Antiques & Fine Art News

Frank Marshall & Co Auctioneers & Valuer’s based in Cheshire’s Historic market town of Knutsford smashed all previous house records at their recent auction of Antiques, Collectables and Fine Jewellery on the 10th November.


The star lot was an incredible Art Deco designed diamond encrusted Pendant/Necklace which had been brought in with a number of other high quality pieces from a private client new to Frank Marshall & Co, that had been impressed with their recent high level of marketing and publicity.  The Auctioneer’s had put a pre-sale estimate of £30,000 - £50,000 on the necklet.  Following a campaign of worldwide marketing through the major internet sites, which are linked to the auctioneers live internet bidding facility, adverts in specialist publications and the distribution of high quality catalogues to the auctioneers vast data-base of specialist buyers and wealthy private clients, a good sale was destined to follow.  At the packed saleroom the atmosphere was electric when a telephone bidder from America started the bidding at £30,000 and was quickly met with determined bidders who had gathered in the saleroom from all over the UK, eventually the American phone bidder won the battle and the prize lot for a staggering £70,000 to a round of applause from the excited crowd. 

 
 
This new saleroom record beats the previous best of £41,000 which was for a pair of rare 1745/49 Chelsea Porcelain Sauce Boats that was set at the auctioneers previous Antiques Sale just two months earlier.  Nick Hall Principal Auctioneer and Valuer at Frank Marshall & Co said “This just goes to show that with the fine reputation for professionalism our company has established and our high levels of expertise and marketing we are able to compete at the highest levels for achieving fantastic results for our clients”.

Other highlights throughout the day included a Diamond Solitaire ring for £14,000, and Art Deco Diamond Bracelet at £8,200, a superb quality Mid-19th Century Giant Carriage Clock by Desbois of London selling for £10,400, a gents Rolex Platinum Wrist Watch at £7,400, a highly prized group of World War One Medals for £3,700, and exceptionally rare Royal Doulton Figure of “Pan on a Rock” which sold for an incredible £3,400, a  good 19th century Cantonese carved ivory box with elaborate carved decoration throughout selling well at £2,400, a Royal Crown Derby dinner and tea service made an above estimate £2,000.  Two small Art Deco bronze figures by Ferdinand Preiss sold well at £1,950 and £800, and a fine quality Victorian inlaid Walnut Credenza bucked the trend and sold well at £1,800.  An unusual group of seven early-20th century Tribal Art life-size carved wooden figures sold incredibly well for a surprising £2,500 to an overseas buyer furnishing a villa in Majorca.

Not only was that  £70,000 diamond necklet a saleroom record for an individual item, but the days sale total beat all previous records too, amassing an incredible £350,000, much to  the happiness of all Frank Marshall & Co’s clients who had entered their treasures into the sale.

For further information or for a free valuation of your items please contact the Auctioneers on 01565 653284 or email on antiques@frankmarshall.co.uk, website address is www.frankmarshall.co.uk.
 

More News..................

They had been gathering dust for decades in an old lady's larder..........

Only when it came to a house clearance did our antique experts consider these two gravy boats might be worth a second look.

They have now been sold at our latest auction for £41,000 after being identified as among the earliest examples of English porcelain.

Principal Auctioneer & Valuer Nick Hall, shows off the two rare Chelsea porcelain sauce boats dating from 1745.
 

Made in 1745, they are believed to have been in the same family for generations but lain forgotten in a cupboard at the home of their elderly owner in Cheshire, until she was moved into a nursing home.
 
The sauce boats were made in Chelsea and carry the extremely rare factory mark of a blue triangle.
According to the 'Encyclopedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks', there are only two other examples of porcelain that have been recorded with the triangle.

The pieces - each 20.4cm long and 11.3cm high - are handpainted and feature panels of landscapes with floral and ribbon garlands plus insects. The bases are moulded in relief with rams' masks and cherub heads.

In good condition: Apart from a few 'imperfections' the sauce boats had survived for over two centuries
Nick Hall,  said: 'They have minor imperfections of small nicks, stress cracks and odd stains but other than that they have survived remarkably well.

"We had done our research and were well aware of the rarity and potential high value."
 
"Although there were no comparables to obtain an accurate valuation we were advising people that we were going to start the bidding at £1,000, be prepared for them to keep on going past £10,000 and who knows where the bidding will stop after that."
The sauce boats were illustrated on the catalogue front cover and in the Antiques Trade Gazette. The sauce boats were taken to talks and lectures in the run-up to the sale.'
 
At auction, the bidding started in the room but quickly came down to a battle between a telephone bidder and an internet bidder - a bid from the former was the highest at £41,000.

 
The remarkable story was filmed by the BBC who were shooting the auction for an episode of Bargain Hunt and will feature the sale of the sauce boats when the show comes out.

The sale was a house record for Frank Marshall & Co