One of the questions I am asked the most by clients viewing a specialist sale such as the forthcoming Sporting & Collectors sale of 20th March 2013, is ‘Where does it all come from?’ Well the answer is ‘Everywhere!’
A late Victorian carved ivory dog's head whistle
No cupboard is left un-opened, no shed un-cluttered and certainly no attic left un-crawled through in the search for unusual and interesting items for auction. While all the searching is hard on the knees (and the dry cleaning bill), it is often a simple box of knick knacks from a drawer that clients say ‘there’s nothing in there but rubbish’ that yield a pleasant surprise.
This small carved ivory dog’s head whistle (SC16/55) is inset with glass eyes and is wonderfully tactile. It is simply a fantastic little find from a box of oddments that were left to one side. Dating from the late 19th century it is typical of the decoration used on walking sticks and umbrellas of the period and has a wide appeal to collectors and dog enthusiasts. Even though it is only 4cm long it should fetch toward the upper end of its £100-£150 pre sale estimate and beyond. So even the smallest unassuming items can attract an auctioneer’s eye in the search for antiques, if you see a clean well dressed auctioneer they’re probably not looking hard enough!
