So what of the carved angel itself, the 3ft (91cm) high oak sculpture of the archangel Michael, top right, which had stood over diners for over 30 years? This proved the most desirable of the principal effects from The Carved Angel offered by Rendells (10% buyer's premium) in Ashburton on June 17-18 when it sold over the telephone to a prominent South West wine merchant for £1850.
Among the genuine antiques was the 19th century treen ale bowl or kasa, bottom right, carved with horsehead handles typically decorated with flowers and an inscribed verse to the rim. A good example of its type, it did not look expensive when it sold to a London folk art specialist for a triple estimate of £880.
