Lechlade residents get antiques masterclass from auctioneer

AUCTIONEER Philip Allwood brought his expertise in identifying and valuing antiques to Lechlade last month, turning a Valuation Day into a masterclass for residents.

The antiques valuation event was held as part of the Love Lechlade Extravaganza, a fundraiser for the building of a new village hall after the old one was destroyed by arsonists.

Cabaret-style seating in the marquee lent itself to performance, and Philip – auctioneer at Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester and a familiar face from a range of antiques-related TV shows – moved around the room telling antiques owners - and the assembled crowd - more about the pieces that had been brought in for valuation.

A tea caddy was identified as dating from around 1805. Crafted from burr yew with boxwood stringing, the case should fetch around £100 to £150 at auction. But why, Philip asked the audience, was there a strong metal lock on the caddy?

The answer, he revealed, is that in 1805 tea was incredibly expensive. Only the rich could afford to drink it, and they locked away the precious leaves to stop their servants helping themselves.

An ivory letter opener dated to around 1860 and worth up to £100 at auction sparked further discussion about the ethics of the ivory trade – no-one in the room thought elephants should be hunted for their tusks – and the controversy over the sale of antique ivory.

A full ban on the trade, said Philip, would mean it would be impossible to sell many vintage pianos, as well as ivory handled knives, ivory jewellery, and carved ivory brought back from the far east by travellers.

The current restrictions, he said, outlawed the sale of ivory items crafted after 1947 – a date chosen because it was 50 years prior to the Act which banned the trade.

One audience member asked how to tell the difference between carved bone and ivory. Philip told the crowd to look out for black speckles caused by the discolouration over time of tiny capillary holes in bone. Ivory should be speckle-free.

There were tips on enhancing and preserving antiques too: that tea caddy would have benefitted from a clean with bees wax. A mid-20th century handled jug in brass (worth £10 to £20) could do with a polish but, conversely, the owners of an inherited electroplated nickel silver fruit dish should refrain from polishing it any further, as most of the silver had been rubbed away, leaving only the nickel below.

A collection of delicate Chinese hand-painted table coverings and coasters on silk should, said Philip, be unfolded and protected behind glass.

There was already signs of wear to the late 19th century paintings – lovely, but not particularly rare as they were produced for the tourism market – along the fold lines and around the edges, despite being carefully stored in a portfolio. They would achieve around £50 at auction.

The big money finds included a circa 1970 gold-cased Omega Seamaster De Ville gents watch, which the owner was urged to wear, enjoy, and insure for £2,000, and a Dunhill table lighter decorated with fish which, Philip told the owner, he would expect to make £1,000 at auction, and should be insured for double that as replacing such a rare item would be difficult.

And, in true fashion, not everything was what it seemed: a ceramic model of a coach and horses, purported to be by Hochst from around 1765 to 1774, was almost certainly a copy dating from the 1920s. While the original may have been worth £500 to £1,000, the copy could be expected to achieve £20 to £30, said Philip.

In all, the event raised over £400 for the village hall appeal. For more information about Moore Allen & Innocent’s valuation services, visit www.mooreallen.co.uk