A Wedgwood Fairyland lustre octagonal bowl with a pattern designed by Daisy Mekeig-Jones sold for almost £3,000 in the latest sale at the Grantham auction rooms.
The bowl, which was decorated in a 'Woodland Elves VII Toadstool' pattern with an interior decorated in a 'Fairy in a Cage' pattern, was one of the highlights of the sale at auctioneers Golding Young & Mawer on Wednesday and Thursday (May 30 and 31).
Auctioneer Luke Handley said: "This bowl was eagerly sought-after and we had buyers competing for it in the room, on the internet and over the telephone. "It is very indicative of the Art Nouveau period and such items always hold their price even in difficult times. We were delighted when the hammer fell at £2,900."
Elsewhere in the sale, an unusual collection of items relating to the British Army in East Africa during the First World War sold for £260 to a collector bidding over the internet. Photographs of scenes at the Seaview Camp at Dar es Salaam and a letter of complaint regarding the evacuation of troops from the camp after the war were included in the lot. Before the auction, Mr Handley said: "The vendor had bought the album among a job lot at an auction in Yorkshire and thought it would be of interest in its own right. "It is certainly not common to see military items relating to East Africa as most similar collections from the Great War relate to France and Palestine."
Pictures in the photograph album included scenes of the Machine Gun Corps, native tribesmen and wildlife
at the Seaview Camp, various silks, a set of postcards by E.T.W. Dennis & Sons Ltd of Scarborough and a MacFarlanes, Lang & Co's cream cracker tin containing various mementos including warthog tusks, springbok horns, cowrie shells, seed pods and beads. The letter of complaint showed that the soldiers demanded to be evacuated by January 31st, 1919, and stated that 'men and machinery have been employed since November 11th in work that in no way leads to expediate evacuation ie making of curios consisting of ebony candlesticks, dinner gongs and flower vases from shell cases, folding beds and chairs, tobacco pouches, etc for officers'. In a separate lot, there was a World War I Gallantry Group of three medals - the Military Medal, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal - awarded to Benjamin Bradshaw who was a gunner in the Royal Artillery. The medals, which were sold with a facsimile photograph of the recipient, a later photograph and a hand written biography, sold for £320.
Meanwhile, a Royal Doulton titanium figure of a World War I soldier returning home entitled 'Blighty' and designed by E.W. Wight in 1919 sold for £800, well above its estimate of £500 to £700. A collection of 19th century Masonic items sold for £400, and an early 19th century set of pine drawers decorated with a scumble effect sold to a telephone bidder for £480. The next Fine Art and Collective Sale at the Lincoln auction rooms will be held on Wednesday, June 20 and at the Grantham saleroom on Wednesday and Thursday, July 4 and 5. For more information about sales at Golding Young & Mawer log-on to www.goldingyoung.com or phone the Grantham saleroom on (01476) 565118 or the Lincoln saleroom on (01522) 524984.
