There was an air of excitement in the room and online as the following lots went under the hammer in our 28th and 29th February Antiques and Collectables auction and their final sale price certainly did not disappoint.

Lot 151

Baccarat glass was established is 1764 by the Bishop if Metz who wanted to encourage industry in the village of Baccarat, some 250 miles east of Paris, France. The great french glasswork at Voneche in northern France found itself outside the new french frontier in the newly created country of Belgium in 1815. There is a story that the owner Voneche a Parisian names Aime-Gabriel D’Artigues struck a deal with the King of France to reduce his import taxes from Voneche in return for setting up again in France. The technique of embedding cameo sulphides in paperweights, was raised to a fine art by Baccarat in the early 19th century. Baccarat company has a reputation as a caring employer of generations of glassworkers as seen with the beautiful Baccarat crystal wine cooler that sold at our two day sale of antiques and collectables for a hammer price of £500.

Lot 268

Gucci has a great reputation for the craftsmanship and history through the Italian brand. Alessandro Michele has brought a new perspective to the fashion house. Michele took the iconic Gucci monogram canvas and putting it on a smaller format bag, the myth of Dionysus is being brought back to life. The Dionysus bag was first revealed during the fall/winter 2015 runway. The tiger head clasp, with the seal of the god of vineyards, wine, revelry, and theatre, the idea is to bring the public into a realm of wild creativity. The Dionysus bag is undeniably the icon of a new century as seen at our two day sale when the bag went under the hammer it fetched £360.

Lot 13

In 1837 the master saddler Thierry Hermes founded a business producing bridles in Paris. In 1928 the first watch bearing the Hermes name appeared, and many more were produced for the company by Swiss watchmakers over the following decades. Hermes founded La Montre Hermes SA in Biel in 1978 to produce watches for the company’s expanding retail network. The company’s iconic clipper line was introduced in 1981, featuring a porthole-shaped bezel. As seen going under the hammer on Friday at our two day sale and fetched £340.