Perth auctioneer gives tips on the best items to make a return

NICK BURNS OF PERTH AUCTION HOUSE LINDSAY BURNS GIVES ADVICE TO WOULDBE COLLECTORS

Q Can you tell us a little about the business?

A Lindsay Burns & Company, Auctioneers & Valuers is a second-generation familyrun firm of auctioneers that has been in business since 1982.

It makes us one of Scotland’s oldest and most established firms of auctioneers and valuers in continuous ownership by the same family.

The core business is sourcing and selling antiques, collectables and general chattels, as well as providing clients with valuations for inheritance tax/probate, insurance and sale purposes.

We work closely with private clients, fiduciary clients, executors and other professional advisers.

We are based in Perth, but regularly engage with clients throughout Scotland.

Q What are some of the most memorable sales the firm has handled?

One was an early 19th-Century Chinese porcelain blue and white bottle vase, Daoguang seal mark and of the period 1821-1850.

I first saw the lot wrapped in a white bath towel, not knowing what was inside. I was pleasantly surprised! The white towel with the vase inside was carried in to a valuation day at the saleroom in a dog basket. After close inspection I was satisfied that the condition was perfect.

My client had inherited the vase from a distant relation who had been a missionary in China in the 19th Century and had brought this item back to Scotland at this time.

This provenance was exactly what you as an auctioneer want to hear given modern fakes are common.

For that sale we had eight telephone lines booked with clients in addition to our live bidding platform.

The vase went on to sell for £55,000 hammer price plus buyer’s premium of 20% + VAT.

The saleroom erupted into spontaneous applause and it is the most expensive lot I have sold in a 20-year professional career. After the sale I telephoned the vendor to let them know the good news. Before I could say hello, they said: “I know what it made – I just about fell off my stool when I was watching the sale being conducted online.”

I later found out that the vase had stood on a rather precarious occasional table next to a plug socket on the wall and, after hoovering on a Sunday morning, the plug would regularly clunk the side of the vase. We also specialise in collections.

Two notable ones that come to mind were the sale of the residual contents of Kinpurnie Castle, home of the late Sir James Cayzer, Meigle, and The Rattray Collection, Charles Rattray Tobacconists, Perth who supplied the like of former

Prime Minister Harold Wilson with choice tobacco from around the world.

Q What is your top investment tip for buyers?

Buy what you like and if it’s worth more when you come to sell it then all the better. Go with your instinct.

Once you have identified an item to invest in, it is so important to do your research. Research the market for that item, view it, handle it and get a feel for it, find what – if any – provenance there is for it.

If you buy what you like you will also get the pleasure of owning it.

Q How does the health of the economy impact auctioneers?

The low interest rate can affect people’s decision to keep their money in the bank. That is when investors might look to auctions as an alternative branch to their portfolio by buying a painting, piece of jewellery, bottle of whisky or gold coin. Uncertainty in the economy often triggers a rise in the price of precious metals – recently we have seen significant uplift in the price of gold and silver. This in turn raises the price of a gold necklace or a silver tea set, or whatever it may be.

Buy what you like and if it’s worth more when you come to sell then all the better.

NICK BURNS

In turn the market is hungry and sellers are keen to cash in on that. Q How has technology changed the auctioneering business?

The advent of the internet as we now know it along with the advancement in technology has redefined what we do.

We are able to present lots to an international marketplace that has live real-time bidding via our live auction platform.

Add to this a live video feed via webcam and we really are able give the feeling of being in the room from wherever you may be in the world, on the device of your choice, as long you have a good internet connection.

We have recently invested in additional screens around the saleroom to display the live sale feed with the lot image, description, and real time price being displayed as it happens. Q What sort of items have you found sell particularly well at auction?

Anything that is good and priced to sell is selling well – everything from Asian art to football memorabilia.

The saleroom of Lindsay Burns and Company.

Nick Burns examines a box made by Faberge.