February Auction Review with Tim Weeks
It’s a real pleasure to have so much to discuss in this month’s auction update. Whilst the constant rain and grey brought a slightly gloomy start to the year for all of us here in the UK, the auction room has been a real hive of activity and vibrancy which has given a much-needed distraction from the relentless wet.
On the 21st of February we welcomed Dickinson’s Real Deal into the auction rooms following an exciting valuation event at the Jet Age Museum in Gloucester. Having ‘the Duke’ himself in the building always adds an extra sense of occasion, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t add an extra layer of anticipation and nerves when approaching the start of the auction. As auctioneers all we ever want is the best result for our vendors, so we always approach auction day with a mix of excitement and anticipation, hoping for that perfect alchemy of interested bidders. Luckily for my colleague on the rostrum, Martin Hughes, in this case we had exactly that. The energy was lively, and the bids were coming in thick and fast. The presence of a film crew always brings in some new faces, often who have never been to an auction before, and I like nothing more than seeing people start to understand the pleasure of a live auction. I can only hope we have converted a few more auction lovers. I suspect we have as I can say with some confidence that if you didn’t enjoy this one then auctions probably aren’t your thing. It was, however, a long day as we had over 700 lots to pack in, but for those with fortitude each section of the auction brought its own heavy hitters and exciting moments that kept us all going (not to mention the staff’s extensive late night pizza order).
One such moment was the much-anticipated lot 571, a large oil painting by renowned Scottish artist Andrew Cranston. This came to us from a local who had acquired the painting back in the 1990’s at a Royal College of Art student show. It’s the stuff of art collectors’ dreams to buy the work of an unknown student who would ultimately attract the level of value that this painting achieved when it hit the market for the first time. If only we could all have the eye for talent that this vendor clearly has. What was even more exciting was to have a work by him that was not only signed but had such great provenance from the vendor. The hammer ultimately came down at £53,760 including buyer’s premium, after a battle between the internet and multiple phone lines. We have no shortage of young talent at Wessex, and one of our young auctioneers Niall Miller-Clark handled the bidding in the cool, calm and collected way we have come to know him for, and what a pleasure it was for me to see the next generation carrying the torch in such an exemplary way… or in this case, the gavel.
Now, my natural inclination when discussing our ephemera auction from the previous day would be to start to go into detail about the minutia of all the football programmes I had the pleasure of cataloguing, but I’ll let you off this time as we had a news worthy collection of letters from the one and only Agatha Christie. The letters were in correspondence with her housekeeper and really give a great sense of her character and a rare insight into her day-to-day domestic life. In one letter she offers her condolences after the death of a dog, describing it as ‘heartbreaking’ and offering a sympathetic ear, whilst in another she wants to ensure she is paying her housekeeper enough as she didn’t want to ‘do her down’. There’s always a natural inclination to hope that our historic figures are nice people ‘behind the curtain’ and I think these letters give us the confirmation we hope for.
If all of this sounds like your cup of tea, do please come along on March 28th when I’ll be welcoming my BBC Bargain Hunt colleagues for a day of filming at our Antiques, Collectables & Furniture auction.
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