Latest News Articles by Terence Ryle
Chinese lots sit comfortably in two sales
30 October 2017More evidence that Chinese lots can leave auctioneers sitting pretty came in sales north and south.
Tusk force: Ramsden elephants at auction
30 October 2017Overshadowed by the £130,000 Giacometti double-sided sketch (ATG No 2314), other pieces at Cheffins’ (23% buyer’s premium) sale at Cambridge on October 12 flourished under the banner of post-1880 design.
Silk robe garden theme fresh two centuries later
28 October 2017Appearing to be as vividly coloured as when it was made in the 18th century, a brocaded silk robe à l’Anglaise breathed the style and quality associated with its Spitalfields makers.
Ivory carves a market test at auction
23 October 2017In a diverse 515-lot sale, finely carved wood and alabaster, porcelain and even furniture took eye-catching bids – but much of the wider market was waiting to see how a large consignment of 18th and 19th century ivory carvings would fare at Woolley & Wallis (22% buyer’s premium) on October 4.
Nelson sinks to shop sign level
23 October 2017When the vendor consigned a 3ft 2in (97cm) tall carved figure of Nelson into the Rayleigh rooms of Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium), he believed it to be a ship’s figurehead.
Timely reminder of 19th century Bombay business
23 October 2017A gift from the founder of the Tata global business empire to the architect who designed his Bombay headquarters, this late 19th century Patek Philippe gold hunter pocket watch was an eyecatcher at Andrew Smith (19% buyer’s premium) at Itchen Stoke on September 12.
Rolf tinplate toy skis into Bucks auction
23 October 2017A collection of 28 German tinplate clockwork toys all found buyers, generally above estimate, at Bourne End Auctions (15% buyer’s premium) on October 4.
Owen once, Owen twice... Owen once, Owen twice... reticulated wares roll into two sales
23 October 2017Dominated by two lots of Chinese porcelain, the September 28-30 sale at Hansons (17.5% buyer’s premium) also included eight Royal Worcester pieces by George Owen (1845-1917) who was inspired by the Orient to produce his trademark reticulated wares.
Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ Ryedale: Bill Haley gold disc stars at auction
23 October 2017Back at No 1, 60 years after driving teenagers wild and their parents to despair, Bill Haley’s Rock Around the Clock was the star of Pop and Rock Memorabilia sale at Ryedale Auctions (17.5% buyer’s premium) in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, on September 29.
Hookah pipe base fires up a Mughal surprise
09 October 2017Initially described as a 19th century glass font for an oil lamp and pitched at £40-60, this bell-shaped vessel drew wide interest before the September 1 sale at Tring Market Auctions (17.5% buyer’s premium).
Rie stays on song in Devon
09 October 2017Part of a consignment from a deceased estate in Totnes, this stoneware bowl by red-hot studio pottery favourite Dame Lucie Rie was a near certainty to exceed the £6000-9000 estimate when Chudleigh auction house Michael J Bowman (17.5% buyer’s premium) received a £20,000 commission bid from Japan ahead of the September 23 Devon sale.
Exporting values from south London
09 October 2017A collection of early 20th century Chinese silver attracted wide interest at Catherine Southon’s (18% buyer’s premium) September 6 sale at Selsdon, south London.
Continental buyers put in sterling performance for quality consignments
09 October 2017Cheap sterling can help bring in the foreign buyers – but only if auctioneers can deliver the right goods. These were much in evidence at Chorley’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale at Prinknash Abbey on September 13-14.
‘The most jukeboxy of them all’ is an after-sale hit
09 October 2017One of the most sought-after models in the jukebox world is the Wurlitzer Peacock Type 850, designed by Paul Fueller in 1941. It is generally considered the biggest, the showiest and ‘most jukeboxy’ jukebox of them all.
Beckwith pistols pair hits the target
02 October 2017Top-seller at guns specialist Southams (15% buyer’s premium) in Bedford on September 20 was acased pair of flintlock double-barrelled travelling pistols.
Narwhal’s twisted appeal
02 October 2017Narwhal tusks, once sold for colossal sums to Elizabethan gentleman as unicorn horns, continue to be in demand as sculptural natural history objects of contemplation.
Fifth Kruger pulls £4700 in softer Beswick market
02 October 2017Perhaps the rarest of all Beswick’s output is the pit pony figure Spirit of Whitfield.
A Spicer terrier with a tale
02 October 2017Early to spot the rise of interest in taxidermy, Tennants’ (18.5% buyer’s premium) latest Natural History sale on September 20 was led by a top-quality diorama with a back story adding to its appeal.
Bowled over by China
02 October 2017A selection of good online illustrations plus a brief noncommittal description can be the regional auctioneer’s safest route when offering Chinese works of art. It proved successful when a porcelain bowl was consigned to the September 7 sale Greenslade Taylor & Hunt (19% buyer’s premium) held at Taunton.
The recipe for reviving mahogany
02 October 2017“Many think that the fashion for older mahogany furniture has died a death. However, the prices achieved at this sale go to show that these items are still incredibly desirable.”