Woolley & Wallis

The New Year sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury included one of the most desirable and celebrated of all Victorian furniture types: a mahogany ‘Jupe’s patent’ radially expanding dining table.

Pin cushions have their own niche market in the novelty silver field. Nineteen Edwardian examples were offered at a sale at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) in Salisbury last year.

Alongside pieces made in Kinsale, Galway and Waterford, silver from the small County Cork town of Youghal is among the scarcest of all Irish provincial silver. Only a handful of pieces survive that carry the punning town mark of a yawl.

Varied selection of Down Under images joins British art on offer in Salisbury saleroom.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a William Henry Hunt self-portrait.

Jeremy Lamond, former director of Halls, will be joining auction house Woolley & Wallis at the end of March 2020 as head of the valuations department and associate director.

A Qianlong teapot which made £800,000 in Dorchester provided the stellar result among some exceptional Asian art lots offered for sale in the UK regions and Ireland last week.

For more than 25 years a regular contributor to BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, John Benjamin recalls his early days in the trade – while reviewing a recent jewellery auction. Additional reporting by Roland Arkell.

This early-Victorian bracelet comprising eight portrait miniatures and four unusual eye miniatures set in gold is inscribed on the back with a series of identifying names, including that of Josias Nottidge, the children’s father, and his wife Emily. It tells the story of a Victorian scandal.

Ceramics, furniture, glass and figure highlights from a range of sales under same banner.

A large selection of around 250 lots of Martin Brothers wares will be offered in the next British Art Pottery sale at Woolley & Wallis on November 27.

While some medal collectors stick rigidly to a narrow period or theme, others take a wider view. A broad taste is evident from a large group on offer in Salisbury.

Made in Gujarat or Sindh in the 18th century, a sandalwood table cabinet profusely inlaid with ivory flowers and tendrils throughout was a fine example of Mughal craftsmanship and led the way at a recent sale at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

Market freshness, provenance and attractive estimates were the features that held sway to ensure a high selling rate for a single-owner collection of British delftwares offered at Woolley & Wallis (25/12% buyer’s premium).

A tribal war club from the Marquesas Islands with textbook provenance has sold for £71,000 at Woolley & Wallis. The u’u (head club) came for sale at the Salisbury saleroom from the descendants of an early-19th century missionary.

The jewellery sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on October 30 includes over 60 engraved gems – both ancient and Neoclassical – from several single-owner collections. A selection of rings is pictured here: