Bar a few pieces of glass the contents of the sale had come from The Old Post Office House in Brill, Buckinghamshire, the former home of the late Dr May Ree and, although fairly run of the mill attracted lots of private buyers.
Mr Lloyd admits he underrated the popularity of Wedgwood Fairyland lustre ware which explains the £50-80 estimate on a 101/2in (27cm) plate from the series which aroused considerable private interest before going to a London dealer at £2300.
Birds were as popular as ever, with a pair of Continental .925 standard silver models of cock and hen pheasant and a Japanese silver and polychrome enamel peacock both going way over estimates at £1900 and £1800 respectively.
Good stock pieces dominated the furniture with the top seller, a 3ft 4in (1.01m) wide George III Irish mahogany bureau bookcase going at a lower-estimate £2000.
Mallams, Oxford, September 7
Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent
Season opens with just one lot unsold
“THIS was a very good way to get the season rolling,” said auctioneer Ben Lloyd of this 371-lot sale at Mallams Oxford on 7 September from which only one lot remained unsold.
