Starting Autumn with a Bang

3rd September 2025

The September Antiques & Interiors auction can sometimes feel like the end of summer, so it is always important for this to be a “last hoorah” and not merely the beginnings of autumn with her cold wind and shedding of leaves. With 830 lots on offer we had something for everyone, from modern 20^th century design and contemporary art, to patinated oak and fine antique oils. Early signs were good as even within the age of internet bidding, a multitude of online images and condition reports at people’s fingertips, we were still inundated in finite queries and further illuminating images, as well as the Victorian floorboards of our upper saleroom feeling the weight of three days of well-attended viewing.

So, on September 3rd the auctioneer’s patter began and the gavel clattered with the selling of lots, as we started with our ceramics and glass section. The section covered the globe with items from China, through Europe and of course plenty on offer from British soil. Early in the sale we saw a brightly coloured yellow Chinese bowl bearing a Qianlong mark reach its reserve at £2,000, and a large collection of Royal Worcester ranging through several single piece lots that collectively made over £10,000. The highlights of this collection were seen from a fruit painted jar and cover that made £1,250 and a similarly painted pedestal dish from 1939 that made £1,300. We had offerings of well-known glass maker’s such as Lalique and around £2,000 worth of White Friars, including some wonderfully formed “Mobile Phone” vases. But the best of the glass and ceramics was seen with a fantastic spherical vase by Clarice Cliff, painted in a very non typical way and drawing interest as a consequence with a hammer price of £2,400.

Next, we had the polished and gleaming silver section, which unbelievably came and went without a single item unsold – this is typically unheard of in the auction world. The prices throughout were great with world bullion prices continuing to hold and investment in the antiques within the section still going strong. The best prices from the section started with an Elizabeth II square salver that fetched £1,010, a George V four-piece tea and coffee service that reach £1,120, an Edwardian silver table service of 31 pieces that made £1,150, and a George V rat tail pattern table service of 110 pieces that made a whopping £4,200. But the most interesting item within the section came from a very rare full sized and solid silver golf club, modelled as a driver and reaching a wonderful £4,400. Items such as this are very scarce and similar clubs are said to have been given to the winners of the British Open in the pre-war years, such as in 1904 when Harry Vardon was presented with a silver putter, having won the 1903 Open.

After the silver section we had a large section of antique and gold coins, which again like the silver section sold without a single hitch, proving that lightning can strike twice - at least here at Hartleys. We had some early silver and gold coins that did well against their estimates, and then a large offering of gold sovereigns and Krugerrands that alone made a collective total of £41,000. The best of the purse was seen from a pair of Mary Gillick boxed sovereigns that made £1,000, a pair of sovereigns mounted as cufflinks that reached £1,280, and seven gold Krugerrands that ranged in value from £2,100 to £2,200 each.

The jewellery section naturally followed the bullion lots and came with thirteen four figure sums within the results, but to list a few of my favourites: A very smart Omega Speedmaster made £1,550, a stylish art deco sapphire and diamond ring made £1,200, a high carat diamond cluster made £1,900 and the same price was seen for a gold Thai bracelet. But the best of the jewellery box came from a stunningly well made necklace in the form of a snake, inset with rubies, comfortable within her original box and with interest from the room, net and phones reached well above estimate to £2,500.

Twice a year we present the market with an offering of arms & militaria, with September 3^rd being one of the biyearly events. This can be some of the more emotive items on show, with the rawness of history and her conflicts being at its most tangible. The best of the section came from a pair of medals awarded to Major A. F. Welsford of the 97th Regiment during the Crimean war of the 1850s, a rare pair being from a “Major” and rightly yomping past their estimate to accrue a top bid of £2,200. Also within the sale was a fantastic single owner collection of bayonets, including some truly rare examples. Typically, bayonets have quite a subdued market reaction, but when some hidden gems hide amongst the batch the opposite can be true, with a single German police dress bayonet making £560, a group of Eastern European bayonets making a surprising £1,350 and a rare and a brilliantly designed Australian machete bayonet gaining £600 - a great price for a single bayonet.

With host of book fairs just around the corner, we like to have a section of antiquarian and collector’s books in our Autumn sale. The section this year was short, but distinguished, with some interesting lots and some even more interesting results. Three volumes of very well read “The Lord of The Rings” made £420 (a nice results with more books by the same author due in our October 4^th auction), a book of wild poetic scribblings by Ted Hughes called “Cave Birds” made £660, The Wisdom of Jesus by Ashendene Press made a strong £1,800 and a large red bound 1867 copy of “The Peaks and Valleys of the Alps also from Watercolour Drawings” by Elijan Walton made the top price of the section at £2,300.

Next, we had a very quirky works of art section, with around £4,000 worth of cameras, over £2,000 worth of local pub football shirts brilliantly sponsored by Oasis and produced by Adidas back in the 90s, and a myriad of carved stone, worked wood and fine design. But the best prices within the section all were found within our sculptural bronzes, when an abstract figural group by Neil Wood called “Family Group No.1” reaching £1,150, and then two stunning bronze figures by Laurence Edwards made £1,850 each – gratifying with one being our catalogue front cover.

The works of art were followed by the painting sections, split by medium and geography with Northern Artists leading the charge. Some colourful contemporary pieces by Ian Burke and Amrik Varkalis started us off with some strong prices and a good selling rate and the earlier works and numerous portraits held their own too. But the pick of the bunch would be from four very different works, with a horse race meet, filled with cultural intrigue and life by Henry Marvell Carr made £1,000, a highly stylised sketch of a costume design by Leon Bakst made £1,500, and a fairly loose watercolour by Rowland H Hill made £2,900. But the top figure of the section came with little surprise, when our top-rated painting, a vibrant floral still life by Dorothea Sharp made an exuberant £8,500.

We finished the day well with our furniture section, populated as it is so frequently these days with as many 20^th century designed pieces as antique. The furniture sold well throughout, with a cracking 96% sale rate and great overall results helped, as it frequently is, with items by and inspired by Robert Thompson aka “Mouseman”.  With this a Rabbitman (Peter Heap) oak chest made £1,300, a small oak dining table by Mouseman made £1,550, two bedside chests by the same made £1,700 and £1,750, a Mouseman cheval mirror made £1,800 and an oak chest of drawers reached a strong £2,700. The peak of the truly traditional pieces came from a quite architectural porters chairs that made a rounded £2,000, a modern Marcu Jacka “Non -Standard Studio” dining table gained £1,250 and a set of Danish mid century modern dining chairs in the style of Hans Wegner pipped the table at £2,100.

Overall, we could not have been happier with the result of the sale, our total landed us within a cat’s whisker of the overall upper estimate and across the whole sale we had a 92% sold rate, a rare thing in the world of auctions and a statistic that we are very proud of. The autumn has started with a bang, and we set off with great gusto towards the final Fine Sale of 2025 in November. We have already started cataloguing lots and close for entries on October 20^th, so if you have anything you may wish to sell, do not hesitate to get in touch.