After the London trade came to view, the feeling was that £2500-3000 was nearer expectations. In the event, the illustration in their Antiques Trade Gazette advert attracted bidders from Europe and America, including six on telephones.
Privately consigned, the pair was the subject of competition between a London Oriental dealer and a New York dealer on the phone, selling to the latter at £13,000 plus 12.5 per cent buyer’s premium.
Rare pair of 19th Century Japanese Carved Wood & Ivory Figures
Uncertain of just how widespread a reaction they would receive on the lot, Walker Barnett & Hill of Shropshire estimated this rare pair of 19th Century Japanese Carved Wood & Ivory Figures of two young boys, one with a hobby horse, the other playing a flute, measuring 10in (25cm) high, conservatively at £500-700.
