Working in the antiques world can feel a little like being a detective as you question, probe and hunt for clues to discover treasure in unexpected places.
Every week I’m invited into homes to assess whether items are worthy of auction, often ahead of a house clearance. And sometimes an object deemed worthless takes my eye.
My detective instinct kicked in when I spotted a vase filled with dried flowers in a modest two-up, two-done property – and my instinct told me to take another look.
It was blue and white and embellished in typical Chinese style. But it seemed incongruous. Why would a valuable piece of Chinese ceramics be here? I discovered the vase had been given as a gift to a man who had worked as a chauffeur in the 1950s.
Could it be that a generous employer had gifted an exceptional item to a loyal driver more than 60 years ago? Could a vase used for dried flowers in a house in Mansfield, Notts, be highly valuable?
The property was due to be cleared and an offer of £1000 had been made for the contents – but I arranged for the vase to be auctioned. However, despite my gut instinct I made a mistake. After examination, I decided it was repro and consigned the vase into Hansons’ March Antiques and Collectables sale with a guide price of around £50.
But when the auction catalogue went live online extraordinary bids started to come in for the humble vase. I withdrew it from sale to give me time to consult Chinese ceramics experts and, importantly, ensure we achieved the best price possible for our client.
The item was identified as a Chinese blue and white bottle vase, transitional period circa 1640 – making it nearly 400 years old. Its bulbous body is vividly painted with a group of officials conversing while its neck boasts stylised tulips. The vase was re-consigned into Hansons’ April 1 Derbyshire Fine Art Auction with a guide price of £2,000-£3,000. It sold for £15,000.
I was delighted and our client was astonished. I was reminded yet again that antique treasures turn up in unexpected places. Inherited pieces of staggering value sit on cupboards or languish in glass cabinets for decades.
The same was true of the top lot in April’s Fine Art Auction, a damaged Chinese blue and white ‘nine’ dragon bottle vase, Jiaqing mark, period 1796-1820. It sold for £46,000 from an estimate of £3,000-£5,000 – and its discovery was not dissimilar to the Mansfield find.
I came across it during a standard home visit. Our client had inherited it 25 years previously but didn’t bother asking me to assess it as it had been brushed aside when she sought advice previously.
I spotted it on a glass cabinet and recognised its potential. Antique Chinese porcelain is highly sought after by wealthy Chinese buyers keen to repatriate items to their homeland.
The price for the vase, which featured painted dragons chasing a flaming pearl among trailing clouds, was achieved despite reglued section on the rim and long crack. The style of decoration had its roots in the imperial designs of the Qianlong period (1736-1795). Similar examples exist in The Palace Museum, Beijing, China.
The owner, an 89-year-old retired speech therapist and mother of three, recalled seeing it at her grandparents’ house but had no idea how they came to own it. A few years ago, she took it to show an Asian ‘specialist’ but was told it was worthless because of the repair. They promised to check the mark on the base but never did.
I’m always thrilled when I discover antiques that could have been potentially lost forever – and delighted to deliver unexpected windfalls. Chinese ceramics can sell for life-changing amounts but they’re far from the only objects to excel.
Other top Fine Art items included lot 554, a 1960 Jaguar MkII 1960, 2.4 manual. Found with only 51,000 miles on the clock in a storage shed near Repton in South Derbyshire, it sold for £20,000.
Designer watches are hot property and lot 228, a Rolex gents Daytona Oyster Perpetual Superlative Chronometer Cosmograph, made £13,000, while lot 263, a Rolex gents 18ct gold oyster perpetual Day-Date chronometer wristwatch, reached £9,500.
Luxury items are sought after and lot 290, a Louis Vuitton Malle Haute 110 trunk, reached £12,000. Also popular were limited-edition, Salvador Dali-design bronzes. Lot 362, Profile of Time, made £4,200 while lot 363, Nobility of Time, reached £3,800.
And one of my favourite finds, lot 11, a set of 19th Century silver-plated sports medals awarded to Donald Dinnie (1837-1916), a Highland Games sportsman regarded as the 19th Century’s greatest athlete, achieved £4,500. It truly was a prize-winning sale.
Items are invited for Hansons’ Summer Fine Art Auction. Email Isabel Murtough: [email protected]. Free valuations at Etwall Auction Centre, near Derby, include Textiles, Costume and Fashion with Notty Hornblower, April 14, 10am-4pm, and Film and Music Memorabilia with Claire Howell, April 13, 10am-4pm. To book, email: [email protected] or call 01283 733988.
