Sara and Mark Hales are both ceramics specialists but, having had to turn away a number of furniture consignments, are moving to larger premises in December in order to hold furniture sales.
“We are turning business away, it is ridiculous,” said Sara Hales, who said the company plan to move locally to Bovey Tracey’s Tracey House where there will be two salerooms. “We will still have monthly sales, but they will be larger and with more furniture,” she said.
Selling privately-entered quality furniture for five- and six-figure sums may be a long-term ambition, but the highlight of their 571-lot outing was a large 19th century Devon slipware jug, 111/2in (29cm).
“We are finding there is a big private following for Devonshire pottery in Devon,” said Mrs Hales but she was still taken aback by the £5600 bid by a North Country dealer to secure it for his own private collection.
Consigned by a local private vendor at £600-800, the jug was decorated with a central panel of two yellow glaze birds and the reverse inscribed with the pun, “Beware’” as the potter said to the lump of clay, “I’ll be burnt first,” saucily responded the mud.
Although the auctioneers were not sure why it was so enthusiastically contested by two collectors in the room and three telephone bidders, Sara Hales said there had been talk that it was by either George or Robert Fishley, both noted Devonshire potters. Although the jug was unsigned, this bird design was associated with this highly collected north Devon family of potters.
While this jug stood above all other entries, a decorative pair of privately consigned 19th century Minton cobalt blue dessert plates with pierced basketwork borders brought £1100 from the trade.
Although there were only a handful of four-figure ceramic entries, a 19th century Bristol School sampler, 15in by 11.5in (38cm x 29cm), fetched £2200 against £600-800 pre-sale expectations.
The auctioneers were unable to say what made it so special but early samplers of a decent size and in good order have been making healthy prices of late. This example was worked in red threads with 14 differently scripted alphabets.
S.J. Hales, Bovey Tracey, September 25
Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent
New business fires ceramics duo’s ambitions
AMONG a number of more positive signs for the trade this autumn, fewer are more enouraging than news of an auction house expanding to accommodate extra consigments. Such is the case at these Devon auctioneers, S.J.Hales, who, since they opened in May 2000, have held monthly auctions at the local Edgemoor Hotel where space has meant sales have not exceeded more than 800/900 almost all aimed at ceramics collectors.
