Rare china fetches £250k at auction
A huge collection of rare Derby china has fetched a quarter of a million pounds at a 'once-in-a-lifetime' sale in Lichfield.
The figurines, vases, cabinet plates and tea wares were expected to fetch around £100,000 when they went under the hammer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers at Fradley Park.
But bids quickly smashed through the guide price and the final total reached £250,000, with collectors from around the world vying for pieces of the china.
Chief associate Adrian Rathbone said: "The sale room was absolutely packed, we had buyers from all over the UK and collectors from Germany, America and other countries also bidding.
"There were 250 lots in total and every single piece sold."
Mr Rathbone said standout lots included an 18th century pair of boar figurines, which fetched £4,400, and a Derby butter boat which sold for the same price. The collection belonged to a man from Burton who had been collecting since the 1980s.
Some of the items were bought from London auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's for around £2,500 in the 1980s.
They would have originally been owned by the gentry and aristocracy of the 18th and 19th centuries.
All of the pieces were made at the Derby china plant in the city from 1750 to 1830. It is now better known as Royal Crown Derby.
The collection was all hand-painted and featured animals and some fine examples of early Chinoiserie decorated vases, cabinet plates and tea wares.
