Rather sparsely catalogued, this unusual 14in (36cm) Lalique glass dish with a lovebirds design had emerged from a local unpaid storage unit into Hannam’s (23% buyer’s premium) February 18-20 sale in Selborne. Given a here-to-sell estimate of £150-200, it took £4200.

Extracted from Antiques Trade Gazette | Terence Ryle

Among the underbidders was London glass specialist Raoul Arantes, who said: “It was scratch-marked Lalique, rather than R Lalique, which may have led some to believe it was a later piece.

“But it was a very rare dish from the early 1920s and the black enamel makes it better. It made a good price. An example at Christie’s made about £6000 about five years ago but the market is a bit slow at the moment.”