Auction Reports

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.

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.

Barometers among collections of two renowned polymaths test the market temperature

Famille rose vases decorated with ‘Hundred Boys’ scenes are among the most commercial of all Qing ceramics.

The owl had been a symbol of wealth and wisdom since the days of ancient Greece and inspired designers such as Lalique.

Special Auctions Services (25% buyer’s premium) in Newbury sold the collection of John Garside last month.

The appetite for early Manchester United memorabilia is strong – even for a player who started out at their arch-rivals

Although, thanks in part to Bram Stoker’s Dracula (first published in 1897), bats have acquired a reputation as ‘creatures of the night’ in many cultures they are viewed as symbols of luck or reincarnation.

In its catalogue notes for the July 22 Scottish Greats: Football, Golf, Fishing and more sale, McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium) was careful to say regarding a football shirt on offer that it could give no guarantee it was exactly as billed.

Sasha dolls were popular presents in the sixties and seventies and still in demand enough at auction today to hit four figures.

Percy Thomas Tibbles, born in Hampstead, London, in 1881, was destined to become famous for cutting women in half.

A composite German full armour, c.1500-10, from a European Collection was one of the highlights of Thomas Del Mar’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale of Fine Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria held at Olympia Auctions on June 29.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly (1871-1936) had a decent wartime career in the Royal Navy but it was a peacetime crisis that also showed his skills: the Invergordon Mutiny.

The autobiography title Rake’s Progress: The Gay and Dramatic – Adventures of Major Denis Rake MC, the Reluctant British War-Time Agent perfectly sums up the story behind a group of medals on offer in East Sussex.

Although the wearer of a First World War tunic sold by Kent auction house C&T (22% buyer’s premium) on July 26-28 was not listed, it gave plenty of clues to his service.

To get an idea of the healthy nature of the medals market at the moment, consider the Victoria Cross sold at Spink (20% buyer’s premium) this summer.

Unique medal combinations will always catch a collector’s eye, particularly when accompanied by a highly emotive backstory.

This cased pair of English flintlock duelling pistols by Joseph Gulley, London, c.1810-15, sold for £8600 at Halls (20/12% buyer’s premium) in a timed online sale that ended on August 2.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the French military could feel pretty proud of itself. The dashing style and spirit of their forces in the 19th century often inspired other nations to create copycat units.

According to family history, an Art Deco four-piece suite offered by Mander (20% buyer’s premium) in Sudbury on July 9 has an ocean-going history.