1. Moshe Oved silver ring – £3500
It was not catalogued as such but this silver ring, above, modelled as a standing lion with a gold coloured mane is by Moshe Oved (1885-1958), the owner of the celebrated Bloomsbury antique shop, Cameo Corner.
It has the London hallmarks CC for 1969.
Oved famously modelled the first of a series of lost wax cast animal rings (a lamb) while sheltering in the basement of Cameo Corner during the Blitz. He later cast it from his own cuff-links after he learnt that a client’s son had been killed in action.
Oved went on to make numerous rings, mostly in silver, but some in gold. They are hugely collectable and the lion is among the rarer models.
Offered for sale at Dreweatts in Newbury, Berkshire on October 23, it attracted huge interest at its estimate of just £30-50 but ultimately sold at £3500.
2. Glass petrol pump globe – £13,000
A British glass petrol pump globe for Dominion Motor Spirit Co Ltd –£13,000 at Richard Edmonds Auctions.
For collectors of glass petrol pump globes, it is often those made by obscure brands that are hardest to find. This example, in exceptional condition, is fully stamped Webbs Crystal Glass Co. Ltd. London and property of Dominion Motor Spirit Co. Ltd. Returnable on Demand.
Dominion launched in 1923 but was quickly swallowed up by Sealand Petroleum Co. and then Shell-Mex and BP. By 1957 the Dominion name had disappeared from the forecourts.
Offered for sale by automobile specialists Richard Edmonds Auctions in Chippenham, Wiltshire on October 18 it doubled estimate at £13,000. The price is among the highest paid for a British petrol pump globe and akin to the sort of mighty sums bid for rarities made in the US.
3. Benjamin Ratcliff longcase – £2000
A longcase clock by Benjamin Ratcliff that may have been owned by former British Prime Minister William Gladstone – £2000 at Rogers Jones.
The Welsh Sale held by Rogers Jones in Cardiff on October 19 included this quirky eight-day longcase clock by Benjamin Ratcliff of Welshpool.
Its distinguishing feature is an unusual brass ‘solar dial’ bearing Roman numerals and the maker's surname in prominent capitals.
An old label to the interior suggests it was previously owned by former British Prime Minister William Gladstone at his Flintshire estate Hawarden Castle. Estimated at £1000-2000, it sold at the top guide.
4. Intaglio ring – £2700
An 18th century banded agate ring with an intaglio thought to be 2nd century Roman – £2700 at Pippa Deeley Auctions.
Out of favour for a generation, grand tour and ancient intaglios and cameos are enjoying a return to form. This 18th century banded agate ring sold for £2700 (estimate £100-200) at Pippa Deeley Auctions in Bodiam, East Sussex on October 19.
The intaglio was possibly 2nd century Roman: cut with two toga-wearing figures in conversation to the reverse was a four-character inscription.
5. 19th century Russian samovar – £2230
A neo-rococo samovar from Russia c.1850 – £2230 at Barsby Auctions.
Although a form that became popular in Europe and the Middle East, the samovar (literally ‘self-brewer’) is most commonly associated with Russia where they have been popular since the 18th century. Many were made in the metalworking centre of Tula.
Russian authorship markedly changes the demand for a 19th century silver plated samovar. While many English examples now sell for relatively modest sums this neo-rococo model from Russia c.1850 took a surprise Aus$4200 (£2230) at Barsby Auctions in Sydney, Australia on October 19.
6. David Carr portrait – £3300
Oil on board of a women with a lily by David Carr from c.1950 – £3300 at Sworders.
The Modern British and 20th Century Art at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet on October 22 included this oil on board portrait by David Carr (1915-68). Estimated at £200-300 it made a much more substantial £3300.
Although born into the Carlisle biscuit-making family of the same name, Carr has a strong link to East Anglia. Both he and his future wife Barbara Gilligan were both members of The East Anglian School of Painting (founder Cedric Morris painted them together in a portrait that is now in the Tate Gallery collection) and the couple later moved to Starston Hall in Harleston, Norfolk.
Although little regarded in his lifetime, he was the subject of exhibitions in 1969 at the Bertha Shaeffer Gallery in New York, in 1987 at the Mayor Gallery (when the monograph David Carr, the Discovery of an Artist was published) and in 1997 when his work was shown alongside that of friend Prunela Clough at Austin Desmond Fine Art.
On stylistic grounds this oil on board of a women with a lily, 21in x 13in (54 x 32cm), signed bottom left, probably dates from c.1950.
Only a handful of pictures have made more, including a wartime scene Over Queen Victoria Street, London, 1941 selling for £3400 at Chiswick Auctions in 2018.
