Charles Miller

We chat to the auctioneer about his eponymous independent auction house, which specialises in maritime models, artefacts and collectables

What is your background?

I grew up in Sandwich on the Kent coast and studied history at university. I spent my summer holidays working on cross-channel ferries from Dover and Folkestone. Interestingly, my ancestors were shipbuilders in the 18th century. I started at Christie’s as a porter, and worked my way up to become head of the maritime and transport department.

When and why did you open your own auction house?

After 12 years at Christie’s I decided to open my own auction house specialising in maritime antiques. I held my first sale in July 2008. We now hold two high-quality catalogue auctions a year, selling around 300 lots. We prepare our sales at our premises on Imperial Road in Fulham, photographing and researching the objects, and then hold our sale at Olympia Auctions in Kensington. We have people bidding in the room as well as on the phones and online.

What sort of items do you sell?

Our objects are complex and diverse, from yachting trophies to Titanic deckchairs. One of the joys of the maritime subject is that it is a very broad church. We handle ship models – prisoner

of war work, builder’s models or fine scale copies by enthusiasts – artefacts from ships, articles from officers in the Napoleonic Wars, and anything that has come from a ship, such as figureheads or bells, as well as maritime paintings. We can sell furniture from a ship if it is important enough. We also sell lots of scientific instruments that cover optics, measuring and pressure. I’m very fussy and I will turn lots down if I don’t think they’re good enough quality or I’m not happy I can prove their provenance.

What is the most interesting item you have sold?

One extraordinary object was Captain Dudley’s sextant from the yacht

Mignonette, which was shipwrecked in 1884. It was found in an antiques shop in Adelaide in 1973 and then brought to us in 2015. It is associated with the last case of cannibalism at sea. It sold for £5,500.

What is the most expensive item you have sold?

That would be the Union flag from HMS Spartiate that was at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It sold for £320,000.