Historic Chinese vases to go under the hammer at Banbury auction house after 80 years
A pair of historic Chinese vases will go under the hammer on Wednesday, April 15, at a Banbury auction house, 80 years after they were first sold at auction.
The vases, which are dated to 1900 and are almost half a metre tall, were brought in 1947 at a country house sale in Oxford by Leonard Barker.
Now, nearly 80 years later, Leonard's daughter Eileen Hancock has brought the vases to Holloways for auction.
Eileen, now 92, from Chipping Norton, says she can’t remember the reason why her father purchased the vases.
She said: “He wasn’t a collector or dealer, and I think he just liked them.
“I don’t know what he paid for them, but knowing my dad, he would have got them for a good price.”
The vases are expected to make £800-£1,000 when they appear on the rostrum at Holloways.
Eileen has a black-and-white photograph of when her father brought the vases home, showing her sister Vera and her husband, Michael, laughing.
The picture also shows her brother, Ronnie, standing in the background, carefully holding one of the vases.
Eileen added: “They were all just really excited and larking about. I was only a girl at the time, so I really can’t really remember much about it.”
The picture is particularly heartfelt because now all three have sadly passed away.
Eileen said: “I don’t know how much longer I’ve got left, and I don’t want them to get chucked away or lost. I would prefer them to go to someone who can cherish them as I have done.”
For more information, visit: https://www.hollowaysauctioneers.co.uk/