The highlight of the Lowestoft porcelain sale conducted by enthusiast Russell H. Sprake at The Beaconsfield Club, Lowestoft on the evening of October 27 was this rare blue and white birth tablet.
Measuring just 3in (7.5cm) across, it is inscribed Thos
Anderson Born Sept 13th 1790 within a blue scroll border and is
painted to the reverse with an Oriental landscape. This was one of
three birth tablets - bought for the Anderson children by a
fisherman based in Hull - that first turned up on the BBC's
Antiques Roadshow in Hull in 1988. The trio subsequently appeared
at Phillips in London in December 1996 where this example sold for
£4600.
It is an indication of how prices for the best Lowestoft have
changed that it carried an estimate of £8000-10,000 last month and
was sold to a local collector at £14,000 (plus 10 per cent buyer's
premium).
Mr Sprake - who has been conducting these single-factory sales for
22 years - believes it represents a record price for the form,
beating the £7000 paid for another example at Christie's two years
ago.
Back to top
Follow us on:
