Under the hammer with Antiques World

L ife at a country auctioneers might be expected to be calm and easy going, with the occasional excitement over some unexpectedly expensive or quirky lot.

Moore Allen and Innocent have seen plenty of the latter over the past 10 years at Norcote, the purpose-built out-of-town salerooms east of Cirencester to which they moved after years of selling from the Bingham Hall, with its deliberately but still disconcertingly sloping floor.

These are 10 years in which the firm's profile has been raised mightily by television shows such as Bargain Hunt, Flog It, Cash in the Attic and David Dickinson's Real Deal. Presenters and film crews like the space available to them at Norcote, while Philip Allwood can always be relied on for a good quote and an assured performance.

Then there was the auction that brought worldwide attention, in October 2007, when a hitherto undiscovered Rembrandt sold for £2.2 million, a record for a provincial auction.

The Young Rembrandt as Democrates the Laughing Philosopher, measured just 25cms by 17cms. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam wasn't sure – but come sale day three leading Rembrandt buyers – from London, Holland and New York – were in the room.

It took them 15 minutes to reach the £2.2 million hammer price – £2,580,750 with buyer's premium – but it was not until June last year, after exhaustive tests, that the revered Dr Ernst van der Wetering and his team were finally satisfied that this was indeed a genuine undiscovered Rembrandt.

There have been other triumphs, like the Francois Nicole music box which sold for £54,000, the highest figure ever paid for mechanical music in this country, and a Faberge box, discovered at a valuation roadshow, which made £64,000. So many causes to rejoice – but sadly, this anniversary year has been far from easy for Moore Allen and Innocent.

A trusted senior member of staff has recently left the company under a cloud. And worse still, a couple of weeks ago, a well organised gang ram-raided a fire exit and made off with some 50 antiques with a combined value of between £20,000 and £40,000 that had been destined for the anniversary sale. The burglars struck half an hour after midnight, just hours after a party to mark 10 successful years.

The sale went ahead just 36 hours later, and Philip was full of praise for the Dunkirk spirit shown by his team. In fact, some excellent prices were achieved – this was the auction at which furniture previously at Windsor Castle came under the hammer. But nevertheless, you couldn't help feeling there was an elephant in the saleroom.

Since then, nothing has been heard of the stolen items, which included silver, a George II Irish mahogany silver table estimated at £7,000-£10,000 and a George II Irish giltwood side table that might have gone up to £12,000.

Needless to say, security at Norcote is state-of-the-art, and all the antiques were insured on behalf of the vendors.

Happy anniversary to Moore Allen and Innocent, then – and here's to an even happier future.