Sale report – Bearnes Hampton
& Littlewood, Exeter
There was a keen “buzz” in the rooms of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, Exeter for their two-day seasonal Fine Art sale earlier this month, and as usual, was very well-attended in an auction that grossed £663,428. As usual, interest from the room, on the phones and over the internet combined to create a buoyant two days where everyone was kept on their toes, which contrasts starkly with tales from other parts of the economy if media reports are to believed.
One of highlights in the sale occurred in the ceramics section when a Chinese Kangxi blue and white yen yen vase came under offer, that quickly dispensed with a somewhat modest estimate of £500-£800 to romp home at £7,200. And not soon after a charming continental snuff box, in the Meissen style but not firmly attributed to this factory as the auctioneers were not convinced the decoration was contemporary to the porcelain. Despite these reservations, potential buyers on the web, the phone and in the room shared no similar sentiments when producing a final bid of £8,000 against the guide of £600-£800.
Although no similar surprises appeared in silver, almost all sold well which included a George III soup tureen and cover by Philip Garden, London that made £7,800 and an attractive Victorian green glass and vine pattern claret jug by the Barnard family of London secured £2,400. Made in 1839 by one of the leading silversmiths in the country, it still surprised many hopefuls in the room when the £1,200-£1,500 was so soon exceeded.
Buyers for all silver appeared eager to quickly conclude their business of the day and as novelty smalls are always well-received, the expected £800-£900 for the set of three Victorian owl castors by Richards & Brown, London, 1862 soon appeared a too tentative for this room. Only when nearing £2,000 did the bidding show any signs of flagging, when eventually selling for £1,950 and with strong continental interest for a large presentation cup and cover in the Nuremberg style by Garrard, London 1856, this also made a respectable £1,750.
Jewellery and watches sold pretty near expectations, except for the £5,500 paid for a pink conche pearl and diamond pendant that expected £2,500-£3,500 and a fine natural black pearl and diamond mounted circular pendant doubled its estimate to sell for £3,300. The £4,300 offered for an Army & Navy 18ct gold minute repeating chronograph pocket watch (£1,500-£2,500) was also a nice surprise.
But collectors defeated by some quite robust prices in this section were not unhappy to wait their chance, and eventually fight to the bitter end over a Chinese bronze Islamic censer brought to the sale with an estimate of £200-£300, that achieved a sensational £18,000. Another winning bid was the £14,000 paid for a late 19th century Easter Island carved stylised hardwood male figure in the Works of Art section, an area which frequently encourages strong prices.
The £1,100 was bang on the nail, however, for the Art Deco period bronze study of a semi nude female Egyptian water carrier, signed Fayral and with foundry seal Le Verrier, Paris. Also spot on was the £120 paid to secure the pottery character jug of President Kruger from the Brannam pottery in Barnstaple, but a pair of table centrepieces by the Watcombe Pottery, modelled as a young girl and boy, proved too rich for the room at £200-£250, probably because the male figure was restored.
Pictures made a £194,600 contribution to the overall sale total, where there seemed to be renewed interest in Victorian pictures like the £14,000 offered for a harvest scene by William Linnell. A group of nine watercolour drawings by Archibald Knox made a total of £34,100 but the highest individual price came for a view of The Valley of The Macdonald, Cumberland, New South Wales. Catalogued as the Circle of Conrad Martens and with a guide of £2,000-£3,000, it made £33,000.
Furniture ended what was already a satisfactory sale with some more excellent results, that included an excellent £6,200 paid for an Edwardian marquetry pier table calling for £2,000-£3,000, the £8,600 offered for a Louis XV-style ormolu mounted bureau plat expecting £2,000-£3,000 and the impressive £18,000 provided for a mid 19th century Ceylonese centre table, inlaid with ebony and specimen wood confirmed a strong market for good furniture.
All in all, a very successful 800-lot two day sale which bodes well for the next in the New Year, especially as plans are well in hand to expand into additional auction premises in Honiton.
This seasonal Fine Art sale in Exeter was a tremendous success with buyers keen to bid on an eclectic range of antiques and collectables. There was considerable interest from the internet with buyers pitted against lively interest in the room, that all helped to contribute to a successful auction and bodes well for the future.
