Auction Reports

Works by one of the finest masters of thrown stoneware come to auction

Literally the highlight of Halls’ (23% buyer’s premium) Autumn Sale was a hall lantern demonstrating showy high Victorian taste at its most confident.

Complex cartouche-shaped marginal wall mirrors from the early 18th century are notably rarer than arched or rectangular examples.

Although catalogued as a lantern, this Russian silver, gilt and enamel object is more probably an incense burner, used in the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

Distinctive plaques made to mark births are unique to the Suffolk town’s porcelain factory.

The Minton ‘fungi and foxes’ tureen is among the rarest of all majolica game pie dishes.

The sales at Stride & Son (21.6% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Chichester on September 1-2 included a trio of avidly contested items, each a rarity in three highly specialised collecting areas.

Novelty condiment sets inspired by the far reaches of the British Empire are a feature of Victorian silver.

Revered in the world of railway modelling, the name James Stanley Beeson (1906-90), better known as Stan Beeson, attracted well-heeled collectors and specialist dealers to Tennants’ (22% buyer’s premium) sale on July 27.

The series of novelty ‘book’ hip flasks made by James Dixon & Co of Sheffield c.1900-10 are always popular collectables.

With the added lustre of having been worn by a Fifties aristocratic supermodel, two jewellery items entered by her grandchildren were the stars at Bellmans’ (22% buyer’s premium) sale of items from a Shropshire manor.

A recent sale at Mander Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Sudbury was topped by this textbook example of late 19th century American furniture: the Wooton secretaire desk.

Collection offered in London sale presented rare chance to buy fragments from Shang period

The Cotswold Auction Company (22% buyer’s premium) offered this version of the well-known Pilkington’s Lancastrian St George and the Dragon charger in Cheltenham.

A cheaper storage solution than secondhand furniture at the time, this steamer trunk, shown right, from a Twickenham bric-a-brac shop was the economic option for a father buying a practical gift for his daughter’s first flat.

Proof that a traditional piece of furniture can still bring a traditional price, this mid-18th century oak tridarn went seven times above estimate at the Trevanion (20% buyer’s premium) auction in Shropshire.

In exceptionally fine condition and probably never worn, a c.1730-40 embroidered silk skirt offered at Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) also had a back story adding to its attraction.

The latest sale of Costume, Accessories & Textiles at Tennants (22% buyer’s premium) in Leyburn included an unusual example of early 20th century Irish linen: a white damask tablecloth and napkins made around the time of the coronation of George V in 1910.

Barometers among collections of two renowned polymaths test the market temperature

Mid-20th century designer material such as teak Boomerang chairs was in demand at a Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Woking this summer.