George III carved wood figure of Nelson – £13,000 at Stacey’s.
When the vendor consigned a 3ft 2in (97cm) tall carved figure of Nelson into the Rayleigh rooms of Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium), he believed it to be a ship’s figurehead.
It was George III period but there was no match to a likely ship of the period, and by auction day on September 18 at the Essex rooms, auctioneer Mark Stacey was inclining to the view that the figure had stood outside a pub.