Submitted by aarAdmin on Wed, 08/12/2015 - 00:00
Email Philips Auctions at philips@philipsauctions.com.au after reading this story and go into the draw for a bottle of Penfolds Bin 707 cabernet sauvignon. Draw ends Friday September 5.
The late Neil Collister collection – comprising 163 lots of high quality furniture and rare old English porcelain – brought auction goers flocking to Philips Auctions August sale determined to buy items rarely seen on the auction market.
Names such as Dr Wall Worcester, Bow, Longton Hall, Nantgarw, Chelsea and Derby were the impetus for prices that well exceeded vendor expectations.
Top selling porcelain items from the collection included a pair of 1750s Longton Hall candlestick figures that changed hands for $3360, while a Dr Wall Worcester tankard brought $2520 against $300-$500 estimate.
Typical examples of above estimate sales were a rare pair of Derby musicians that sold for $1320, a Bow figure of a Harlequin bagpiper ($960), a Worcester dessert plate ($360) and a Derby figure of a gentleman bagpiper ($900).
High prices also were paid for an exceptional 1813-1820 Flight Barr & Barr urn entitled ‘The Monk’ that sold for $2160, a late 18th century coffee cup and saucer in the manner of Sevres ($1560), a fine 1760 Chelsea plate and 1780 Chelsea imperial shepherd figure ($1320 each) and a Minton inkstand set ($1200).
The Collister furniture prices were equally impressive with a William IV four-metre long dining table selling for $11,760 against a $2000-$3000 estimate, a Victorian burr walnut davenport changing hands for $2760 and a credenza for $4320.
Pleasantly surprised at the spirited bidding for porcelain, managing director Tony Philips believes single owner collections are a strong auction drawcard with the Collister lots averaging $1000 each.
“Buyers also are keen to obtain quality Victorian furniture which is now making a comeback,” he says.
Apart from the Collister porcelain, a vendor’s Clarice Cliff collection that Philips has been slowly selling over the past few months brought good results – along with several Carlton Ware pieces including a 1929 ‘Floral Comets’ vase that sold for $1200 and a KPM figurine of a singer ($1440).
Other sections of the auction fared extremely well, with a collection of Penfolds Grange hermitage wine averaging $360-$400 a bottle and a late 19th century Louis XV style bronze clock garniture bringing $2880.
Silver was another area to attract strong buyer attention. Of the 70 lots on offer, only 18 (25 per cent) did not sell.
Good examples were a pair of octagonal pierced sterling silver sugar castors ($1440), an Israeli silver havdala candleholder ($312), a mixed antique silver cutlery service ($2400), a 1913 sterling silver pedestal champagne bucket ($1680), a large Scottish sterling silver presentation cup ($4320) and a George III pedestal coffee pot ($1800).
Philips Monday night jewellery sale brought a strong reaction to the big-ticket items including a 5.6-carat solitaire diamond that sold for $64,800.
Philips Auctions forthcoming September 6 fine and decorative arts sale features an Armadale estate including oil paintings by Albert Tucker, Bill Coleman, Frank Harding and B.E. Minns, a Vernis Martin French vitrine, papier maché painted table and French work table.
