History in the Detail: Period Home Sale Results


June 2026

Our recent Period Home sale celebrated the timeless craftsmanship, character and elegance of centuries past, bringing together an exceptional selection of antique furniture, ceramics, clocks and decorative works of art. It was a sale with genuine depth and the results reflected that, from portraits carrying remarkable family history to a George I bureau-cabinet with provenance stretching back to Sotheby's in 1977.

Read on to discover the highlights.

Portraits With a Story to Tell
Few lots in the sale carried as much family history as this pair of portraits, both connected to the wider Mather family of Lancashire and its remarkable transatlantic legacy. A pair of late 18th century oval oils depicting Benjamin Mather and his wife Sarah Perry, sold together with Perry's original bodice and her associated gold and black enamel mourning ring, sold for £600. The sitters descend from the same family as Increase and Cotton Mather of early colonial Massachusetts, giving the portraits a historical reach far beyond Lancashire. A related set of three oils depicting the daughters of Archibald Morton, banker of Wellingborough, one of whom married into the Mather family, sold for £380. Together, the two lots told a connected story across three generations and two continents.

Furniture Fit for a Period Home
Quality period furniture formed the backbone of the sale, and the results showed buyers were prepared to pay well for it. A William and Mary period laburnum and walnut oyster-veneered chest, its top decorated with concentric oyster veneer and fruitwood stringing, led the section at £3,600. A Regency inlaid mahogany ladies cylinder writing desk, with provenance from Kirkham Hall, sold for £1,300. A George I figured and burr walnut bureau-cabinet, of unusually small proportions and purchased at Sotheby's in 1977, also sold for £3,100, while a Neville Johnson Georgian design mahogany library bookcase, its open adjustable shelving flanked by figured panel cupboard doors, sold for £1,300.

Decorative Objects With Real Character
The decorative objects section brought together ceramics and small furnishings of considerable charm, with collectors responding warmly throughout. An early Victorian rosewood and mother of pearl inlaid sewing and writing casket sold for £460. A pair of 19th century Grainger Lee & Co Worcester urns, hand-painted with views of Near London Bridge and Brighton Pavilion, sold for £650. An 18th century English Delft flower brick painted with a Chinese figure sold for £500, and a pair of mid-19th century Jacob Petit ewers in the Rococo Revival style sold for £440.

Seating Old and New
Chairs and sofas in this sale ranged confidently across periods and styles, and buyers showed an appetite for both. A pair of Edwardian inlaid mahogany wheel-back elbow chairs by Hampton & Sons, with provenance from Kirkham Hall, sold for £650. A set of eight Regency mahogany dining chairs, retailed by David Hick Interiors of Jersey, sold for £700. A pair of Timothy Oulton wingback armchairs in chocolate brown leather sold for £800, while a Tetrad 'Oskar' grande three-seat Chesterfield sofa in fully buttoned tan leather sold for £950.

Clocks Marking the Hours
Clocks rounded off the sale with results that reflected both rarity and craftsmanship. A Chas Frodsham miniature carriage clock, one of a limited edition of 1,000 commemorating the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, sold for £400. A French carriage clock with repeater movement and alarm sold for £260. An early 20th century Concord & Co Swiss travelling clock, retailed by Asprey & Co of London, sold for £190, and a mid 19th century dial clock by Bethel Jacobs of Hull, with eight day fusee movement in a mahogany case, led the section at £900.

A Sale Rich in History


The Period Home sale was a reminder of just how much history can sit quietly within a single catalogue, from family portraits with transatlantic connections to furniture with provenance stretching back decades. If you have similar pieces at home, whether furniture, ceramics, clocks or decorative works of art, we would love to help you find them the right home.
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