How much would you pay for this silver butter dish and spoon?

A rare silver butter dish and spoon set from Norfolk has fetched a surprising amount at a fine art sale after it went under the hammer at auction.

The Charles Robert Ashbee silver butter dish and spoon set was recently sold by Cambridge-based auctioneers, Cheffins, and fetched £8,000.

The set is particularly rare, due to both parts being intact, and was crafted by famous arts and craft silversmith, Charles Robert Ashbee who lived between 1863-1942.

Consigned from Brancaster Staithe, the set is dated London 1903 and sold to a local collector.

In the same auction, and also from Brancaster Staithe, a Daum cameo lamp, sold for £3,000,

Dated around 1910, the Daum, Nancy, cameo glass table lamp features the Cross of Lorraine and is made with multiple layers of glass which have been carved to achieve the desired effect.

During the auction, £327,000-worth of 20th century paintings, glassware, ceramics and furniture was sold.

Brett Tryner, associate at Cheffins, said: “The prices achieved at this sale demonstrates the strength of the market for modern British artists.

“Whilst works from the stalwarts of the 20th century were expected to generate big ticket sales, there is an emerging market for some of the smaller artists from the period.

“The majority of buyers were UK-based trade and private collectors with very few of the works set for overseas.”

Martin Millard, director at Cheffins Fine Art Auctioneers, added: “This was a very strong sale from start to finish and the series of privately-sourced, fresh to the market collections drew in a pool of trade and private buyers, resulting in a well-received auction with prices to match.”

Included in the sale was a comprehensive assortment of 54 pieces of Lalique glass which sold for a total of £53,000, with the highlight of the collection, a rare espalion vase, making £4,000 alone. Within the same section, a ceramic charger sold for £5,000, over five times its lower £1,000 guide price.

Cheffins Art and Design Sale took place on Thursday May 10 in Cambridge.

- Have you ever bought something unusual at auction? Contact reporter Donna-Louise Bishop by emailing donna-louise.bishop@archant.co.uk.