This Chinese plate came with a note that says it was bought for £600 back in 1954 a small fortune then, but less than the £15,000 it could fetch today.
I was recently called out to a local house to look at a variety of items, among them, a very expensive-looking box, about 12 inches across, which when opened revealed a silk-like cushion.
It wasn't, of course, this very upmarket packing case that I was called out to look at, but its contents. It housed the Chinese plate shown that was made in around about 1690, or from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. So far, nothing out of the ordinary - but also in the little box was a piece of paper showing that this little Star of the Orient had been bought from an antique shop in London in 1954 for - wait for it - £600.
I reckon that was a King's ransom then that would have probably bought a fairly good house.
Not quite a house purchase today mind, as I think it will make between £10,000 and £15,000.
speak up
I hear you say. but I could with the aid of the instrument shown. It is a hearing aid that is made to look as if it was carved from tortoiseshell but is in fact cast from plastic and bears the mark of the retailer: "T Hawksley Ltd of 351 Oxford Street London." Having had some experience in these matters I know a modern hearing aid can cost thousands of pounds. Although perhaps considered not particularly practical in this day and age, it does actually work quite effectively, and could cost as little as £50.
A PRESENT FROM WHALES
No, the glorious typesetters at the Worcester News have not gone mad - I did mean whales.
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Now it's obvious that the two little gems shown on the right are made out of silver and are probably ladles used for dispensing a short sharp spiritual nip.
Interestingly, the handle of these, which date from the 18th Century, is made out of whalebone. Think back to Captain Ahab and the whaling vessels of that time. Nothing was wasted and the bone was spiral turned for added strength and used in the manufacture of these toddy ladles. Surprisingly, all that history can be bought for as little as £50 to £100 a piece.
This tortoiseshell' ear trumpet is actually made out of plastic.
AND TALKING OF WALES
You will all know my fascination with the historical story that items from the past can tell. The plate shown above is from the little Welsh factory of Nantgarw which was in existence for just 15 years or so, at the beginning of the 19th century.
Along with wares from the nearby Swansea factory they are eagerly sort after by a group of predominantly Welsh collectors.
Although made in Wales, this plate was probably decorated in London and it carries a label on the back that tells us it was once in the collection of Harry Sherman.
Today, it could make about £1,000. Interestingly, I currently hold the record price achieved for a plate produced by the Nantgarw factory - a fabulous example decorated with the Three Graces which I sold back in 2005 for a remarkable £26,000.
ENOUGH'S SNUFF
Tobacco, in all its forms, used to be associated with real works of art with which a great deal of time and trouble was taken. The little silver box above could have adorned the pocket of a Regency dandy and would likely have contained the latest, most exotic, and possibly aromatic, variety of snuff; which is of course made from tobacco.
The box has a gilt interior and also has a local connection. Birmingham is, and was, one of England's Assay offices where silver is sent to be hallmarked, ensuring it really is silver and not just silver coloured. Birmingham was also famous for the manufacture of toys - not Corgis and Dinkys, but small items such as snuff boxes or some other similarly sized trinket. This carries no health warning but perhaps only a wealth warning at £80 to £120.
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