There are other pleasures aside from the thrill of the hunt. The couple have appreciated the scholarship, the acquisition of knowledge and the sense of community. “It's been fun, meeting people with similar interests, traveling and having a purpose. We're not good at sitting on the beach,” explains Mary.

Neither enjoys small talk, but both derive considerable pleasure from talking about ceramics. “It’s something we both like, because I'm keen on sport and Mary’s very keen on other things, which I'm not keen on. So it's one thing that we're actually brought together by. There's nothing else we agree on so much,” says Peter. “We can each go through an auction catalogue separately and pick out the same things,” adds Mary. “It's part of our life. I think we’re lucky that we've been able to do it together,” says Peter.

Their collection is largely pre-1800, “Mostly it's grouped by geography. However we've got an alcove where we compare things, to show the links between countries and factories. Many people are bewildered by our collection and really don't understand. It is being able to take a Chinese ceramic from several different shelves and finding emulations from varying countries. A ceramic thread confirming trade across land, but mostly sea.” 

It's nice to think of that thread coming through to quite crude examples of Dutch or English (ceramics), going back to something very refined and esoteric. I've always found that interesting”. It is sometimes the modest, early pottery that is more valuable than more sophisticated pieces”.

Their collection incorporates relatively little Sèvres. “We felt that it was too upmarket for us. In a way, it doesn't fit with the rest of the things we had. It fights with everything, including other French factories. We had to create a special Sèvres display alcove. You can't mess with Sevrès. You have to think about it more than with other works. With Chinese, you think more about the period. You wouldn't put the Song monochromes, necessarily, with the blue and white Ming. It’s a different reasoning with Sèvres. It’s a period of 30 years and it's all the different colours that they brought in at different times, and all the background colours. They don't go together. You have to colour coordinate. With other things they're from different centuries, different cultures, and yet you can have them one shelf below the other. You can’t with Sèvres.”

Despite the joy and intellectual stimulation they have gained from collecting, they have come to a time in life when they have to think about what will happen to their collection. Their children and grandchildren have made their choices, but none can accommodate the depth and breadth of the collection. “I wouldn't sell it,” laments Mary, “but I realise I've got to, so that's it, and we'll keep some things. It's not exactly sparse. We have enjoyed it very much and look at it daily.” Peter is adamant that donating all the pieces to a museum is not quite right in this case. Mary concurs. “The collection is too big; it’s never going to happen. There is a possibility that the pieces wouldn't be seen or enjoyed in the way we would hope in a museum collection..."

But legacy is important. Theirs is a series of five books written and photographed by Mary in lockdown, that details the whole collection. It is an incredible resource. “We really want to reflect what Mary has done in her publications, in the auction catalogues and series of sales; to really show objects of various different backgrounds and explain why they're important,” explains Nette Megens, Director of Decorative Arts: Europe and UK and Head of European Ceramics at Bonhams. “They are always related to the link in history they provide. The works will be sold across departments ranging from Antiquity and Islamic art to British, Chinese, Japanese and European ceramics.”

The Whites deep trust in Nette was key to their selecting Bonhams. They had known her through the French Porcelain Society committee, where she helped organise trips abroad. “They always took joy in sharing their collection with museum people, collectors and people from the commercial world, actively seeking out discussions on re-attribution and authenticity,” explains Nette. “We were always encouraged to give our honest opinion, especially when we had doubts about a piece. That’s quite rare in our world, but I think it made their collection so much the better for it. The breadth of their collecting is astounding, there are very few people that venture out of the comfort zone of collecting one particular factory, let alone World Ceramics.”

“When you are collecting at this level it is never purely transactional. We work on a basis of trust and friendship. They really want to inspire a new generation of collectors to take joy in learning and discovering about the world through ceramics.” says Nette. “Do start collecting. Start with our collection. It's wonderful,” enthuses Mary.