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June Auction Highlights!

Debbie Porter

Our largest auction of the year took place over the weekend of the 10th and 11th June. Over 1600 lots of rare pottery, antiques, fine art, militaria, jewellery and collectors items were sold over the two days.

 On day one just under 900 lots of ceramics went under the hammer. The auction commenced at 10am with the Royal Doulton section of the sale, followed by Wade, Kevin Francis, Royal Crown Derby, Reg Johnson, Minton, Wedgwood, Beswick and finally Moorcroft.

 The star lot of the day was an exceptionally rare Beswick 818 Shire Horse in a highly unusual and beautiful strawberry roan colourway that caused a stir amongst collectors and dealers alike. With five live telephone bidders, numerous commission and internet bidders and an excited huddle of Beswick enthusiasts this lot eventually realised the dizzy heights of £6600. This was not the only treat for the Beswick fraternity as another colourway of a boy in a red jacket on a grey pony fetched £2300 and a piebald 1182 swish tail horse realised £920.

 Moorcroft continued to sell well with particular attention paid to a rare Dawn Landscape design 32cm vase that sold for £2800, the limited edition prestige vase “The Home” made £1250 and a Talwin trial vase realised £1200.

 Majolica always seems to weather the storm of fashion and fads by doing consistently well over the years and this month was no exception. A large figure group depicting a pair of cranes and a frog by a tree trunk realised £2300 despite a crack to the base and no makers mark.

 The Royal Doulton and Beswick Fair at the Wedgwood visitors centre over the same weekend enticed collectors to Staffordshire. A number of collectors travelled from afar to stay locally and take advantage of visiting both the auction and the fair. A Doulton Lambeth stoneware ornate clock surmounted by winged angels dated 1877 realised £2100. The figure Japanese Lady HN634 with an impressed date of 1923 and signed Charles Noke fetched £1100 and a prototype character jug of Lord Kitchener made £920. An attractive pate-sur-pate plaque by the Minton artist Albion Birks decorated with a man next to a signpost labelled with local villages, circa 1890 realised £920.

On day two selling commenced at 11am to a packed room eager to emerse themselves in the eclectic mix of furniture, musical boxes, paintings, books, stamps, cigarette cards, toys, trains, sporting items, militaria, oriental works, coins, watches, jewellery and wine and spirits.

One keen buyer will now be enjoying an expensive tipple having successfully purchased a bottle of Geo. Roe & Co Fine Old Irish Whisky for £2400. Another unusual lot that sold well above the estimate was a carved Canton ivory box that fetched a not inconsiderable £1700.

There was some fierce bidding during the Watches section of the auction with particular interest shown in those from the 1960’s. A Rolex Perpetual Chronometer wristwatch realised £1800, another Rolex Precision 1968 gentlemans wristwatch made £1750 and an Omega 18ct gold constellation calendar chronometer watch from 1959 fetched £2300. Following on from selling the watches were coins resulting in an online flurry for a Britannia six coin fine gold 2015 proof set and a 1904 United States USA Liberty Head Golden Eagle Set selling for £1700 each.

One vendor was very pleasantly surprised when his set of seven early graduated bronze imperial measures for the county of Worcester fetched an impressive £3700 after having previously being told by another local auction house that they were worthless!

Books are a relatively new addition to our sales here at Potteries Auctions but there were some keen collectors interested in a number of lots from a substantial local collection including a 1925 edition of Hansel and Gretel and Other Stories by Brothers Grimm that sold for £1700. For the more macabre taste there was even a three hundred year old book on Venereal Diseases!

Amongst the more unusual pieces was a 19th century Raffaelo Nannini bronze and ivory figure group of a soldier of the Imperial Guard that sold for £1200 and a vintage turned wood chess set that realised £1100.

The last section of the auction consisted of nearly one hundred lots of jewellery. Amongst the lots for sale were a number of rings including an 18ct white gold diamond cluster ring that realised £1100 and a platinum brilliant cut diamond solitaire 1.01ct ring that made £920.

We are now starting to prepare for the next Antique and Fine Art Auction on 11th November. Although it sounds a long way off, it will soon be upon us! If you have any items that you wish to enter into this sale please contact the office on 01782 638100 or email enquiries@potteriesauctions.com

Selling at Auction

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consistently perform well at auction and our staff is well-placed to provide
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