Wednesday 21 December 2011

DEC 2011: AUCTION ROUND UP


AUCTIONEER
DATE 2011
CLOCK
MAKER
£
Bellman
Jan
Banjo
Wm Sterck Bristol
500Hammer
G Houlgate
Feb
Long Teardrop
Charles Harding Ashburton
2000Hammer
Christies
June
Octagonal
Anon
£4375Premium
Christies
July
Lge Teardrop
Anon
N/S
Ebay
July
Octagonal
Anon
N/S £7000ask
Ebay
July
Round Dial
Read Tarporley
N/S £8000ask
Ebay
Aug
Shield
Elliott Plymouth
£3000
G Houlgate
Oct
Round Dial
Webster Salop
£8500Premium
Stair USA
Oct
Teardrop
“Vulliamy”
$1500
Sothebys
Nov
Shield
P Lloyd Bristol
£5625Premium
Tennants
Nov
Round Dial
John Hocker Reading
£6292Premium
USA
Nov
Round Dial, Mahogany
James Howden Edinburgh
$1300Hammer
Bonhams
Dec
Round Dial, Brass Bezel
James Tregent London
£10650Premium
Martin & Pole
Dec
Round Dial
Anon
£4200Hammer


Apologies that the table does not quite fit. To decode, hammer and premium inclusive are the missing words.

No ranting here, just the factual round-up of tavern clock auctions. 2011 was a below par year for tavern clocks appearing at auction, mirroring the malaise in markets in general. In good times, the cream rises to the surface but sellers go into hiding when prices recede. It was already evident towards the back end of 2010 when a couple of top notch tavern clocks produced poor prices at Dreweatts in Donnington. Clocks which had commanded upper teens prices were sold for hammer prices at £10k or below. It is no surprise therefore that the selection on offer in 2011 generally failed to excite. Of the 14 clocks on offer most found buyers. The only sleeper in the bunch is probably the Howden which will brush up well from its sorry state. The Webster has the best chinoiserie on its door. Prices generally reflected the need to un-restore previous ill-thought out but well intentioned interventions. Some "restorations" are irrecoverable. The best prices will always be achieved for untouched clocks and there was very little of that in evidence. See the Tavernicus Forum for more details of those clocks in the table. http://www.tavernicus.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=34&func=view&id=108&catid=2 . 

2012 approaches and those vendors sitting on their hands waiting for better times may as well go to sleep for 20 years as the gloom is not going to rise any time soon. Tavernicus will be back in January with news of price indices for antiques in general. Meanwhile, it's time to slow down, open a bottle or a few, find a good book or two and sleep a lot. Oh, a big thank you to those who bought my book, which some will be reading this Christmas!! Enjoy.