Purchased at the Doncaster Antiques Fair, a subsequent Facebook post led to the suggestion that it might be the real thing and he decided to consign it to auction at BBR in Elsecar on July 8.
The seal on the bottle carries the initials GR, a cruciform and the date 1682.
BBR proprietor Alan Blakeman said, before the July 8 sale, that the only similar ‘transitional’ sealed shaft and globe with a distinctive broad rim sold at auction was one bearing the initials TL below the date 1686. That example sold for a premium-inclusive £21,250 at Bonhams in November 2014.
It is a very similar price to this recent example at BBR which sold at £21,470, when including buyer’s premium.
