Thursday July 4th 2024 will go down in history as polling day in the General Election it was also, coincidentally, the date of Clevedon Salerooms most recent Interiors sale.
Given the auspicious date it was a worry whether bidders would have other things on their mind. Any such concerns were soon dispelled as spirited and strong bidding throughout the sale resulted in a record breaking sale total from over 800 lots on offer and it was in the Jewellery section that the day’s top lots were to be found.
The day’s best performing lot came in the form of an 18 ct white gold solitaire diamond ring. At approximately 1.50 carats and weighing 4.1g gross approx. it’s wow factor was clear to see and after a volley of bids, the gavel finally fell at £2,400. After that dazzling result the signs were that bidders were going for gold. A 9ct gold curb link charm bracelet with heart-shaped padlock, various charms and a bloodstone fob sold for £1,300 just in front of an Edwardian 18ct open faced pocket watch by H. Fowle, Red Hill which sold for £1,200. A yellow metal longguard chain, which was unmarked but tested as 14ct , sold for £1,000. It was a good day for charm bracelets as a second example sold for £950, whilst a 9ct gold curb link charm bracelet with charms including a carved intaglio seal fob and a citrine-coloured swivel fob sold for £750. A 9ct rose gold graduated curb link double Albert watch chain, with yellow metal hardstone swivel fob got away at £850, whilst a similar Albert only this time with a T-bar and heart-shaped padlock also did well, selling for £800.
Away from precious metals, it was a characteristically eclectic offering. An interesting collection of Bristol artworks struck a chord with bidders. Heralding from a probate valuation in the Hotwells district of the city, they ranged in date from the 1920s to the 1940s and included several scenes recording the devastation of the Luftwaffe air raids of 1940 and 1941. It was a pair of watercolours showing two such scenes which lead the way, selling for £440, whilst a small oil painting of a bombed factory in the Redcliffe area sailed way beyond expectations to sell for £260. A pair of reproduction French marquetry marble-topped bedside cabinet also made short work of their estimate to sell for £400. Amongst ceramics, a collection of approximately seventy Crown Ducal 'Orange Tree' pattern Art Deco tea wares, surpassed all expectations, selling for £380. That was the same price as an early 20th century giltwood overmantel or console mirror, whilst a Chinese red lacquer opium table cabinet of similar vintage put in a return appearance after it had failed to find a home at the recent Quarterly Fine Art sale, this time romping past its estimate to sell for £340.
Clevedon Salerooms next Interiors auction will be on Thursday July 25th, there then follows a valuation day at Stoke Lodge in Bristol on Tuesday August 13th just ahead of another Interiors sale on August 15th. Clevedon’s next Fine Art auction will be on September 12th for which entries are now invited.