When jittery stock markets and uncertainty get in the way of traditional investment, alternatives are considered a viable investment option, with hedge funds perhaps being the most visible

When jittery stock markets and uncertainty get in the way of traditional investment, alternatives are considered a viable investment option, with hedge funds perhaps being the most visible exponents of this form of investment. Now it seems that other, more esoteric alternative investments - such as Meissen ceramic figures - are garnering higher returns than usual.

That is why a number of sellers who placed items for sale in Bonhams' Fine European Ceramics auction on May 14 were astonished by the prices achieved as Meissen items far outperformed their pre-sale estimates. A figure of Columbine circa 1744-47 estimated at GBP7,000 made GBP18,000; a figure of the Dancing Harlequin estimated at GBP4,500 made GBP16,200; a rare Meissen farmhouse circa 1750 estimated at GBP6,000 sold for GBP16,200.

'There was strong bidding in the room and a record number of telephone bidders from Europe and the US,' says Nette Megens, a specialist in European ceramics at Bonhams. 'This is a market that is not affected by the financial markets - it is stockmarket-proof. We have seen this in the past and it is proving just as true today. Fine Meissen must be one of the best hedges against financial meltdown. It's a great alternative investment.'

Floundering equity markets combined with scepticism about the valuation of bonds prompted increasing attention to alternative investment. When international investors who are willing to pay almost double the expected vale for ceramic figures, it's clear that the boundaries of alternatives are continuing to expand.