refers to a specific line within the Pates range rather than a separate maker. Val lustreware is Pates lustreware; the two names are used interchangeably by collectors.

The Australian Context

Australia has a different domestic history to the UK, the US, and Europe, and it is worth acknowledging that honestly. For much of the twentieth century, Australian-made ceramics were considered second-best by collectors who prioritised British or European marks. That view is changing — and rightly so. Pates, alongside Crown Crystal, MCP Mingay, Remued, and a handful of other Australian makers, produced work of genuine quality and cultural significance. These pieces were made here, for Australian homes, at a time when that mattered. Their provenance is specifically and proudly Australian, and that is part of what makes them worth collecting.

Collecting Pates Today

Condition is everything with Pates lustreware. The iridescent surface is susceptible to dulling from dishwasher use, harsh detergents, and careless storage — pieces that have lost their lustre are significantly less desirable than those that retain it fully. When assessing a Pates piece, move it in the light: the lustre should shift and shimmer across the surface. A flat, dull finish indicates wear or damage to the glaze.

Check rims, handles, and any raised decorative details for chips and flea bites, which are common on pieces that have been in active use. Examine the base for the Pates mark and any pattern or shape numbers, which help with dating and attribution.

At Jacqui Fink, every Pates piece we list has been assessed for lustre quality, structural integrity, and honest condition. We believe these pieces deserve homes where they will be appreciated — on a mantle, on a shelf, in the light where they can do what they were made to do.