16/08/2025 General News
Despite having been in the auctions profession for rather more years than I am prepared to admit in our own blog, I never fail to enjoy the buzz of a really electric sale – and our Summer Fine Sale which took place last month most definitely had my senses fizzing, writes Tim Blyth.
Sometimes the combination of lots, eager buyers and saleroom atmosphere align to bring a level of excitement which cannot be matched. And when they do, the result is fiercely competitive bidding, hammer prices far in excess of pre-sale estimates, and occasionally even a sense of making history.
The star lot in the Sale certainly made the headlines – the front page of industry bible Antiques Trade Gazette to be precise. A small pencil drawing measuring just 19cm x 17cm became the centre of a protracted and keen bidding contest between buyers in the room, on the phone and on the internet.
With an element of caution (we are always careful not to make claims we can’t back up), we had catalogued the work as by the ‘circle of Dante Gabriel Rosetti’, a Victorian pre-Raphaelite artist who lived from 1828-1882 – and assigned a similarly cautious estimate of £1,200-£2,200.
But bidders took a surer approach, convinced it was the real thing, a study for the artist’s pen and ink drawing ‘Mary Magdelene at the door of Simon the Pharisee’, which is in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. After a nine minute bidding battle, it finally sold to an online bidder for £26,900.
Such a bidding war would normally elevate a sale on its own; but there were literally dozens of examples of eager buyers driving the eventual hammer price way in excess of the pre-sale estimate. There isn’t room to list them all, but here are few examples.
In the ceramics section, two Royal Worcester plaques made £1,600 and £1,560 (estimate £500-£700 each); a group of Carlton Ware Art Deco pieces sold for £2,500 (estimate £80-£120); a 19th century Majolica garden seat went for £3,200 (estimate £500-£700); and a Meissen group of greyhounds sold for £1,500 (estimate £400-£600).
The oriental market continued its unstoppable march, with a Qing Dynasty silk Mandarin robe selling for £2,900 (estimate £150-£200) and a Chinese porcelain charger for £1,500 (estimate £800-£1,200). Meanwhile a collection of 17th and 18th century books and documents on the occult made £7,100, many times its estimate of £200-£300.
Silver and jewellery performed equally well: three George II silver caddies went for £2,000 (estimate £400-£500); a set of six George V dinner plates made £4,500, and a silver service of ‘GLAMIS’ patterned flatware £2,900. Meanwhile a Georgian gemset padlock brooch sold for £2,850 (estimate £200-£400).
I could go on: a 17th century pikeman’s helmet made £1,800 (estimate £500-£700); a model of Nelson’s HMS Victory reached £4,000 (estimate £600-£800), and a sideboard by Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson sold for £6,100 (estimate £1,200-£1,500).
After all the excitement, we are already taking entries for our Autmn Fine Sale, which takes place in November. If you want to be part of the fun, visit www.keysauctions.co.uk/selling.