Latest news with #WoolleyAndWallis
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Flog It! antiques expert Michael Baggott's silver set to be sold
A collection of York silver belonging to late Flog It! antiques expert Michael Baggott could be the "most comprehensive" set to be sold publicly, an auctioneer has who worked on the BBC series, died earlier this year aged 51, after a heart antiques collection, expected to sell for more than £200,000, includes an extensive selection of silver assessed by metal testers in York."It includes over 550 pieces from the late 17th Century to the closure of the [York] assay office in 1858," Rupert Slingsby, silver specialist at Woolley and Wallis auctioneers, said. "The Baggott collection is probably the most comprehensive collection of silver assayed in York ever to come on to the open market," Mr Slingsby also includes items assessed in assay offices in Liverpool, Chester Dundee, Newcastle, Bristol, Exeter and Aberdeen. According to the auction house, highlights of the collection include a rare George II provincial mug, a Victorian novelty Jester pepper pot and a George IV gilt sideboard was born in Birmingham and his interest in antiques began at an early worked at Christie's auction house and was head of silver at Sotheby's Billingshurst, before becoming a private consultant, known as an authority on joined BBC daytime show Flog It! in the early 2000s, and valued various silver programme showed members of the public having their antique items appraised by experts before being given the option to sell them at auction, but it was axed amidst BBC One daytime schedule changes in this year, the head of BBC daytime and early peak commissioning, Rob Unsworth, described Baggott as one of the show's "most memorable characters".He was an "expert in all manner of collectables but in particular with unrivalled knowledge and enthusiasm for antique spoons and silver", Mr Unsworth added. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Flog It! expert's collection ‘most comprehensive set of York silver to be sold'
A collection belonging to late Flog It! antiques expert Michael Baggott could be the most comprehensive set of silver tested in York to come up for public sale, an auctioneer has said. Baggott's death aged 51 in hospital after a heart attack, which followed a stroke in October, was announced earlier this year. The collection, expected to make more than £200,000, comprises hundreds of lots, including an extensive selection of York silver, as well as items assessed in assay offices in Liverpool, Chester, Dundee, Newcastle, Bristol, Exeter and Aberdeen. Highlights include a George IV gilt sideboard dish from Birmingham silversmith Sir Edward Thomason, with an an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000; a rare George II provincial mug by Liverpool silversmith Benjamin Brancker, with an estimate of £1,500-£2,000; and a Robert Hennell-produced Victorian novelty Jester pepper pot dating from 1868, with an estimate of £1,000-£1,500. There is also a tankard by Benjamin Cartwright, who was London-based, which could go for between £1,500 and £2,000, and a rare George IV provincial Gibson-type medicine spoon, which was named after the doctor who designed them, with an estimate of £600 to £800. Rupert Slingsby, silver specialist at Woolley and Wallis auctioneers, said: 'The Baggott collection is probably the most comprehensive collection of silver assayed in York ever to come on to the open market. 'It includes over 550 pieces from the late 17th century to the closure of the (York) assay office in 1858.' Another item is a George IV silver-mounted naval snuff box, bearing the words 'Made of the wood from Northern Discover Ships by Michael Jones at Deptford, 5th May 1824', which is believed to be a reference to 16th-century English vessels sent to find a northern sea route to Asia. Baggott, born in Birmingham, was an authority on antique silver, specialising in early spoons, boxes and provincial and continental silver. His interest in antiques began in his early years, and he progressed to work in Christie's auction house and was head of silver at Sotheby's Billingshurst for a number of years, before becoming a private consultant. Baggott was also a published author, having written An Illustrated Guide To York Hallmarks 1776-1858 and As Found: A Lifetime In Antiques. He joined BBC daytime show Flog It! in the early 2000s, and valued various silver objects. Earlier this year, the head of BBC daytime and early peak commissioning, Rob Unsworth, described him as as one of Flog It!'s 'most memorable characters', and an 'expert in all manner of collectables but in particular with unrivalled knowledge and enthusiasm for antique spoons and silver'. The Antiques Roadshow-style programme – which saw members of the public having their antique items appraised by experts before being given the option to sell them at auction – began in 2002. The corporation announced in 2018 that the series was being axed in a shake-up of BBC One's daytime schedule. The Baggott sale begins on July 15 at 10am. The estimates do not included buyer's premium, which the auction house said was 26% on top of sales.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Rare Chinese antiques in Heathfield home sell for more than £130k
Two rare Chinese antiques more than 300 years old and part of a family collection in East Sussex have been sold for a combined £135,500. The vase and wine pitcher were from the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1661 to 1722) and were bought by art connoisseur and philanthropist William Cleverley Alexander in 1907 and items had been in Mr Alexander's private collection at his country home in Heathfield Park for more than a Axford, chairman of the auction house Woolley & Wallis, said the family were "delighted" with the auction result on Tuesday. He added: "What the sale really shows is the importance of history and provenance - collectors prize provenance very highly."The vase, which has a rare underglaze decorated with two squirrels hiding in a fruiting grapevine, was sold to a buyer in the Far East for £94,500 against an estimate of £20,000-£30,000. The pitcher was sold for £41,000 to a European buyer against an estimate of £4,000-£6, Axford said: "This shows despite the economic and political troubles in the world, really good items remain highly desirable." He explained ceramic wares modelled in the form of characters like the wine pitcher were a "remarkable" innovation of the Kangxi period - an era of stability following the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. He added the pitcher was a "particularly decorative example". It has a blue Buddhist lion finial, an unusually long neck and moulded as the combined Chinese characters of Fu (good fortune) and Shou (longevity). There were various uses for wine pitchers of this period, including ritualistic, ceremonial or funerary use. "They were were created to literally 'toast' the dead and some for more practical usage," Mr Axford added. Mr Alexander (1840-1916), who was also a banker, was credited for popularising Asian art in Britain during the Victorian into a wealthy family, he used his financial resources to amass an impressive collection of Asian patronage of arts supported emerging artists of the time, including James McNeill Whistler who was famous for his painting Whistler's Mother. According to the auction house, Mr Alexander bought the wine pitcher for £45 from William Dickinson & Son in 1907. He then bought the vase from antiques dealer John Sparks on June 1913 for just £30.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Rare Chinese antiquities from Heathfield collection to be auctioned
Two rare Chinese antiques that had been in an East Sussex home for more than 100 years could fetch up to £36,000 at vase and wine pitcher were from the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (1661 to 1722) and were purchased by art connoisseur and philanthropist William Cleverley Alexander in 1907 and 1913. Both items had been in Mr Alexander's private collection in his country home in Heathfield Park and his descendants are putting them up for auction for the first time, according to auctioneers Woolley & Axford, chairperson of the auction house, said it was an "honour to be entrusted to sell the two pieces" and they anticipate interest from around the world. The auction house said the Kangxi era was a time of renewed stability in China, following the fall of the Ming Dynasty, which prompted a surge in artistic creativity. It added ceramics from this particular era are "regarded as some of the most exquisite ever produced".The vase is a rare underglaze decorated with two squirrels hiding in a fruiting grapevine. It features stylised lotus flowerheads and leaf scrolls with red flower motifs against a white background. The auction house said it carried an estimate of between £20,000 and £30, yellow-glazed pitcher is fashioned in the shape of the Chinese characters which translate as good fortune (Fu), prosperity (Lu) and longevity (Shou) and carries an estimate of between £4,000 and £6,000. Mr Alexander was credited for popularising Asian art in Britain during the Victorian era. Back in 2005, Woolley & Wallis sold one of Mr Alexander's collection in Heathfield Park, a blue and white vase from China's Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368), for £3m following an initial estimate of between £200,000 and £300,000.
