30/07/2026 General News
Our Summer Fine Sale, which took place in July, saw 468 lots go under the hammer, representing the very best in all categories of antiques, from ceramics to glassware, silver, watches and jewellery, ephemera, furniture, decorative arts, and fine pictures. This was followed by our second East Anglian Art Sale of 2026, with 120 works by artists from our region offered for sale, writes Tim Blyth.
As ever, picking out the highlights from such a large and high-quality Sale is terrifically difficult; if you are interested, you can find the full results on our website. All of the prices quoted are hammer prices, excluding buyer’s premium.
Ceramics and glassware first: as ever this section included the whole gamut of English, European and oriental makers. European porcelain did particularly well, including a lot comprising a dozen Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica plates, which smashed its estimate of £300-£500 with a hammer price of £2,700.
Delft ware was also in demand, with a huge 17th century vase selling for £2,550 (estimate £600-£800) and a late 17th century vase and cover for £1,450 (estimate £400-£600). Meanwhile, the star item amongst 22 lots of Lowestoft porcelain was a rare tureen, cover and matching stand, which sold for £1,950 (estimate £1,500-£2,000).
In the glassware section, an exquisite Louis C Tiffany Art Nouveau iridescent Favrile vase, dating from 1910, made £1,120 (estimate £900-£1,200).
As ever, oriental ceramics were in demand from bidders all around the world. The highlight here was a late 17th century Japanese Edo Period porcelain vase or jar, which went for £2,700 (estimate £600-£800). Another oriental lot which made considerably more than its estimate was a Chinese silk robe from the late Qing Dynasty, which sold for £2,400 (estimate £200-£300).
The Silver, Watches and Jewellery section of the Sale comprised 144 lots, and picking out highlights is an almost impossible task. I am going to go for a late Victorian silver and enamel vesta case (designed to hold early friction matches) with a picture of a golfer, dating from 1891, which sold for £1,540 (estimate £300-£400).
Another unusual piece which far exceeded its estimate was an antique sundial compass, which was snapped up by a collector for £2,800 (estimate £200-£300).
Georgian silver was much in demand, with a pair of George II candlesticks making £2,200 (estimate £1,000-£1,500) and a George III silver gilt twin-handled presentation trophy, dating from the year of the Battle of Waterloo (1815), selling for £4,700 (estimate £3,000-£3,500).
The Sale included several items associated with Winston Churchill, which always attract great interest. They all sold above estimate, including four signed volumes of his ‘History of the English Speaking Peoples’, which sold for £6,800 (estimate £1,500-£2,000).
The Pictures section of the Sale included some very fine original works. Star lots included a still life with flowers by Dorothea Sharp (1873-1955) which sold for £8,300 (estimate £1,200-£1,500); and an equestrian watercolour by Lionel Edwards (1878-1966) which went for £4,900 (estimate £5,000-£8,000).
This was then followed by our second East Anglian Art Sale of the year, which saw a still life by Eloise Harriet Stannard (1829-1915) sell for £6,600 (estimate £3,000-£4,000); and a lithograph by Harry Becker (1865-1928) make £5,000 (estimate £5,000-£8,000).
Finally, two lots which really illustrate the diversity in our Fine Sales: a taxidermy pike, caught in Hickling Broad in 1855, which sold for £3,150 (estimate £800-£1,200); and a vintage ‘Williams Travel Time’ pinball machine which went for £1,350 (estimate £450-£600).