Two interesting collections caught many bidders’ eyes. With the festive season round the corner, a selection of hundreds of bottles of well-cellared wine and port fetched a healthy £8,690. The lots included a magnum of 1982 Krug Champagne that sold for a bubbly £760. Watch this space for more interesting wine sales… 

And an eclectic mix of gold and silver coins, ranging from Charles II 1662 to modern gold sovereigns, together fetched £23,260. This fine Victoria Jubilee gold five pound coin from 1887 was particularly interesting, selling for £1,850.   

BECAUSE THEY’RE WORTH IT…   

Christmas brought out  bidders looking for potential gifts. This rare lady’s Cartier Baignoire watch (as worn by Catherine Deneuve) attracted a lot of attention, finally selling for £12,500 to a bidder in America. The Baignoire’s oval 18ct gold case is a hugely collectible signature Cartier classic and for decades the epitome of French chic. The name is not French for “bathtub,” in case you were wondering - it’s the name given to VIP seats at the opera.

In the same category of potential gifts, a lady's Rolex Oyster Perpetual automatic wristwatch sold for £2,100 and a man’s Rolex GMT Master in a stainless steel case in an original inner and outer box, with papers and tags went for £8,400.   

Jewellery sales were particularly lively as well. A platinum solitaire diamond ring set with a an unusual stepcut natural diamond of 2ct flanked by two natural diamonds, sold for £3,300. And a lovely diamond set brooch, set with old European-cut diamonds, went for £1,050.  

Sheer workmanship took this necklace, set around with thirty-three faceted sapphires and seed pearls and a matching bracelet, to a hammer price of £2,100.  

The market for all things gold is hot right now, reflecting the price achieved by an Asprey gold cigarette case:  £2,400     

ART  

Over to the art sales. An abstract Alan Reynolds watercolour - ‘Landscape Blue and Brown’ sold for £2,000. It was from the collection of the late actor and art lover Peter Barkworth: a solid provenance always fills buyers with confidence and attracts bids. Works by Sussex-born Reynolds (1926-2014) are in collections at the MOMA, the V&A and the Tate, among many.  

And an atmospheric oil by British Impressionist Peter Brown (born 1967) ‘George Street, Rain’, signed and dated 2005, sold for £1,300. This Bath-based artist is popularly known as ‘Pete the Street’ as he is known for working on location in all weathers.   

SILVER  

Silversmith Omar Ramsden (1883-1939) was a legend in his field and his work is  among the most highly prized of all 20th Century British silver.  An arts & crafts silver caddy spoon of his, dated London 1934, set with three green cabochon stones sold for £1,900.  Despite the name, Omar was born in Sheffield and named after an uncle. 

Westminster Abbey holds much of his liturgical work and Bath Abbey’s processional cross was made by him, among many other key national artworks.  

Another unusual item was a rare, signed, Iraqi silvery metal four-piece set, engraved and enhanced with a black sulphurous compound called niello. It pictured a view of a mosque from the river with palm trees and was bought in Dhibban in 1937. It came with two photographs. One of a street  silversmith, possibly the artist, and one of a gentleman who may have been his  original customer.  It fetched £1,300 and is on its way to an American buyer.  

We loved this painted bronze figure of a cat using a concertina camera, in the style of Franz Bergman. There’s a strong market for quirky and unusual items and this was most probably a work from the artist’s own workshop. It sold for £420.    

UNUSUAL

My favourite item!

This rare World War II Royal Observer Corps ‘sector’ or ‘colour change’ clock, by Elliot England, was found in loft. Its little-known role in the war was fascinating and saved many lives. These clocks were used in Operations Rooms across the country and played a fundamental role in defence by fighter interception.

The commander-in-chief of Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding, developed an integrated air defence system, the first of its kind. His deceptively simple system took information about incoming attacks gathered from radar stations and observers. It would then be plotted on a large central table map by plotters from the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, who pushed wooden block counters with card inserts around the map, showing the name of the raid and its strength. These blocks were coloured red, yellow and blue, corresponding with the triangular sections around the clock’s dial, indicating when they were received. The five-minute sections made it possible to plot the path of an incoming enemy raid and the colour showed how current the information was, allowing decisions to be made fast. RAF interceptor squadrons were able to remain on the ground until absolutely necessary,  saving fuel and thus keeping them airborne for longer.  

This wonderful piece of history sold for £2,000.   GOOD WOOD Quality sells, and this George IV Gentleman’s mahogany bow-fronted wardrobe debunked the old cliché about ‘brown furniture’. The silky wood, classy shaping and sheer workmanship of the gorgeous piece sent the price to £500. We always wonder why anyone buys modern-day furniture!   Back to Christmas, and a lucky bidder has a big and beautiful David Linley table for their guests. Viscount Linley’s workshops have been creating bespoke pieces for London’s elite since 1985 and this table made from oak, pollard oak and sycamore is both practical and highly collectible. It sold for £1,000.  

Notes: Our next sale will be held on Feb 14 &15, 2025. See that catalogue in January at www.thecanterburyauctiongalleries.com where you can also sign up for email alerts of future sales. For further information or photographs please ring 01227 763337 or email general@tcag.co.uk.