Sale highlights from our Fine Art and Antique Auction held on Wednesday 3rd December 2014
Christmas came early for the vendor of the star lot in our December Fine Art and Antique Auction. It was soon evident that lot 69, a Bideford earthenware harvest jug, presented to Mr Thomas Clements on December 25th 1829, was going to attract a lot of interest. All four phone lines were quickly booked up and the internet was buzzing on sale day. Bidding started at well above estimate and speedily rose to the selling price of £4200, going to a determined telephone bidder.
Other china and glass lots also sold well with a large pair of black and white Staffordshire spaniels selling for £340, a Whitefriars Banjo tangerine vase selling for £520, and a Charles Wileman Foley china tea service selling for £360 against an estimate of £80-120, while a Beswick hunting group comprising huntsman, huntswoman and 8 fox hounds doubled its estimate, selling for £430.
Two Art Deco bronze figures attracted a lot of interest. The first, a nude ballerina stamped Vivian” and made in Austria sold for £550, while the Joseph Lorenzl gilt bronze of a nude ballerina sold to a local collector for £840.
The collectables section of the sale had some interesting pieces starting with a First Edition of Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, published by Jonathan Cape which sold for £2300 to an internet bidder. A World War II brass Francis searchlight of Bolton Lancs., on a tripod sold for £400 and two well engineered single beam engines, lot 183 and 185 sold for £440 each.
The most unusual lot in the sale must have been lot 78, a collection of ancient Patagonian flint artefacts including knife heads and various implements. These had been sent to the vendor’s grandfather by a cousin who was working in Chile in the 1930’s and the package had remained largely untouched since then. It is hard to put a value on a collection like this but they were estimated to fetch between £200-300 and sold to the internet for £450.
It is interesting to note how each Antique sale is balanced and for this auction gold, silver and jewellery formed the backbone of the sale. Classic watches always sell well and a gentleman’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Just sold for £1300 while a 9ct gold gentleman’s Jaeger-le-Coultre sold for £1250.
Lot 223, an 18ct gold diamond cluster ring sold for £1100 and lot 301, an 18ct gold ring with cabochon amethyst and diamonds sold for £300.
Coins and medals were popular, with a collection of Roman and English coins selling for £340 and a Greek gold stater coin depicting Alexander selling for a massive £1650, while a collection of German Nazi World War II badges, medals, iron cross and brass door plates sold to the room for £320.
Lots 413 and 414, a pair of silver pheasants and a pair of silver woodcock sold for £550 and £1150 which is interesting as the pheasants actually weighed more, clearly showing that aesthetic appeal was the draw rather than their silver scrap value.
Likewise, two watercolours by Dixon Clark, lot 463 of cattle watering by a river and 464 of sheep grazing in a rural landscape, sold for £320 and £1100 respectively simply because the sheep painting was of better quality and greater appeal.
Lot 486, a leather bound sketch book of pencil landscape sketches by Samuel Prout (1783-1852) sold above estimate for £500.
Furniture sales remain steady. Lot 501, a near set of eight Victorian mahogany balloon back dining chairs sold to the internet for £360 while lot 516, a 19th century oak long case clock by David Cairns of Belford, doubled its estimate and sold for £650.
The largest lot in the auction was a huge 1970’s tan brown leather corner suite made up of 7 modular units. It completely dominated the gallery section of the auction room and conveniently provided plenty of seating for the bidders! It carried a conservative estimate of £150-250 but its retro looks clearly suit the modern trend and it sold to the room for £650.
We are now accepting entries for our next Fine Art and Antique Auction which will be held on Wednesday 4th March 2015
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