A later and smaller tortoiseshell piece was a 61/2in (17cm) wide trinket box with silver work by William Comyns, London 1905 which sold at £2950.
Back among the older collectables was a 71/2in (19cm) high 17th century lignum vessel on a round foot, described as a wassail bowl, which took £2250.
A couple of lots earlier an 18th century needle and wirework picture of a bird in a tree was enhanced by being in a 17th/18th century walnut frame, 121/2in (32cm) high and sold at £1800.
Best of the ceramics was an 18th/19th century 71/4in (18.5cm) tall Chinese bulbous thin-necked vase with horse riders and a figure in a punt on a blue and white ground which sold at £1550.
P.F. Windibank, Dorking, April 27
Buyer’s premium: 10 per cent
Tea caddy market still looks on the boil
With the bulk of the 377 lots at the Grantham rooms of Marilyn Swain (15% buyer’s premium) on April 10 being fairly mediocre, the late Victorian mahogany and satinwood Tous Les Louis Exhibition quality kneehole writing desk, right, was always going to shine out.
