Oriental treasures proved irresistible at Hansons London September auction which saw a Chinese dish sell for £100,000 and a brooch featuring a jade bat fly past its estimate to sell for thousands.
The Chinese yellow gold and apple green jade brooch (Lot 127), featuring a bat carved out of jade, had an estimate of £250-£450 but soared to £5,500 – more than 12 times its original estimate.
Meanwhile, star of the show at the September 8 Hansons London Auction, held at the Normansfield Theatre, Teddington, was a rare and sought-after dish carrying the Chinese Yongzheng mark from the period 1723-1735.
Found on the dresser of a London home and bought in the 1950s at a country house sale for around £3, it sold for £100,000 with eight phone bidders battling to own it. It sold to a Chinese buyer for a total of £124,000 with buyer’s premium and VAT.
Jewellery shimmered to glory too, including a century-old Liberty & Co opal, emerald and seed pearl necklace, circa 1900, which was contested to £5,800 (Lot 201).
Also highly sought after was lot 136, a solitaire, brilliant cut, yellow diamond ring featuring a 2.5 carat stone, which sold for £3,400.
Another unusual diamond to woo buyers was lot 101, a diamond in the rough still in its original carrier stone. The uncut, five carat crystal was in a presentation rock inscribed with the words ‘Presented to Sir AW Snelling, British Ambassador to South Africa on the occasion of the opening of the Kimberley Centenary Diamond Exhibit, July 1971’. Its original estimate was £300-£500 but it reached £1,900.
Vintage watches ticked the right boxes with bidders too. Lot 212, a 1971 stainless steel Omega Flightmaster chronograph watch, sold for £2,200 from a £1,000 to £1,500 estimate. In addition, lot 235, a Cartier Santos 100 automatic watch sold for £2,000, its top estimate figure.
Lowry-inspired prints also took the eye of buyers with lot 465, a signed picture named ‘Our Town’, after Laurence Stephen Lowry, realising £2,100.Lot 460, a signed Lowry colour print called ‘Sailing Boats’ sold for £1,800.
Another atmospheric work of art to do well was lot 577, a KPM porcelain circular plaque painted with mother and child which sold for £1,900 from an estimate of £1,000-£1,200.
Chris Kirkham, associate director of Hansons London, said: “It was an eclectic and impressive auction featuring many highly unusual objects which caught the attention of buyers around the world.
“We are delighted by the success of this auction and by the treasures we are regularly uncovering at our free valuation events in London and the south.”
Hansons London will hold its next auction on October 27 with entries invited until October 6. To find out more, visit www.hansonslondon.co.uk or call0208 979 7954.
FREE Valuations
Hanson London offers free valuations every Saturday, 9.30am-12.30pm, at its saleroom, Normansfield Theatre, 2A Langdon Park, Teddington, TW11 9PS; every Wednesday and Friday, 10am-4pm at Hansons London Valuation office, 77 Bridge Road, East Molesey, KT8 9HH, and on Tuesdays at 28 Jameson Street, Notting Hill, W8 7SH. Oriental art expert Adam Schoon and jewellery expert Kate Bliss are available to value items for free on various dates at all three venues. To find out more, email [email protected] or call 020 8979 7954.
