2023 Off To A Great Start

22nd March 2023

Our March Fine Sale is the first of our 2023 flagship events, sporting all the usual sections as well as a specialist offering of arms & militaria.

The ceramic and glass section kicked us off with a whopping 94% selling rate. Chinese items  of course performed brilliantly with a few surprise results amongst the offering, such as £1,750 for a set of three famille rose plates estimated at £150 - 250 and £3,800 for another group of three from the same estate estimated at a mere £120 - 180. A large collection of rare Wedgwood sold with only one exception, with the highest of the group seeing £520 for a black jasper Portland vase. The array of glassware included 20th century art glass through to antique pieces, with the latter peaking the section with two 18th century Jacobite wine glasses making £1,200 and £1,300 respectively.

The silver section sold with a 100% success rate, with a top price of £1,500 for an Edwardian part table service by Francis Higgins. The success of the section is of course continuing to be bolstered by heightened global bullion price, but do not think the price attained is merely “melt”.  Each item's value is determined by not only the silver content, but the age, rarity and quality of each piece. Shown by a tiny silver and agate vinaigrette by Nathanial Mills from 1833 that sold for £240, around two hundred times its “silver value” and furthermore a brilliant silver plated cocktail recipe shaker (that showed you the ingredients for each choice of cocktail on an integral swiveling sleeve) made £460; even without true bullion content.

The stamps, coins and notes section sold with another clean sheet. Seeing some wonderful prices for the stamps in particular, with a short but rare section all selling at our expected figures and a result of £850 for a single stamp - a superb 1882 £5 orange with a Manchester Accounts ink stamp. We also saw with the coinage a whopping £620 for an 1888 gold sovereign, almost double what you would typically expect for a sovereign and the peak of the coins came with a collection of four sovereigns within a bracelet that made £1,950 - the perfect prelude to the jewellery.

The watches and jewellery came next with typical aplomb, as designer watches showed yet again growth in the market and certain statement pieces of jewellery marched confidently past the lower estimate. Notable results included a 18ct gold pocket watch from 1927 that over doubled the top estimate to achieve £1050, a 9ct gold Rolex Precision wristwatch that over tripled the top estimate to make £1,100, a 1.25ct diamond solitaire ring that made mid estimate at £1,800 and a stunning art deco style emerald and diamond cluster that snuck past the top end to make £1,020.

Twice a year we have a specialist section of arms, militaria and fieldsports. In the first showing of 2023 we had everything from medals to ceremonial swords, and from shotguns to taxidermy heads. The section always contains some truly unexpected items, including a Zulu knobkerrie made of a single piece of continuous rhino horn that reached £950, a rare boxed Whitworth rifle by John Reeves & Co. that fetch £1,300 and an iconic deactivated MP40 submachine gun with underfolding stock that made estimate at £1,550. But the two most interesting items in the section were seen from First World War relics, with a family of medals awarded to Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Chambers ASC including a boxed Order of Bath military medal that reached £1,600, and an extremely rare Clements pattern knuckle duster knife in marvelous condition and only legal in the UK as it is more than 100yrs old, which trotted comfortably past the estimate to make £1,150.

The works of art section is always an intriguing section where all the fine art oddities that do not fit a defined section end up. But due to this is often the most eclectic and exciting section of the auction, where some true rarities lay. The first item to strike a note was a pair of silver plated Edwardian standard lamps sporting the neoclassic style that made £1,300, these were quickly followed by a huge Japanese censor in the shape of a crane that made over three times the top estimate to gain £1,900, and keeping with the bird theme a rare Guy Taplin egret in bronze left the sale room with a hammer total of £2,200. An amazing example of Black Forest carving was up next with a St. Bernard and puppies group attributed to Walter Mader that reached £2,400, a rare Gillow type specimen wood work box (with an image of a similar piece in the Gillow book) made £2,500 and a large bronze statue of wrestlers at combat made top estimate at £2,900. But the best of the section (and sale) came from a pair of Chinese silk embroidered panels, that with another similar item in the lot made a huge £9,500, with plenty of competition from within China.

The pictures were next with a mixture of classical and modern offerings, attaining eight four figure results. From the prints we saw two separate signed Lowry prints make £1,400 for “The Two Brothers” and £1,450 for “Man Holding Child”. From the oils we had “Day Dreams” by Charles Lidderdale containing a girl with piercing blue eyes make £1,150, Yorkshire artist William Mellor with a Hebden valley river view made £1,250, a classic landscape by Alfred Breanski made £1,700 and an ethereal lady with flowers by polish artist Zygmunt Josef Menkes made estimate at £2,000. But the best of the section came with a lakeland artist William Heaton Cooper, who time and time again impresses me with how much detail he can portray with so few brush strokes, "Bowfell from Pike O' Blisco" being no different and making £4,200.

The clocks section was small but striking with only two items not finding a new home. The best of the bunch came with £1,500 gained for a wonderfully carved George III gilt wood cartel wall clock by Edward Clarke, £2,000 for a mahogany cased bracket clock by John Bancroft and £1,050 for a large and heavily carved Black Forest Cuckoo Clock. But the best of the clocks chimed in with another cuckoo clock, a very interesting gothic style tabletop example, that kept the view alive with the sound of bird song and on the day of sale flew the nest with a hammer price of £3,200.

The furniture section was large and strong, with mid century design through to ancient pieces of early Georgian. Sporting nine four figure results and the following worthy mentions, with £1,050 for a Macassar ebony veneered retro dressing table, £1,000 for a c.1700 geometric chest of drawers, £1,150 each for a Georgian mahogany dressing chest and a set of six ash & elm Yorkshire Windsor chairs and £1,350 for a Victorian ebonised and red tortoise shell credenza. We also had a healthy number of Gillow type pieces, including a Regency mahogany chamber table with integral desk accouterments that made £1,550 and a beautifully made Regency mahogany dressing table raised on classic reeded legs that made £2,200.

The sale was a great success throughout all sections and a wonderful way to start our 2023 auction calendar. We are already avidly collecting lots for the June sale with a closing date of May 4th, so with valuations for sale being free of charge we would encourage you to get in touch with your hidden gems.