April Auction Review with Tim Weeks
It seems almost serendipitous that in the same weekend Arsenal were crowned the Premier League Champions we had a cracking selection of football memorabilia in our antiques and collectibles auction. After partying in North London for three days, I brushed off the red & white confetti from my hair and wringed out the champagne from my blazer to take the auction on 23rd May to be greeted by some Champion football lots in their own right.
The highest profile of these was undoubtedly a pair of Argentina shirts signed by Diego Maradonna and Lionel Messi, the holy grail for any Argentina fan, or football fan for that matter. From a collector’s point of view Maradona’s signature is relatively scarce by comparison to some of his contemporaries, and his death in 2020 creates a highly sought after limited supply of signatures. Messi offered a perfect counterpart to his predecessor, with the hammer ultimately falling at £1,400 plus BP before attention returned to English football just a few lots later where a signed 2003 David Beckham boot sold for £280 plus BP.
Later in the day, a more unusual highlight was a vintage ventriloquist dummy having a paper mache head with moving jaw and hand painted features. It’s always exciting when these come up at auctions as they are relatively scarce, and with the decline of the art form, hardly any are now being produced. Whilst the tradition dates back as early as the 1700s in England, our mid-Century example is a good illustration of the height of Ventriloquism. It reminds us of a time when the variety show was the height of entertainment, from Saturday night television to music halls these dummies were always a fail-safe backbone of an entertaining night out. Whilst some later examples were mass produced, overall, these were hand created by expert craftsmen which give them artistic merit in their own right, and attract interest from both collectors and interior designers who display them as works of art. Our example sold for £545 including premium.
A week prior to this we held our bi-monthly specialist coin, jewellery and silver auction across two days. One of the most highly watched lots in the jewellery sale was a selection of handmade silver pendants by renowned Scottish silver smith Norman Grant. After studying at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, Grant perfected the art of working with silver and coloured enamel. His work creates a balance between referencing early 20th Century enamel work, Scandinavian modernism and the psychedelic colours of the 1970s. We were lucky to be able to handle five examples of his pendants which gave a real oversight of his different styles, from naturalistic floral designs to more brutalist inspired pieces. This lot shot up to the top of the wish list as soon as the catalogue was published online, and ultimately sold for a premium inclusive £1612, a lovely example of British made silver jewellery. While pieces like this represent the stronger end of the jewellery market, the reality of valuation often tells a very different story for more common items.
Like most auctioneers, we are asked almost every day ‘are my pearls worth anything?’. Unfortunately, too often the answer to this question is ‘sadly not’. There was a time when it was a rite of passage to receive a pearl necklace, usually for a 18th or 21st birthday that would serve as a stalwart of every woman’s wardrobe. Often these would have been a set of Lotus or Kigu simulated pearls, which were likely to cost around £10 in the 1950s, the equivalent of around £200 today. Unfortunately, as fashions have changed, and the supply increased these have plummeted in value, meaning we are often giving the bad news that there is very little market for them. With that being said, there is always a diamond in the rough to be found and find it we did! Lot 15 consisted of an early 20th Century set of graduating natural pearls with a diamond cluster clasp. Natural pearls are notoriously difficult to spot, even a pearl expert cannot definitively confirm natural origin without further lab testing, but in this case our diligent vendor had taken our advice and provided a lab certificate confirming natural origin. Natural pearls make up just 0.1% of the current market for pearls, and are no longer commercially sourced, meaning they are extremely sought after in the current market. They were a real pleasure to handle and ultimately sold for £4464 including BP. Perhaps it’s time to double check your old jewellery box?
Wessex Auction Rooms are always consigning for forthcoming auctions and welcome entries Mon-Fri 9-5 at our auction rooms just off J17 of the M4 (Chippenham) with no appointment necessary, or on an appointment basis at our central Bath office, or at your home.Contact the team on 01249 720888 or email enquiries@wessexauctionrooms.co.uk