Star Sales

Auction highlights, plus guess the hammer price

Caroline Wheater chooses her highlights from recent auctions around the UK, including a 19th-century Chinese !gure and rare Su"rage#e memorabilia

!" Woman of Substance Estimate £8,000-£10,000 Sold £48,640

Acentury a!er women aged over 30 got the right to vote, memorabilia belonging to a Welsh Su"rage#e has fetched four times its top estimate at Catherine Southon Auctioneers, having been bought by the Museum of Wales. ‘The interest in this lot was phenomenal, with bidders on the phone from all over the world,’ says Catherine. The personal archive belonged to Women’s Rights activist Kate Evans, who was born in Llansant"raid, Montgomeryshire in 1866. As a young woman, she spent time in Paris and met people interested in the Women’s Social and Political Union, which she joined in her early thirties, much to her parents’ disapproval. She became a Su"rage#e and, on 4th March 1912, was arrested and imprisoned for 54 days in Holloway prison, where she went on hunger strike. Included in the lot was a rare silver Su"rage#e ‘Hunger Strike’ medal in its original velvet-lined case, one of only 100 known to exist; a Metropolitan Police arrest warrant issued to Kate on 4th March 1912 for ‘malicious damage’; and a book featuring autographs from fellow Su"rage#es including Emmeline Pankhurst. 020 8313 3655; catherinesouthon.co.uk

!" Beati#c Figure Estimate £100-£200 Sold £5,500

A 19th-century Chinese porcelain !gure of Avalokitesvara caused a stir at Mallams’ recent Chinese, Indian, Islamic and Japanese art sale, when it spiralled up from a low estimate to fetch thousands of pounds. The !gure is a Buddha of compassion, and such !gures have been made for over a thousand years in China. Antique Chinese pieces show no sign of losing their appeal to Chinese buyers intent on claiming back their heritage. 01865 241358; mallams.co.uk

$" Desk Delight Estimate £1,000-£1,500 Sold £15,000

In the Tennants’ Summer Sale catalogue, this early 19th-century mahogany writing table was described as being ‘in the manner of Gillows’. However, bidders must have been convinced by the ingenuity of its design that it was a genuine Gillows piece, and were prepared to spend way over the guide price as a result. The leather writing surface had an easel-like design, which, when drawn up, created two sloping surfaces to work on, at each side of the desk. 01969 623780; tennants.co.uk

%. Drawn with Wit Estimate £150-£200 Sold £660

What a !nd this was for fans of the artist Edward Bawden, who created this front cover for The Delectable History of Fortnum &

Mason, c1957. The slim volume went up for auction in a Modern Literature & First Editions sale at Dominic Winter Auctioneers. It was sold with 28 other Fortnum & Mason promotional lea"ets designed or illustrated by McKnight Kau#er, Rex Whistler, Osbert Lancaster and others, mostly published in the 1930s. 01285 860006; dominicwinter.co.uk

5 Period Look Estimate £400-£600 Sold £360

Why pay hundreds of pounds for a sofa when you can buy one as pre!y as this at Che"ns, for a fraction of the price? The lovely rosewood frame – referred to as ‘show-wood’ – is the standout feature on the mid-Victorian sofa, comprising an undulating back and scrolling arms and legs. It’s a perfect size for a smaller room, with a length of just under 1.5m and a depth of 90cm. Plus, it has been a!ractively reupholstered in a woven fabric. 01223 213343; cheffins.co.uk

6. Carpet to Covet Estimate £800-£1,000 Sold £1,000

The valuer at Tennants in Leyburn was bang on the money when he valued this lovely 19th-century rug, hailing from south-east Iran. Measuring a compact 165cm by 125cm, the rug was made by a weaver from the Afshar tribe of nomadic people, whose rugs are renowned for their quality and good design aesthetic. Here, the pa!ern is geometric in style and looks more modern than its mellow years, despite a li!le evidence of fraying at the edges. 01969 623780; tennants.co.uk