A Love of Antiques

Fellows’ Antiques & Collectables sale on Tuesday 21 November saw many fine ceramics and glass, paintings, clocks and furniture items be very popular under the hammer. From the first lot, it became apparent that some of the nicer pieces would flourish, as Lot 1, a turquoise glass casket in the manner of Moser, rose well above its modest estimate to sell for £540.

The ceramics section contained a pleasant surprise when a pair of 18^th century figures sold for £5,100. From a local private collection, it had been suggested that these were English copies of Meissen originals, but clearly some bidders felt otherwise and the lot was competed for by specialist trade and collectors in England and Germany. Also performing well was a German porcelain monkey band, again after the Meissen factory, which more than doubled its top estimate to sell for £820.

The Oriental section contained the stars of the show, a superb pair of vases consigned by a returning customer. His father had collected pieces in the 1950s and 1960s when provenanced, high-quality items were more readily found in antique shops, and his previous consignments have often featured interesting labels referring to old and important collections. This was again in evidence, with labels relating to the prominent and controversial Chinese dealer C. T. Loo and an exhibition in 1956. They had been in the family since the 1960s when they had been appraised by an eminent New York gallery. These fine vases doubled hopes to sell for £25,000. Another repeat customer sent in two Chinese jade belt hooks, just as they had for the last sale. On each occasion the lot has sold well above estimate for the identical sum of £1,500.

We always seem to amass a good selection of collectable pens, and this sale was no exception. Montblanc is the brand of choice for many buyers, and two stand-out lots sold well here. The first was a limited edition ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ fountain pen, with dagger-shaped clip referencing his film ‘Psycho’. It doubled hopes at £600. Achieving its top estimate of £800 was a Joseph II fountain pen from a numbered edition of 4810 (the height in metres of the mountain Mont Blanc). Amongst other pens, a gold three-piece set comprising fountain pen, ballpoint pen and pencil more than doubled hopes at £660.

The collectables section continued with a Leica camera, which proved a popular lot as it achieved a massive five times its lower estimate to sell for £1,500. This was however eclipsed by the bell from HMS Brilliant, which was active during the Falklands conflict. This lot attracted attention from many ex-Servicemen including some who had served aboard, and predictably it soared well over its modest hopes to achieve £1,900.

Moving into the Paintings section, there was fevered competition for an unsigned oil on panel of a dog, which due to its slender arched shape looked like the door of a kennel or similar. Bidders in the room and on the phone competed for this lot until the former triumphed at £1,500.

The second highest price of the day was reserved for the front cover lot, a fine Atmos du Millenaire mantel clock consigned from outside the Midlands. Fellows had found examples elsewhere at auction sold for between £3,200 and £6,500, and accordingly estimated the lot at £3,000-5,000. A hammer price of £8,500 therefore reflected a strong result in the day. This was quickly followed by a superb bowfront stick barometer by the renowned firm of Adie & Sons of Edinburgh. £3,700 was well over top estimate and again can be seen as a strong result on the day for an item which sadly no longer commands the high prices of a decade ago.

The furniture section was larger than for some time and contained some notable results. A 1960s table by Poul Cadovius for France & Sons of Denmark which had been bought at auction in Birmingham some years ago was re-offered by Fellows, and on this occasion sold for five times its 2009 price as it commanded £1,000. The highest price within the section was for an interesting late 19th century Anglo-Japanese cabinet in the Aesthetic taste, the design and panels in the manner of Thomas Jeckyll. This proved a hit with several collectors as a battle between the room and online bidding platforms ensued, the former again emerging victorious as it sold for £2,300.

In all the sale exceeded prior expectations with stand-out prices for good quality unusual items. The first sale of 2018 is already looking exciting with a collection of Blue John, a superb Lenci figure and another rare Atmos clock amongst the early entries.