Discover antiques and auction experts in and around Tavistock

Find your next treasure or make some money with Devon’s best auction houses, appraisers and antiques experts!

Drake’s Auctions in Tavistock, now halfway through its 13th year in business, keeps trail blazing through the local auction house scene. Keeping the finger on the pulse of current market trends & staying ahead of the game by embracing modern AI consignment and cataloguing tools, positioning themselves on the biggest internet platforms alongside the multi-national auction houses ensuring vendors/sellers are realising the best prices for their items and are able to cash in and re home their once loved, used or inherited possessions that still have use and value.

Operating partly as a house clearance to auction business, Drake’s holds a responsibility to do its best at rehoming as much as it can, where else could you buy a diamond ring, a lawn mower, chest of drawers, tea set, vintage games console, piece of art, classical garden statue, washing machine… the list goes on, all under one roof.

Drake’s has something for everyone, shifting around 2,000 auction lots a month with excellent customer retention, their catalogue is always worth a look.

Items are listed at wholesale prices, yet the auction is open for all to bid and view even getting bids as far away as Iraq, China and Australia to name a few countries. Registering online couldn’t be simpler, then you are free to view the catalogue with no obligation and bid if something takes your fancy.

Drake’s is open every other weekend for dedicated viewing. If you would like to come and see the items in the flesh and meet the friendly staff who can help guide you if you’re new to auctions whether it be you’re interested in buying or selling.

Drake’s not only do house-clearances but take daily drop in consignments from customers that are able to bring their items to auction, and they hold various specialised sales, for example “Jewellery and Art”, “Fine interiors and collectables” and “Everyday” household and garden items.

Every day is different in the antiques trade. I never know who or what might come through the shop door next and whether I’m buying, selling, restoring or delivering there’s never a dull moment!

A big part of being an antique dealer is purchasing and appraising stock and I handle a huge variety of items from furniture to collectables, artwork, porcelain, glass and silver and gold. I’m always very happy to share my expertise and I love to learn and expand my own knowledge but it’s concerning how frequently I am now hearing “I’ve looked it up and Google says …” or “I’ve seen the same one online…” and more often than not, their findings are not accurate. I’ve never really rated the internet in terms of researching antiques and certainly not for valuing them.

Whilst Google might be useful in identifying a Victorian dining chair it cannot easily spot a reproduction and it certainly cannot assess the condition which is one of the most important factors when it comes to value.

An antique dealer can tell if any repairs have been made and assess if something has been refinished and even if two entirely different pieces have been married together. We can tell if a sofa has it’s original horsehair stuffing below new covers or whether it has been replaced with foam. We can test the purity of gold and silver, measure diamonds and check hallmarks. We can identify different woods and tell solid wood from veneer and this allows us to provide an accurate and realistic valuation.

Even with the increasing prevalence of AI and searches like Google Lens, I still don’t think the internet can compete with first hand knowledge and experience gained and shared over a lifetime of buying and selling.

My bookshelf at home is full of reference books and one of my favourite is ‘The English Regional Chair’ - 511 pages filled with hundreds of detailed photos and drawings covering the in depth development, region by region, of countless styles of chairs from all over England. This kind of knowledge simply cannot be found online.

So if you have got something at home that you want to find out more about you can contact us or drop into one of our valuation days at the shop in Ashburton.

The next ones are on Monday September 7 and Monday September 28.

- Lydia Wood, In A Nutshell Antiques

www.inanutshellantiques.co.uk / [email protected] / 07800561203