ANTIQUES Naval history and antiques
one of the few auctioneers in the country who conduct a dedicated specialist Maritime auction. the auction has attracted a great deal of attention over the years and has a strong following by those who are particularly interested in naval history and antiques. the stories behind some of the pieces themselves are also extremely interesting and from the point of an auctioneer, there is a small amount of detective work involved. A rather dishevelled looking clock modelled in the form of
A
the stern of a ship with a sailor to the lower deck, gave only one clue to its history with the words ‘La Victorine-Artibonite’ to the stern. After a few days of research the details of the ship were discovered, from an article in the Liverpool mercury 27th september 1886, detailing the launch of this specially commissioned and designed paddle steamer for use in a rapid and narrow river in south America. geography was never my forté, but the internet came to the rescue, as now I know that the Artibonite is a river in Haiti. the clock certainly generated a great deal of pre- auction interest and this was evident on the day of the auction when it sold for £2,500, even with the missing helm. the more significant the history
Small pocket barometers doubled their prices in comparison to those I have seen in other ‘general’ auctions.
s one of the largest provincial auctioneers in the South West, Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood are also
from the flag that covered Nelsons coffin at his funeral, selling for £6,000.
Above: A small piece of cloth (5cm by 3cm) taken
nautical antique or picture,
The more significant the history and provenance of an item and even its relation to an event in history will always help it command a greater price at auction.
tucked somewhere out of the way
in the saleroom and certainly given a very brief description in the catalogue. However, bearnes Hampton & Littlewood are far happier to take time, prepare and research these individual pieces and bring them together, for the benefit of vendors and buyers alike. this certainly proved the case when the ice pail, coffee can and saucer and
several other pieces from the royal service of the royal Yacht Albert & Victoria III, tripled their estimates despite some light wear and damage to sell for £420 and £260 respectively. A small cast iron signal cannon, I had picked out from under a workbench in a shed, drew attention on the day to sell for £480 and the small pocket barometers doubled their prices in comparison to those I have seen in other ‘general’ auctions.
A small cast iron signal cannon sold for £480
and provenance of an item and even its relation to an event in history will always help it command a greater price at auction. this has always been the case with anything relating to Admiral Lord nelson for the past 200 years, as seen by the maritime auctions in which bearnes Hampton & Littlewood have achieved record prices for nelson related artefacts. this year was no different with a small piece of cloth (5cm by 3cm) taken from the flag that covered nelsons coffin at his funeral, selling for £6,000. On any other day, with
any other auctioneer, you might find the odd
When you say ‘antiques auction’ most people will
A piece from the Royal Service of the Royal Yacht Albert & Victoria III
automatically think of Old master paintings, rare porcelain and brown furniture. the market today has changed dramatically with wider and greater use of the internet. true to say a rembrandt painting will always fetch a high sum but it’s now more often than not the odd knick- knack lying in a drawer that used to belong to a parent or grandparent that will create a pleasant surprise. It’s a change of thinking ‘who would want that?’ to ‘where can I sell this’ to which we are always happy to provide an answer. For further details contact Brian Goodison-Blanks Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, 01392 413100,
www.bhandl.co.uk St Edmund’s Court, Okehampton St. Exeter.
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