DUNHILL: A 'Budgerigar' lighter,
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DUNHILL: A 'Budgerigar' aquarium style lighter,
gilt mounts, Perspex body, engraved and painted, one side depicting a yellow and black budgie perched on a branch, the other with a cream and black example, on a sky blue ground with painted white clouds, incuse stamped to underside "Dunhill Lighter", height 7.5cm, length 9.5cm, width 5cm.
Sold for £7,800 inc. premium

Footnotes

  • From the early 1950's until the late 1960's all of the Dunhill 'Aquarium' lighters were produced by Allan & Margaret Bennett in their south coast home. The majority depicted tropical fish in a tank setting. For rarer examples such as this Budgerigar piece Mrs Bennett would use a reference book along with her own artistic talents to produce a design in pencil and watercolour. Once approved by Dunhill, Mr Bennett would use dentistry tools to carve the Perspex panels. Mrs Bennett would then undertake the back painting of the panels, thus ensuring every lighter was unique.

Category: Decorative Arts / Silver

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