Gothic Revival oak wall cabinet – £18,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
Some buyers regard sales of dealers’ stock as a minus on the grounds that the lots have been ‘seen’. Others view them as a plus, reckoning the material has already been the choice of an expert.
The sales at Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium) of pieces from Paul Reeves’ collections – given that Reeves was in the first rank of London specialists in 19th-20th century British applied and decorative arts – fell firmly into the latter category.