Our sale on the 2nd & 3rd of January was a very exciting affair with a fantastic turn out – particularly on the first day of viewing after Christmas, when the saleroom was full to the brim with customers obviously keen to get out and spend their money. Top price of the day was the £5,500 paid by an online bidder from Suffolk for a fabulous three stone diamond ring. In fact, the jewellery and silver sections both sold like wildfire with so many high points that I just don’t know where to start!
So I am just going to move swiftly on to our second highest price of the day which was the £5,200 paid for a very rare ‘cinnamon’ teddy bear dating from around 1910. The bear was catalogued by me as ‘thought to be Steiff’ although he had no tell-tale signature button to his ear. Chris and I actually spent ages ruffling around in his furry ears looking for a small pin hole (which would indicate that a button had been there once) – but to no avail. There was a predictable flurry of interest and we were even visited by Julie Tatchell from The Repair Shop. She was super lovely of course, but also unsure of the bears attribution – he was ‘very Steiff but his ears were too sideways and maybe his nose was too long’! After giving me lots of very helpful information on identifying Steiff bears she took lots of photographs and went on her way. However, she emailed later to say her partner Amanda had confirmed he was a Steiff – which was very kind of her.
Finally, I must share the extraordinary fact that by far the most popular item on the online bidders ‘wishlist’ was a Victorian small taxidermy dog! This poor little thing had apparently spent most of its life stored in various attics as a weird and unwanted family heirloom, until the current owner had decided to set him free. It looks like he will be going to a good home as the buyer paid £1,400 for him. He might even be loved just as much as the teddy bear - I know which one I would rather cuddle!
Good quality entries of antiques & Collectables invited for future sales by appointment. Please telephone 01531 821776 or visit www.smithsnewentauctons.co.uk