Standing head and shoulders above the rest in price terms – collectors could get most of the other material at two and three-figure sums – was this large and very rare Staffordshire bull group, right. The 14in (36cm) c.1820 model of a farmer holding his hat aloft beside a tethered beast and a dog, was estimated at £3000-5000 and justified this expert opinion when it sold at £4200.
Staffordshire market still bullish
Devon auctioneers SJ Hales (15 per cent buyer’s premium) have moved to a wider field than the ceramics, and particularly Staffordshire, on which they founded their reputation but this area remains their strength. The 500 varied ceramic lots and nearly 200 Staffordshire pieces took most of the better prices among the 1500 offerings at the new Bovey Tracey rooms on March 12 and 13.
