July Auction Review with Tim Weeks
In a turn of events no one saw coming, I sit at my desk cataloguing toys with the sound of rain hammering down on the roof of the building. After a literally scorching summer this is a relief we all needed, but thankfully for us, the prices in this month’s auctions show no signs of cooling off!
A section that stood out to me in our antiques and collectors auction this time was the ceramics. There were a few outstanding pieces that really exemplified where the market has gone in the last few years. Our standout items were all single decorative pieces that ultimately had one thing in common, the human touch. From mid Century artisan studio potters to 18th Century hand painted blue and white porcelain, all of these lots demonstrate a much more considered attitude to collecting. Buyers more and more look for single stand-out pieces to make a statement with, and all the better if you can see and feel the unique differences in each.
A standout example of this trend is a piece of original studio pottery we had in the auction by renowned British potter Alan Wallwork in lot 8. This vase was an excellent example of his hand built split designs with pierced details dating from the late 20th Century. Like many British creatives Alan started his journey at Goldsmiths art school in London in the 1950s before ultimately spending most of his career in Dorset where he became renowned for his naturalistic forms. Wallwork’s focus on texture and use of a muted colour palette perfectly compliments current interior design trends and reflects a move towards smaller more curated design led collections. After a bidding war between two online collectors the vase sold for a total of £800 including buyer’s premium.
Within a similar vein, but taking us further west, the sale also included a Troika pottery ‘wheel’ vase. The iconic flat design allows for two pieces of artwork in the same piece, and each piece is hand signed by the artist. This example was in the calculator pattern, which is a classic Cornish Troika design. We see wheel vases quite often making their way through the auction room, but this example went on to make £372 on the day, a great result for one of the later pieces! With this in mind we are always keeping our eyes peeled for some of the early designs and models which are much rarer and very sought after. A precursor to more widespread calculator pattern we saw on Saturday comes in the form of wall plaques, some of which were designed by the founders of the pottery back in the 1960s. A good way to spot an early piece is by looking for a trident mark, so worth keeping in mind for any eagle eyed car boot enthusiasts!
On August 13th & 14th my colleague Martin held our fourth specialist Vinyl Records & Music Memorabilia auction of the year, and there were some great highlights including one particular item with local interest that blurred the lines behind art and music…
That lot was a promotional copy of the debut album from Norwegian electronic music duo Royksopp. First pressings of this double LP from 2001 can command over £100 at auction, but this copy was no ordinary first pressing. In early 2002 the record label Wall Of Sound wanted to give the album a new push and decided to do something a bit special. 100 copies of the album were sent in a blank sleeve to the Bristol street artist Banksy, who created a custom stencil and then hand sprayed each copy before sending them back to the label, who hand numbered each one. Those 100 promo copies were sent out to various journalists and DJ’s to try and stir up some more interest in the album.
In 2002 Banksy was still relatively unknown to the general public, but his star was beginning to shine brighter in the indie and underground scene. This was also around the time some of his best known stencils such as Love Is In The Air, and Balloon Girl / Girl With Balloon were created.
The example that we were selling was numbered 42/100, in lovely condition and also came with the original Wall Of Sound promotional letter. The question leading up to the auction was whether it would be purchased by a vinyl record collector, or an art collector? The answer was an art collector who paid £3720 including fees to own this snapshot of music/art history.
Another highlight was a music poster advertising the Blues At Eyrie Festival in 1970 which featured bands such as Deep Purple, T-Rex, Chicken Shack and others. Music posters, flyers and handbills are highly desirable among collectors, and despite having various rips and tears this poster created a bidding war online and in the room and eventually sold for a premium inclusive £800 – not bad for something the seller was going to throw away but brought along to the auction house with their vinyl “just in case”
September will see us hold six days of auctions including Toys, Antiques & Collectables with the Dickinson’s Real Deal team filming (so please do come along and enjoy the fun with us), and our fourth specialist auctions of 2026 for Jewellery, Coins, Watches, Silver and Gold. Our head of department and gemmologist Hannah White is currently consigning for that specialist auction, and we are inviting consignments with no appointment needed. My heart sinks every time somebody comes up to me in the supermarket with a smile on their face and shares a story of selling their jewellery or coins to one of these ‘we buy your gold’ companies that hire a hall or have a van in a car park. So many of those items have serious collectors value at auction, but the person never got to realise it’s true value. Please come and see our team before doing something like that!
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