Will Farmer and six incredible finds

Will Farmer, an auctioneer who has appeared regularly on the Antiques Roadshow, visited the Rochdale Antiques Society and talked about 'sleepers' – items which are not immediately recognised as being valuable or rare when viewed by the auctioneer - and gave illustrations of six incredible finds.

The first, a pair of drop earrings made of diamonds with a large natural pearl drop at the bottom.

Natural pearls are greatly sought after, especially natural salt pearls. They are graded in carat with 25 carat being ‘important’. These two pearls were natural salt pearls of 33.23 and 35.08 carat respectively and the eighth biggest in the world.

They originated in the Arabian Gulf (the best) and were a gift from the exiled King of Bulgaria to his wife. A couple in Wiltshire had inherited them and the auctioneer had valued them at between £80,000 - £120,000. They sold for £1.4 million.

Secondly, a lady who lived in very modest circumstances had inherited a large picture collection from her father. On her death her executors invited a large auction house to view them. On seeing the modest house in which they were kept, they took the view that there would be nothing of value there and suggested that the executors contact a local auctioneer.

The pictures were of the highest quality including Rosetti and Edward Burne Jones, two of which sold for £1 million.

Two renaissance panels were found tucked away and they turned out to be lost panels from an altar piece in an Italian convent and painted in 1442. They were sold to an Italian art dealer for £1.7 million then resold to the Italian Museum.

Thirdly, the Fatimid Ewer.

This was made of carved rock crystal with silver gilt top and base by Fatimids in the late 10th century.

They were a dynasty who ruled Egypt and Syria for a time and produced very rich and luxurious items. The ewer had been mounted in gold and enamel in 1854.

The vendor realised this was an important piece when the price at auction kept rising rapidly. He stood up to request the auction be stopped but the auctioneer ignored him and sold the piece for £220,000.

The title of ownership passed to the buyer upon the fall of the hammer at the auction. Because the auctioneer had ignored his request to stop, the original owner negotiated to get the title back and eventually did so. He then sold it at Christies for £3.2 million.

Fourthly, a small jade figure of a water buffalo. It was bought in 1938 by the 5th Earl of Yarborough for £300 (£58,000 in today’s money). The Earl stored valued items in a bank vault for the duration of the war. In 1948 he died and his wife and family went to South Africa. Eventually his daughter was advised by the bank that they were holding items in their vault.

When the family came to England and opened a chest they found among other things this jade figure now known as the Pelham Water Buffalo. It was part of the private belongings of the Chinese Emperor Cheh Lung. It sold for £3.4 million.

Fifthly, a portrait only 9.5” x 6.1/4” painted on copper.

It had been in the family for 100 years. A good provincial auctioneer estimated its value at between £1000 - £1500. A well respected London art dealer bought it on a hunch that this was a Rembrandt, although the Rijks museum in Amsterdam said it was by a Rembrandt follower. It did have a monogram RHL and 4 years ago it was bought for £2.2 million.

After many inspections and checks it was finally confirmed to be a self-portrait by Rembrandt and sold to an American collector for £24million.

The sixth item was a Chinese vase owned by a brother and sister and sold by a small auction house in Ruislip. It was 18th century Chen Yung and believed to have been taken from the Imperial Summer Palace which was razed to the ground by the British and French during a war.

There was huge activity in the sale room by Chinese collectors and it was sold for £43 million.

The buyer’s premium was £8.6 million, but the buyer refused to pay this as in large auction houses the percentage of premium is reduced for items over £1million.

Legal battles continued for some time but both the buyer and the auction house refused to back down. Eventually Bonhams auctioneers stepped in and sold it for £20million.