Buoyant Auction at Packed Saleroom

Some sellers were left ‘speechless’ and even in tears following the sale of their items at Plymouth Auction Rooms this week. Auctioneer Paul Keen said “this was one of my most buoyant auctions for over two years, bidding was frenetic at times and there were countless great results”.

The sale also recorded one with the most international online bidders, including those from the US, China, Italy, and France. Of interest were the antique contents of a Plymouth property, which yielded a fascinating array of bronzes. These were hotly contested and raised almost £5,000, selling as far as Beijing.

Amongst the ‘surprising’ results was a tall Asian pottery vase, of simple outline and decorated in rich red glaze. It’s low estimate was ignored by collectors and a bid battle ensued with countless online and phone bidders pushing the price from a few hundred into the thousands. However, it was a bidder in the Saleroom that took the lot with an impressive bid of £3,200.

The family that owned the set of World War II medals and logbook connected with the Squadron Royal Australian Air Force were emotional when not only finding out that they had sold for £500, but that they will be heading back to Australia with the winning bid from an Australian collector.

Just a week before the sale a Plymouth gentleman dropped in a dagger, which on first impression looked German, but after a closer look it was discovered in fact to be a rare Second World War Chinese National Air Force officer’s dagger. The interest was immense, and the £500 valuation was eclipsed with frantic international bidding to a whopping £3,900, selling to a UK buyer.

The small metal gilt framed ‘Grand Tour’ micro-mosaic brooch depicting the Roman Colesseum also soared to ten times its site with an Italian online bidder being outbid by a UK collector at a jaw dropping £920. The Devon family were thrilled with the price.

The sale hosted three collections of Swarovski glass, with the top prices for a stunning bird group at £2,250, and a big surprise was the Disney Cinderella figure which sold for £1,900. Many of these lots were sold to bidders from the US.

A collection of oil lamps from one Plymouth property raised £1,220, while the 100-lot section of gold and silver took many high prices with every lot hotly contested.

The full results for this impressive sale can be found online here, and now the Auctioneers are busy preparing for a brace of Autumn sale, find out more here.