Each of the dishes, assayed for London 1897, featured a different border of English plants such as poppy, narcissus, daffodil and cornflower. They were bought by a private collector for more than £30,000.
Running until September 18, this is the 10th staging of the association’s fair in Mayfair’s Berkeley Square. The plates were among the items featured on the LAPADA Legends stand, a new initiative this year which showcases objects of outstanding craftsmanship from various dealers.
Another top item of silver was a three-part plated centrepiece by Elkington & Co, 1868 with figures of a stag, doe, giraffe and ostrich standing under palm trees. It was sold by I Franks, which reported its best opening night in a decade at the fair.
Timothy Millett parted with an 1823 life mask of William Blake by James de Ville, which was ticketed at £950, and a painting by Modern British artist John Bratby (1928-92), the central work on the stand of Freya Mitton, also sold on the preview day.
In furniture sales, S&S Timms sold a pair of Georgian night tables to a private collector for £8000 and Lennox Cato found a new home for a satinwood secretaire bookcase, c.1800, for a price in the region of £20,000.
