STAR SALES

A Wemyss Ware mug with a delicate Garden Peas design and a sweet oak lowboy are among the lots grabbing Caroline Wheater’s a ention

Our favourite antiques from recent auctions, carefully picked by Caroline Wheater

Diamonds are Forever Estimate £6,000-£9,000 Sold £21,250

The Original Film Posters Online sale held at Sotheby’s in September yielded all kinds of wonderful vintage wall art, with top-drawer subjects ranging from the Beatles and Quadrophenia to James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

Among the iconic Hollywood movies represented in the 190-lot line-up was Breakfast at Ti any’s, starring Audrey Hepburn in her iconic role as Holly Golightly, the New York socialite. The billboard poster was created in 1961 by the renowned American commercial artist Robert McGinnis and measured an enormous 206cm x 206cm in size.

‘This poster is exceptionally rare and in great condition,’ says Sotheby’s consultant Bruce Marchant. ‘Only unused billboard posters survive and the largescale image has great visual impact. The collectability of the poster was enhanced by the fact that Audrey Hepburn is much loved by so many people and that this was her most famous role.’

The poster was linen-backed and ready for its new owner to mount it straight on a (large) wall, while the colours remained superbly bright. There was only minor restoration to the folds from when it had been stored. 020 7293 5000; sothebys.com

Nature Study Estimate £500-£700 Sold £800

Émile Gallé began making studio glass in 1873 and developed a naturalistic art nouveau style. In 1894, he established a glassworks factory in Nancy to manufacture his designs on a much larger scale. Sold by Roseberys, this soli eur cameo glass vase, decorated with a dragon y hovering over waterlilies, is in a ‘banjo’ shape and dates to 1910. A er Gallé’s death in 1904, his widow continued to run the glassworks, adding a small star to the Gallé signature.

020 8761 2522; roseberys.co.uk

. Garden Delight Estimate £800-£1,200 Sold £4,500

Wemyss Ware is a Sco ish speciality and a big element at Lyon & Turnbull’s annual Sco ish Silver & Applied Arts auction. The golden era of the characterful ceramics, made in Gallatown, Kirkcaldy, spanned 1882-1930, when decorator Karel Nekola, originally from Bohemia, helped Wemyss develop its signature menagerie of pigs, cats and oral tableware. This large Garden Peas pa ern mug, standing at 13.5cm high, is a rarity and prompted a bidding ba le.

0131 557 8844; lyonandturnbull.com

. Oak Art Estimate £300-£500 Sold £275

Eighteenth-century furniture is still fantastic value at auction as this oak lowboy, sold at Sworders’ quarterly Fine Interiors sale in September, illustrates. Handcra ed details on the simple but elegant country piece include pad feet, ring-turned legs and a shaped apron beneath the three frieze drawers. The unobtrusive size is perfect for a modern home too, at 72cm wide and high and 44cm deep. It would sit rather nicely in a hallway, on a landing, or in a study.

01279 817778; sworder.co.uk

. Bowl Beauty Estimate £250-£300 Sold £400

Wang Hing & Co of Canton was one of the most successful Chinese silverware makers and exporters of the 19th and early 20th centuries, designing pieces in both Western and oriental styles. This beautiful li le bowl, c1920, came up for sale at Woolley & Wallis and displays a dragon leaping over bamboo – a look that is pure Twenties. At the time the bowl was made, Wang Hing & Co opened new premises in Hong Kong, selling a range of luxury goods from silver to lacquerware. 01722 424500; woolleyandwallis.co.uk

. Daisy Chain Estimate £250-£350 Sold £240

Majolica po ery, a type of tin-glazed earthenware, was launched by Minton at the Great Exhibition of 1851. From the 1860s, a er Minton’s patent ended, Wedgwood and Doulton followed suit, making decorative tableware with animal and oral motifs. This 1868 Wedgwood Stanley dessert service comprises two comports and 12 plates and sold at Che ns in September. So popular did majolica become that, by 1880, Wedgwood had created another 1,300 designs.

01223 213343; cheffins.co.uk/fineart