17th century mirror didn't lie

AS anyone familiar with the story of Snow White knows, mirrors never lie.

Mirror manufacturers, of course, do, which is why you can buy a reproduction Art Deco or Arts and Crafts style mirror from any DIY warehouse - although why you'd want to when you can buy an original from an antiques auction is anyone's guess.

But there was no doubting the authenticity of a three hundred year old mirror, with its original bevelled Vauxhall glass, which went under the hammer in the Cotswolds last week.

At Moore Allen & Innocent's selected antiques sale, the 17th century oyster laburnum cushion frame wall mirror - a good size at 76cm by 66cm - shot past its £600 to £1,000 estimate to achieve one of the top prices of the day.

As auctioneer Philip Allwood pointed out, it's rare to find such an old mirror with its original glass, which has either been broken or replaced after so many years of preening.
And while it's easy to replicate an aged look, faking the bevelling - originally achieved with a hot metal rod - is extremely complicated. Bidders concurred, and the mirror eventually sold for £2,200.

A couple of desks made the best prices of the day. A handsome Regency mahogany Carlton House desk with plain top above two banks of drawers flanked by two cupboard doors achieved £18,500, while an early 19th century walnut desk with leather top made £2,900.

Furniture continued its recent revival, keeping small collectables - which have dominated the top spots for several years - from the upper reaches of the rankings.

It was a tiny Moorcroft vase that broke the trend - the 9cm tall Florian Ware vase, circa 1900, exceeded all expectations to sell for £1,900 against a £200 to £300 estimate.

Elsewhere, jade continued to perform well. Twelve lots from a single collection, which had been re-listed after a Chinese buyer failed to cough up after a sale earlier this year, went on to sell for more than they had achieved in that sale in March.

Among the best, a pale green jade vase with temple lion finial and ring handles made £1,600, a mutton fat jade gu shaped vase with foliate and pierced decoration made £1,550 and a pale green jade vase bearing a base on the label which read Chien Lung 1736-1795 also sold for £1,550 - all to a Chinese buyer.

There was similar excitement over a large collection of 18th century silver miniature tankards, teapots and coffee pots. A Queen Ann chocolate pot - standing at just 6cm tall - achieved £1,300, a George I coffee pot, not much taller at 8cm, made £1,150 and a William and Mary wine taster, measuring just 4cm in diameter, was sold for £1,100.

Another lot of note was a Napoleonic war medal, presented to R Thompson, veterinary surgeon of the 14th Light Dragoons, which sold for £960.

The general service medal, 1793-1814, included one clasp for action at the Battle of Talavera, where the combined forces of the Anglo-Portuguese army and the Spanish sought to oust the French from Madrid.

Although the allies were victorious, the battle gave Napoleon's brother King Joseph Bonaparte time to reinforce the city, and so has been chalked up as a strategic win to the French.

But it was enough to see the commander of the English troops, Sir Arthur Wellesley, ennobled Viscount Wellington, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As a member of the aristocracy from birth, it could be said that Wellington was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but however privileged his upbringing, the spoon was probably nothing like this one:

A single George II silver serving spoon, decorated in an Old English pattern, with fan motif bowl and hallmarked London 1739, caused some surprise when the hammer fell way above its £200 to £300 estimate, at £1,100.

The sale was the most successful of year so far, with £130,000 worth of antiques changing hands. The next sales are the antique and general sales of June 11 and July 2.

A three hundred year old Vauxhall bevelled glass mirror	A Regency mahogany Carlton House desk
A 9cm tall Florian Ware vase	A Napoleonic war medal