Standard pieces sold steadily rather than spectacularly with the top price of the day, outside the pictures, coming on a 5ft 8in (1.72m) wide Georgian mahogany and satinwood-banded breakfront sideboard.
With a central frieze drawer flanked by two bowed drawers and one deep bowed drawer, it had the added attraction of a raised gallery with brass rail and uprights and sold at a mid-estimate £2500. Other furniture bids contributing to the day’s £92,000 total included £1700 on a pair of Edwardian painted mahogany display cabinets with astragal glazed doors; £1550 on an 18th century enclosed oak dresser with later additions, and £1500 on a George III mahogany and crossbanded chest of drawers.
Ceramics made up the biggest section of the sale and included some dependable collectors’ favourites.
Best seller was a Royal Doulton character jug of the Hatless Drake (D6115) designed by Harry Fenton in 1940, Estimated at £500-700 the 6in (15cm) jug sold at £1600.
Clarice Cliff was best represented by a 6 1/2in (16.5cm) Bizarre coffee jug in the Pastel Autumn pattern which made £340. Best of the Beswick was a 12in (30.5cm) wall plaque of a woman with a green and gold necklace (No. 436) which took £200.
A steady start for furniture standards
THE March 5 sale at Dee Atkinson & Harrison's (10% buyer's premium) West Yorkshire saleroom was the first antiques offering of the year and, after an 83 per cent selling rate on nearly 700 lots, the auctioneers took encouragement from the way the market seemed to be picking up, with furniture, at last, edging out of the doldrums.
