Pier mirror reflects demand for antiques

Midlands auction house, Fellows Auctioneers, has said that the appetite for furniture and collectables at auction has never been stronger, following a recent sale.

Earlier this week, Fellows reported that a pier mirror with an estimate of £500 – £800 sold for a whopping £21,054. It was one of many items which attracted bidders’ interest. The carved gilt wood framed mirror received over 75 bids and was the highest item to have sold in one of Fellows’ antiques auction for many years.

A total hammer price of over £200,000 was achieved on the entire sale, with traditional goods selling particularly well. 

The auctioneer said there has been an increase in interest for their furniture items. The firm attributes some of the rise in interest to the increasingly popular upcycling trend which many have been enjoying during lockdown. Many pre-loved items can be bought for a fraction of their retail prices – something which customers took advantage of in the recent sale.

Fellows has shifted their Antiques, Silver & Collectables sale online in the last year, and the sale has grown ever since. Kevin Jackson, Auctioneer and Senior Specialist from the Antiques Department at Fellows, said: “The desire for our antiques auctions is increasing as each sale goes by and people have become accustomed to bidding over the internet. From alluring paintings, to historic silver tea sets, our auction on January 25 had it all and the vast amount of bids on the sale saw items sell for huge prices.” 

Several antique silver coffee and tea sets flew above their auction estimates. A 1920s silver three piece tea service by James Dixon & Sons sold for a full price of £2,105.40, and a George II silver coffee pot sold for a full price of £1,059.08.

Many paintings also achieved good prices. Especially worth note were paintings from Birmingham, artists Vincent Clare (1855 – 1930) and Oliver Clare (1853 – 1927) which all sold above their estimates