Royal Doulton attracts the buyers
By William Gregory MRICS, Golding Young & Mawer.
An interessting consignment from South Lincolnshire was sold recently at the Bourne Auction Rooms.
The total collection sold for over £25,000 and included a collection of over 175 Royal Doulton bone china figures, which looks impressive but is some way short of the over 4,000 different figures the company produced.
Each figure is monogrammed with its own HN serial number named after Harry Nixon, head of the painting department in the early 20th century.
The first figure produced, HN1, is titled ‘Darling’ and was designed by Charles Vyse in 1913. The total number of ‘HN’ stock is over 5,700 although not all numbers have been utilised.
Auction prices for Royal Doulton have changed over the years and are clearly affected by rarity, length of production and colourways.
The top price at the Bourne Auction went to a figure titled Butterfly HN719, which sold for £700.
A rare but not quite perfect figure, Pierrette HN1749, made a very creditable £240.
Whilst the Orange Vendor HN72 sold at £120, The Rag Doll Seller HN2944 held the average price, selling for £50.
Other items of Royal Doulton from the consignment included a porcelain paperweight modelled as a Walrus, attracting a successful bid of £60.
Finally, a Royal Crown Derby Panel Green pattern part dinner service, originally for 12 persons, saw the hammer fall at £1,600.
Full details of the auction are available at www.goldingyoung.com
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