Island Life Magazine Ltd April / May 2016 | Page 53

ANTIQUES

RECENTLY
SOLD ITEMS

Rex Gully &
Rebecca Ball:

Ask an
expert!

M

Victorian Brooch
Sold for £2,800
A Victorian diamond star
brooch

HRD Auction Rooms

Polyphon
Sold for £3,100
19th Century ‘penny in the
slot’ polyphon

HRD Auction Rooms

Centrepiece Bowl
Sold for £1,500
Sevres style centrepiece bowl

HRD Auction Rooms

HRD Auctions - 01983 402222

usic is a universally appreciated medium and the
world of musical collectables continues to grow
and evolve.
Whilst musical instruments have been manufactured
and collected since early man first learnt how to stretch
animal skins to form a rudimentary drum, with the advent
of mechanisation came the wonderful world of musical
boxes, automota, polyphons, gramophones et al. As
styles and genres of music have developed, so have the
machines which allow even the most tone deaf amongst
us to enjoy music at home.
At Hose Rhodes Dickson we have been fortunate to
see a wide variety of these musical machines and the
market remains buoyant. For anyone looking to start a
collection there are pieces accessible to all budgets, with
gramophones selling for as little as £25, and small Swiss
musical boxes available for under £100. Those wishing to
graduate to larger scale collecting, both in monetary terms
and sheer scale, can look at pieces such as the polyphon
we recently sold, pictured left. Turning to automota, with
designs limited only by the imaginations of the craftsmen
who built them, prices are often premium. A Victorian bird
automaton in our fine art and antique auction outstripped
its guide price, whilst a spectacular monkey band
automaton recently sold in a Bristol saleroom for £16,000.

Bracket Clock
Sold for over £1,000
Georgian clock

Island Auction Rooms

Classic Car
Sold for over £4,000
Classic Isetta for restoration

Island Auction Rooms

Range Rover
Sold for over £6,000
Range Rover Vogue

Island Auction Rooms

Island Auction Rooms - 01983 863441

Auction report
O

ur first fine art and antique sale of the year showed
that the oriental market is still strong, with
several Chinese bidders competing to ensure many
lots in the oriental section surpassed their estimates,
including a Xuande style famille verte saucer selling
for £1500. This was also a clear demonstration of the
importance of internet bidding; making these auctions
accessible to an international audience ensures our
vendors receive maximum exposure for their
lots, leading to potentially premium prices.
Gardenalia was once again the star of the
show at our March modern and vintage
auction, demonstrating that with the advent of spring
thoughts turn to sprucing up the exterior of our homes
and spending more time in the garden. If you are in
spring cleaning mode, why not bring any unwanted
treasures along to one of our regular valuation
mornings; you can find a list of dates on our website.

www.visitilife.com

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