AUCTION Sales round up

The amethyst and diamond suite was by the leading London maker

Asprey

Roseberys, West Norwood The top seller at the London auctioneer’s recent sale was an amethyst and diamond suite by Asprey, which had a guide price of £8,000-£10,000 but sold for £17,500. Made up of graduated flowerhead panels, the set came in its original presentation Asprey case. In the same sale, a high-end Victorian collar necklace, which separates to form two bracelets, sold for £13,750, more than 10 times its high estimate. Rather than hallmarks, Victorian registration marks featured on the back of the panels which helped date it to January 1876.

The ingenious collar necklace could be separated to make two bracelets

Mallams, Abingdon A pair of late 19th/early 20th century Howard & Sons style armchairs with carved walnut cabriole legs was the star performer at the Oxfordshire auctioneer’s recent sale – selling for £11,500 against an estimate of £1,500-£3,000.

Proving the selling power of the London furniture maker, established in 1820, two further modern armchairs sold for £2,600, more than four times its top estimate of £600. At the same sale, a 19th-century Nantgarw porcelain plate, hand decorated with a central floral spray and insects, also piqued interest with a hammer price of £750, some 25 percent over its top estimate.

A 19thcentury Nantgarw porcelain plate was another popular seller

A recent issue of Antique Collecting magazine attested to the current popularity of the Welsh porcelain manufacturer.

Gildings, Market Harborough A limited-edition watch with a stellar connection to Snoopy and NASA was the star attraction at the Leicestershire auction house. The Omega Speedmaster Professional ‘Eyes on the Stars’ Snoopy Award wristwatch sold for £14,260 more than doubling its upper estimate of £7,000 and a tenfold increase on the £1,400 originally paid for it in March 2006.

The timepiece was created to commemorate the NASA Apollo 13 mission, in which the Omega Speedmaster played a pivotal role in saving the crew’s lives when astronaut Jack Swigert used it to time the fuel burn needed to land safely.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional ‘Eyes

Omega was given the Silver Snoopy Award in 1970 following the Apollo 13 mission and created this ‘Eyes on the Stars’ watch in 2003.

on the Stars’ was a star attraction

The Howard & Sons style armchairs sold for 10 times their low guide price

Summers Place Auctions, Billingshurst A marble torso of a woman signed Richard Garbe ARA (1876-1957), dated 1931, flew past its estimate of £3,000-£5,000 to hammer at £27,000 at the West Sussex auction house.

Fierce bidding on the phones and internet saw the carving go to a new UK online bidder.

A white marble torso of a woman sold for £27,000

Garbe was a prominent 20th-century sculptor. While many of his creations were Victorian in style, pieces in the ‘20s and ‘30s tended towards art deco. Garbe exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1898 and was elected ARA in 1929.

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