The signed 19 1/2 x 23in (49 x 58cm) painting, which was consigned by a local Tunstall family, had, said auctioneer Clive Hillier, been entered at one of the major London sales in 1989 with what proved to be an over-ambitious £20,000-30,000 estimate. At that price there were no takers and the vendors modified their hopes to £14,000-18,000 at the Potteries sale where it featured on the catalogue front cover, finding a trade buyer at the lower estimate.
