Royal Copenhagen figures in strong demand

Three rare Royal Copenhagen figures sold for a total of £3,650 in a recent Christmas sale at The Cotswold Auction Company in Cheltenham.

The early-20th century porcelain figures – designed by Carl Martin-Hansen – included Faero, a figure of a rural woman wearing a bonnet, which sold for a hammer of £1,350, and Lolland, a rural male figure wearing a striped cap, which went for £1,300.

A third figure, Hedebo, a woman wearing a pink bonnet, hammered down at £1,000.

Other stars included a Lucie Rie stoneware coffee service. The set, made around 1955 by the celebrated Austro-British ceramicist, hammered down at £5,500.

A Chinese silk dragon robe roared its way into and out of the saleroom, selling for £3,600 plus premium, while a bronze by sculptor Reg Butler (1913 – 1981), entitled Ophelia L, went for £4,000.
Jewellery also shone bright for Christmas, the stand-out being an antique diamond and blue stone (possibly sapphire) dress ring, sold for £4,200.