Snow for our Winter Fine Sale

27th November 2024

With the Christmas sale at hand, we were dealt with a dose of seasonal weather, as Storm Bert landed a beautiful blanket of snow over our opening view day.  Although this started the morning off quieter than I would have liked, the view day picked up as brave folk emerged from their forced hibernation.  With a speedy melt, the second and third days of view roared with activity and hope brewed for the auction ahead.

I took to the rostrum to open our November 27^th Antiques & Interiors auction, drumming through the ceramics and glass section with a rate of success higher than I had hoped.  For many years the decorative ceramics market, especially amid “traditional” English and European pieces has limped along, but there appeared a bit more vigour and intent in the approach from the buyers.  The sale rate sung at a healthy 92%, with a strong and above estimate £1,400 for an extremely stylish Art Deco Lenci wall mask and a fantastic £5,200 gained for an impressively large Chinese famille verte alcove rouleau vase.

Whenever Christmas is in the air we add to our typical silver section with a special section of “small silver & bijouterie”, the perfect place for stocking fillers and collectors alike. Within these three sections we had an amazing 97% sale rate with heavy competition from absentee bidders.  The best of the silver was seen with a beautiful quality trophy cup that made £850 and a George III silver tankard by John Denzilow that made £1,250.  But of the bijouterie and the gold within the group we saw a lovely 9ct match book case from 1926 reach £800 and a striking gold art deco Cartier compact, decorated with a ruby and diamond cluster, that out-reached our estimate to make £1,400.

Throughout the year when asked by potential vendors if there is a better time of year to sell their jewellery, I often think to the Christmas sale. The jewellery counter during the view tends to have more scrummaging between excited ladies, whilst husbands stand in the background quietly hoping rings won’t fit. This theme bore results with a brilliant total for the section and a higher than typical sale rate. There are plenty of highlights with many of the lots selling well, but to pick a few of my own favourites we saw £1,350 for a great 18ct gold Victorian pocket watch, £1,900 for a Robert Coin two tone reef knot choker,  a brilliant £1,400 for a dragon fly brooch, £1,700 for a pair of diamond ear studs and £2,000 for a marquise cut solitaire diamond ring.

Next came our short but intriguing 50 lot section of Works of Art, which held host to a number of varied, weird and wonderful lots. One of my favourite items within the section was a Selmer tenor saxophone, not only because it made a whopping £1,650, but because throughout the view we were serenaded with musicians adding a touch of jazz to our ex-theatre saleroom. Dressing the room there were a host of sculptures, including a modernist marble carving that made £650 and a pair of hand carved torchere blackamoors that standing at 6ft 5in made £850. But the best of the section came with an item of Royal collection interest, with a signed letter from Princess Diana that well surpassed the estimate to make £1,550.

The works of art naturally spill into purist art with the picture sections covering prints, watercolours, oils and everything in between.  The best of the prints section came from a John Piper where we gained £1,050 for a moody view of Exeter College Chapel, Oxford.  Within the oil section my favourite painting, a view of Loch Garrou from Plockton by David McBeth Sutherland made £1,000 and a beautifully lively portrait of a girl by Dorothy Johnstone made £3,200.  Our market for Yorkshire and Northern artists remained as strong as ever with a quirky angled street scene by Stuart Walton making £1,100 and a wonderful boy with a fishing rod by Philip Naviasky made £1,500. But the best of the picture lots once again went to local lad Herbert Royle as a festively snow-capped logging scene of the Wharfe Valley made £4,200.

We finished the sale with our clocks and furniture sections, spanning from the ancient through to the 20^th century design.  Of the latter we had all manner of Danish inspired produce, including a chair and pouffe after Charles Eames that made £1,000 and a pair of extremely good quality leather and chrome armchairs that impressed with a total of £3,200. Yorkshire design once again had a look-in with a host of lots by Robert “mouse man” Thompson, with a mere shelf donned with a carved mouse making £950, before a sideboard and dining table made £1,650 each and a set of six chairs made £2,000. But finishing with the traditional “brown furniture” lots, we kept our selling rate and success of results, seeing a handsome Regency mahogany library chair reach £1,050, a Victorian oak partners desk make £1,250 and a brilliant pair of 19^th century card tables by Gillows reached a fantastic £6,400 with interest from the phones, net and room.

Although treated to an early blanket of snow, our buyers came in good number, both in person and from afar to make the day a huge success.  Our lowest estimate was left in the dust and even my personal goals for the day were surpassed.  As is the case for so many auctioneers, there is very little time to celebrate before work starts on the next sale.  Our 2025 calendar has now been released and we are readily taking items in for our Spring Fine Sale.