14/03/2026 General News
Bidders from all around the world are gearing up to take part in Keys’ first Fine Sale of 2026, a two-day, 357-lot auction featuring the very best quality ceramics and glassware, furniture, silver, jewellery and watches, books and ephemera, and paintings and fine art, writes Tim Blyth.
It is a diverse sale whose only theme is quality – this is one of the most eagerly anticipated provincial sales in the UK, and one of the reasons that industry bib le Antiques Trade Gazette has called Keys a ‘Top Tier’ regional auction house.
One lot which is already attracting much attention is a very collectable double-sided Martinware face jug dating from 1911. This is a good example of ‘grotesque ware’ typical of that made by R.W.Martin Bros from the late 19th century onwards.
The four Martin Brothers (Wallace, Walter, Charles and Edwin) manufactured pottery in London from 1873 until the pottery closed on the outbreak of the First World War in 1914; very small-scale production continued until the last of the four brothers, Wallace, died in 1923.
Martinware sculptures can sell for big money – up into six figures. The jugs are a more accessible way into collecting pieces by the brothers, but are still very much sought after. Our estimate for this piece is £1,200-£1,500; the interest already shown suggests the eventual hammer price could be at or beyond the top end of this range.
Another star lot in the ceramics section is a very rare Lowestoft porcelain birth tablet dating from 1789. It can be hard to believe that for 45 years in the second half of the 18th century, the Suffolk town was renowned as one of the leading centres for soft-paste porcelain in the world.
Although the factory is long gone, the Lowestoft name is still very much in demand in the saleroom. This particular piece is inscribed to Samuel Spurgeon, who was born on 23rd September 1789, and whose mother Ann is believed to have been the sister of Richard Powles, an artist at the factory. The tablet was exhibited in the Lowestoft Bicentenary Exhibition held in Ipswich in 1957, and has a pre-sale estimate of £5,000-£6,000.
18th century glassware rarely comes to auction, so we are excited about an exquisite Jacobite wine glass (which featured on the Antiques Roadshow in 2010) with an air twist stem and with the bowl decorated with a rose head and closed buds with foliage, along with the word ‘Fiat’, which is typically found on glasses made to express support for Bonnie Prince Charlie, and which means ‘may it be so’.
Copies of such glasses were made in the 19th century, but this is a rare example of the real thing, and it has a pre-sale estimate of £1,000-£1,500.
Silver prices are very strong at the moment, and our Fine Sale has some very high quality pieces indeed. One example is a late Victorian four piece tea service made by Edward Barnard & Sons in 1899, featuring a teapot with ebonised handle, coffee/hot water jug with carved walnut handle, twin-handled sugar bowl and cream jug. The pre-sale estimate is £2,800-£3,500.
The resurgence in antique furniture continues apace, particularly pieces form the Georgian era, and the Sale reflects this. One lovely piece is a George III mahogany serpentine front gentleman’s chest of drawers with beautiful veneered decoration. This is one of a number of Georgian pieces of furniture in the Sale, and has an estimate of £1,000-£1,500.
Finally, the Fine Art section of the Sale has an interest mix of Old Masters and modern art. One example of the former is an oil painting by Belgian artist Florent Willems (1823-1905) called ‘Feeding the New Arrivals’, which has a pre-sale estimate of £1,250-£2,500.
A good example of more contemporary art is a large (standing 2.3 meters tall) contemporary bronzed metal model of three children picking grapes while on a ladder. This striking piece is already attracting lots of interest, and has a pre-sale estimate of £2,500-£3,000.