Pictured on the front cover of the two-day catalogue was this 14in (35cm) diameter Burleigh Ware pottery charger vibrantly decorated in pattern number 4012 with an tube-lined exotic pheasant perched in a fruiting pomegranate tree in tones of blue, cream, green and purple.
Consigned from the Lancashire village Ramsbottom and with an estimate of £1500-2500, it was contested by several telephones to £3100 (plus 10 per cent buyer's premium), selling to a buyer from the South of England. The price is thought to be an auction record for Rhead bettering the October high that was paid for a 10in (25cm) diameter Burleigh Ware wall plate painted with an auburn-haired beauty with flowers in her hair (pattern 4350).
