Tankard

The Bruton Museum in Somerset has bought a rare silver tankard at nearby saleroom Lawrences of Crewkerne.

Bonhams’ Chester rooms will offer the Michael Boorer Pewter Collection on November 22, providing an opportunity for pewter collectors to bid for items used in pubs 300 to 400 years ago.

The outstanding lot at the latest three-day sale at Bonhams Chester was this extremely rare c.1680 tankard.

IN a private sale negotiated by Christie’s, the Victoria and Albert Museum has acquired this remarkable 16th century tankard made for the Ottoman court.

PEWTER always forms the first section of Bonhams’ (17.5/10% buyer's premium) oak sales at Chester, and on September 9 enthusiasts, mainly collectors, were there as usual. Most had their eyes on the obvious star offering, the fine Charles II wriggle-work tankard, top right.

SATISFYING though Woolley & Wallis’s sale undoubtedly was, the general run of fine silver is still bringing little more than the prices it was achieving a decade and more back.

Some huge prices were paid for Du Paquier porcelain last week at Christie’s when the auctioneers offered a single-owner collection of predominantly Austrian and German porcelain in their July 7 sale of Continental ceramics.

This early Meissen silver gilt mounted tankard painted in the manner of Horoldt was spotted sitting on top of a radiator by auctioneer Mark Law during a routine valuation.

UK: EARLY German drinking vessels captured all the attention and big money in Christie’s June 13 sale of silver.

UK: ABOUT 30 years ago a local private lady purchased this 5.2in (13cm) high Charles II flat-lidded silver tankard, pictured right, for £6 at a Cumbrian jumble sale: a generation later, having realised its potential worth, she decided to place the vessel into the hands of the Cumbrian auctioneers Penrith Farmers’ & Kidd’s (10 per cent buyer’s premium) for their sale on September 29.