This month’s Silver auction saw strong results, with a 90% sold rate and some excellent hammer prices across the categories. The highest price of the day went to a pair of limited edition 9ct gold brandy goblets which realised £15,744 (inc. premium). These goblets were commissioned by E.W. Payne to commemorate both the opening of the Churchill Theatre in Bromley and the centenary of Sir Winston Churchill's birth. They were made by Jack Spencer, a Sheffield-based silversmith who studied at Sheffield School of Art before working at Walker & Hall.
Lot 3: A pair of limited edition 9ct gold brandy goblets, Jack Spencer, retailed by E.W. Payne, Sheffield, 1975
A pair of George III silver sauce tureens by Andrew Fogelberg and Stephen Gilbert realised a strong price of £1574, demonstrating that demand endures for Georgian silver by the best makers – Fogelberg is best known as master to the great Paul Storr. As time goes on, pairs and larger sets of good Georgian holloware are becoming increasingly rare – sets are often split up as silver is passed down over generations - so collectors are often willing to pay a premium for items that have remained together. These lovely sauce tureens were in very good condition and featured vacant shield cartouches ready to be engraved with a new owner’s monogram or family crest.
British silver was not the only category to perform well. An impressive Ottoman silver ewer and basin (Lot 36) was well-bid to realise £5510 and a decorative cloisonné enamelled Russian silver beaker by the firm of Ovchinnikov realised £1,575. Large, decorative silver objects remain popular, and several international bidders competed for two impressive sculptural centrepieces by George Grant Macdonald. Both sold above estimate for the identical price of £2886 (inc. premium). A 19th century French silver entrée dish by the important French silversmith, Gustave Keller also hammered above estimate, realising £1286 (inc. premium). The arms on the piece alluded to its interesting provenance, indicating that it had probably originally been part of a dinner service made for Elim Pavlovich Demidov, 2nd Prince of San Donato (1868-1943), and the Russian Empire's last ambassador to Greece. Silverware such as this with interesting provenance continues to prove popular with bidders.
Novelty silverware continues to prove popular with buyers, with a silver tortoise bell realising £1050 and a pair of novelty Italian pepper mills designed as artichokes by Missiaglia inviting enthusiastic bidding to realise £1837. Other interesting items that sold well included a Scottish provincial silver meat skewer made in Dumfries by Joseph Pearson (active 1794-1817), and a George V Scottish silver 'Traprain Treasure' reproduction dish which realised £289 against an estimate of £150-250 (Lot 52). This dish was made by the Edinburgh firm of Brook & Son in the 1920s after the firm was granted permission to create silver reproductions of items of Roman silver that had been found buried at Traprain Law in East Lothian. The hoard was likely buried around the middle of the 5th century AD and remains the largest known hoard from outside the Roman Empire. These Traprain Treasure reproduction pieces often perform well at auction, with bidders competing to own a piece of history.
Price Realised: £1,837
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