Auction Reports

Estimated at £400-600, a Satsuma censer by Kinkozan provided more evidence that there is considerable life in the market for top-quality Meiji works of art when offered by Surrey auctioneer Catherine Southon (18% buyer’s premium).

The belief that porcelain dolls are somehow sinister has taken hold in recent years – and doubtless the appearance of the rare bebe pictured below rather reinforced the bias of some who viewed the Heliers (18% buyer’s premium) sale at Blackburn.

Two fine Dutch pieces quadrupled estimates at Woolley & Wallis on April 24-25: a c.1637 wine cup by an unidentified Middelburg smith and a table bell.

An essential of genteel Georgian life, silver apple corers with their simple elegance were once much prized by collectors. However, a collection of nine early 19th century examples offered at Woolley & Wallis on April 24-25 met a mixed reception, with only five getting away.

The footballing power of mighty George Brown led to his nickname of ‘Bomber’ decades before the title went to Gerd Müller. Brown’s glory days were with Huddersfield Town FC, a power in the land 90 years ago.

Among the silver from North Mymms Park lots offered at Sworders, a couple of 18th century classics, a c.1735 Scottish bullet teapot and a pair of John Cafe London 1775 table candlesticks, were eclipsed by the surprise success of a scantily catalogued Oriental teapot.

Given the GlaxoSmithKline link, it was not a surprise to see four apothecaries’ cabinets among the contents of North Mymms Park sold at Sworders.

“When I come to look back at my career, I think this sale will have been the highlight,” said auctioneer Guy Schooling, 40 years at the rostrum, after selling the contents of Hertfordshire country house North Mymms Park.

The increasing market interest in modern designer silver was well catered for among the contents of North Mymms Park offered at Sworders.

Since the start of the Chinese boom at UK auctions many, if not most, estimates have been little more than here-to-sell signals. Settling on a figure with which vendors are happy with, and then leaving it to the worldwide market on the net, is now common practice.

A 10in (25cm) tall Kangxi period (1654-1722) rouleau vase painted with fishermen and cranes took a six-times estimate £2800 at the 1200-lot Spring Sale at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) on March 22-26.

Delayed by snow for a week, the Spring Sale at Chorley’s (20% buyer’s premium) on March 27 opened with a local collection of Republic-era (1912-49) porcelain.

The feast from the east that that has put bread (and some Michelin-starred meals) on the table of dealers and auctioneers for more than a decade continues to do so at sales from Scotland to Surrey.

Chinese porcelain resumed its traditional dominance among the Oriental offerings at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) in Leyburn.

An ideal marriage of skills, rather than a clash of cultures, put a pair of c.1790-1800 Chinese export vases into the limelight at Hannam’s (20% buyer’s premium) sale at Selborne.

One of the smallest but most eye-catching lots at the Oriental sale at Bonhams Edinburgh (25% buyer’s premium) was two 4¼in (11cm) high Manchu officials’ bronze seals.

First such pocket atlas published in England leads a look at highly diverse auction selection

Huanghuali furniture in the form of a late Ming/ early Qing ping tou-an (recessed legs table) starred in the Oriental section of Brightwells’ (17.5% buyer’s premium) sale in Leominster.

The world of Chinese art remains open to collectors on modest budgets if they look to some of the less fashionable wares, those from later periods and pieces that carry damage.

A remarkable collection of around 4500 postcards relating to a wide range of aspects of Jewish life in the 19th and 20th centuries was the fascinating, and often sobering, centre of interest when offered by Norfolk auction house Horners (17% buyer’s premium).