Summer Fine Sale

8th June 2022

The ceramic section started with a small but delectable offering of Chinese items, including a Chinese porcelain saucer painted with a European scene that went well beyond the £200 – 300 estimate to make £750. A later pair of Crown Derby Imari urns made a whopping £900, strong considering heavy damage to one of their lids and £1,150 was raised for a large 20^th century service of Royal Copenhagen. Following on from the ceramics was the glass section and a usual suspect made an appearance, with a Lalique Rampillon Vase reaching top estimate at £700. But the best of the glass section came from an early and beautifully etched glass ale flute which made £800.

Once again, the “bullion market” is going strong, which is good for business but a sad reflection on continued troubles overseas and wobbling economies. The silver section, with a lengthy offering of antique silver, sold with 97% of the lots finding a new home. The best of the bunch included a novelty travelling chess set by Cyril Endfield that with its highly stylised design almost doubled the bottom estimate to make £950, an Edwardian candelabrum which reached £1,000, a good gauge silver salver that made £1,100 and a truly beautiful arts & crafts Christening set by Ackroyd Rhodes decorated with fish and birds made £1,150 – over double the top estimate.

More frequently now we are starting to preen from our monthly stamp and coin section true gems that require a touch more marketing within the fine sale. Though not a record within the sale, I must mention an 1888 one penny which due to condition made a cracking £190, not bad considering the face value! A Queen Anne 1707 crown made £600 and a single stamp made £560; a 1929 PUC with an inverted watermark.

Roaring into quite a magnificent jewellery section we sold a stylish Cartier stick pin for £1,050, reached £1,100 for a diamond crossover ring and gained £1,700 for a gold bracelet packed with charms. The best of the rings came from a beautifully coloured sapphire and diamond ring which made £2,200, a striking art deco ruby and diamond ring made £2,600, a large ruby and diamond cluster made £2,600 and a classic three stone diamond ring made £3,100. The best price from amongst the watches came from a rare military wristwatch (which even with issues with its crown) made £4,400.

The paintings on offer sold well with 12 four figure results and the odd nice surprise. Within the prints we saw the highest price of the section when "Gwendolen" an etching by Augustus John did over seven times the bottom estimate to gain £3,600, and another notable name in Elisabeth Frink brought in £1,850 for a stark depiction of an owl that adorned our catalogue front cover. Of Northern Art and or contemporary interest, a colourful winter city scape by Liam Spencer made £1,200, a James Neal abstract kitchen still life gained £1,600 and Bridget Riley’s “Woman on a staircase” trotted up to £2,700. The artistic mascot of the sale, a portrait of a Terrier wearing a black dress sold above expectation for £1,250 and of the four William Mellor oils on offer the best two prices came with a depiction of “Rydal Lake Westmorland” that reached £3,200 and a locally familiar “On the Wharfe Yorkshire” painting that made £3,400. Surprises within the section came from lot 353 a Russian school picture of ladies in a boat that sporting a £200 – 300 estimate reach £1,250, and a John Fearnley continental riverside picnic that made £1,050; well ahead of the typical expectation for art by his hand.

Our works of art section came with its usual eclectic appeal, seeing a pair of knife boxes, that although have fallen out of favour in recent years, rocketed past their estimate to make £1,050, a Karl Gustaf Hjalmar Armfeldt stamp dampener made for Faberge gained £2,300 and a stunning pair of Canton enamel saucer dishes made £2,400. Following on with the clock section we only had one lot unsold, seeing £1,100 for a Dent Epicycle skeleton clock and £1,400 for the Dent Congreve rolling ball clock.

Our once yearly specialist Garden & Architectural section had an impressive variety of lots this year, displayed outside in the Yorkshire sunlight as we made the most of the summer weather. The section sold well with a 95% success rate, seeing £620 for an impressive composition lidded vase on plinth, £1,000 collectively for two carved stone green men and £3,600 for a pair of impressive carved stone lions.

As ever the last section of the sale was our furniture, starting inversely with the more contemporary and 20^th century design pieces. Of the mid century lots we saw £1,800 for an Arne Vodder teak desk made for Sibast in the 1960s, and a collective £1,950 for a 1960s teak dining suite by Bramin. Of the more traditional lots £800 was seen for a 17^th century joined oak Leeds armchair (always going to be popular here!), £950 for a pair of oval and wood carved pier glasses, £950 for a Louis XV style kingwood bureau plat, £1,450 for a stunningly inlaid and colourful Victorian marquetry centre table and £2,100 for a small and well patinated early 18^th century walnut and feather banded bureau.

The sale was a great success, all sections sold well and our final sale total of £200,000 surpassed our bottom estimate, always the quiet goal for any auctioneer. With the sale now complete attention turns immediately to the next sales in our calendar, our September Fine Sale with a closing date for entries of August 8^th, our Toy Sale closing on September 16^th and our Wine & Whisky Sale later in the year. If you wish to consign an item for valuation and sale, do not hesitate to reach out to us on info@hartleysauctions.co.uk or 01943 816363 and our team or valuers will be at hand to advise on the best step forward.