T HE ROLE X DEEP SE A SPECIAL ME TAMOR PH IC C H AIR S BE S T COLUMNIS TS
APRIL 2022
Prints Charming
Discovering affordable works by Walter Sickert
William Morris & beyond
ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Celebrating the design giants who turned their hand to wallpaper
VOL 56 N0.10 APRIL 2022
CHRISTINA TREVANION
PUTS BLACK FOREST WARE IN FOCUS
8
WELL-KNOWN AUCTIONEERS Share their tales of triumph & disaster from the rostrum
ALSO INSIDE Cufflinks are back in fashion
• Sale results • Buddhist & Hindu art
Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers
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FIRST WORD
Welcome Staff at the Mystetskyi Arsenal in Kyiv, one of Europe’s largest art museums and home to a vast collection of Ukrainian avant garde, should be busy preparing for their annual May exhibition. Instead, like other museum staff throughout the country, they are putting their lives in danger as they try to safeguard their treasured collections, while attempting to keep their families safe. Gallery workers who haven’t joined the fighting, are desperately moving collections westwards, or into hiding, while museums are now guarded by hastilyerected barbed wire fences. Think about the friendly faces at your local museum, often young men and women, and then think about them having to do the same. It is no great surprise, with Vladimir Putin’s stated aim to destroy the legitimate history of Ukraine, that the country’s cultural centres should come under fire, quite literally. Wiping out the identity of a people by attacking their collective memories and traditions is now a miserable, though standard, tool of 21st-century war. 50 miles north of Kyiv, according to the Museums’ Association, the Ivankiv HistoricalCultural Museum, which housed paintings by the self-taught Ukrainian folk artist Maria Prymachenko (1908–1997), has been destroyed by fire. In a statement, the Maidan Museum in Kyiv, said: “The best response to Russia’s aggression in the cultural sphere is to increase interest in Ukraine’s history and culture throughout the world.” While our response is limited, we will do what we can. In upcoming issues we hope to bring you articles on Ukraine’s cultural heritage, celebrating the country’s unsung heroes both past and present. Back to this month’s packed magazine where, on page 20, we consider the prints of the pioneering British modernist Water Sickert on the eve of an exhibition at the Tate (they are more affordable than you might think); on page 16, Christina Trevanion puts black forest ware in the spotlight; and on page 36, eight well-known antiques experts share their rostrum triumphs and disasters. Enjoy the issue.
Georgina Wroe, Editor
KEEP IN TOUCH Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, or email magazine@accartbooks.com. Visit the website at www.antique-collecting.co.uk and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AntiqueMag
Antique Collecting subscription
IN THIS ISSUE
CHARLES HANSON
praises the work of the Derbyshire painter George Turner, page 19
JENNIE FISHER
on why collectors should tune into the prints of Walter Sickert, page 20
BEATRICE CAMPI
goes behind the scenes at the sale of Buddhist and Hindu art, page 34
We love
Our Army, Our Protectors by the Ukrainian folk artist, Maria Prymachenko (1908–1997), whose work was destroyed by Russian forces #StandWithUkraine
ADAM PARTRIDGE
shares his tales from the rostrum, with seven other well-known faces, page 36
THE TEAM
Editor: Georgina Wroe, georgina. wroe@accartbooks.com Online Editor: Richard Ginger, richard.ginger@accartbooks.com Design: Philp Design, james@philpdesign.co.uk Advertising: Charlotte Kettell 01394 389969, charlotte.kettell @accartbooks.com Subscriptions: Jo Lord jo.lord@accartbooks.com
£38 for 10 issues annually, no refund is available. ISSN: 0003-584X
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 3
AUCTION | TUESDAY 26 APRIL MODERN ART & DESIGN
PRINKNASH ABBEY PARK GLOUCESTERSHIRE GL4 8EU
www.chorleys.com
01452 344499 | enquiries@chorleys.com
THIS MONTH
Contents VOL 57 NO 10 APRIL 2022
REGULARS 3
Editor’s Welcome: Georgina Wroe introduces the April issue
6
Antique News: The latest on a new gallery for illustrations and recommendations for three exhibitions to visit this month
10 Your Letters: A Grimwade Beatrix Potter nursery set and a curious tablecum-coalscuttle are exercising readers’ minds 12 Around the Houses: A 17th-century oak cupboard fetches £88,000 and there are record sales for Lalique scent bottles
42
T HE ROLE X DEEP SE A SPECIAL ME TAMOR PH IC C H AIR S BE S T COLUMNIS TS
APRIL 2022
Prints Charming
Discovering affordable works by Walter Sickert
William Morris & beyond
ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Celebrating the design giants who turned their hand to wallpaper
16 Lots of Love: Never out of vogue, Christina Trevanion puts black forest ware in the spotlight 19 An Auctioneer’s Lot: Charles Hanson praises the Derbyshire landscape artist George Turner
VOL 56 N0.10 APRIL 2022
CHRISTINA TREVANION
PUTS BLACK FOREST WARE IN FOCUS
8
WELL-KNOWN AUCTIONEERS Share their tales of triumph & disaster from the rostrum
ALSO INSIDE Cufflinks are back in fashion
34
34 Saleroom Spotlight: An exceptional sale of Buddhist and Hindu art goes under the hammer
12 58 Fair News We preview three of the best events taking place in April 59 Fairs Calendar: Never miss another event with our up-to-date listings from the UK’s fairs 61 Auction calendar: All the latest sale dates from around the country 66 Marc My Words: Antiques Roadshow’s Marc Allum proves he knows his stuff when he takes on re-upholstering a chair
FEATURES 20 Raising the Curtain: Jennie Fisher considers the affordability of prints by the modernist Walter Sickert
• Sale results • Buddhist & Hindu art
40 Waxing Lyrical: David Harvey considers the transformative effects of metamorphic furniture
COVER
Detail of the iconic Acanthus William Morris wallpaper at Wightwick Manor and Gardens, West Midlands © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey, see the story of page 48
46 Puzzle Pages: Put your little grey cells to the test with our headscratching quiz and crossword 53 Subscription Offer: Readers save 33 per cent on an annual subscription and receive a free book worth £65
FOLLOW US @AntiqueMag
54 Top of the Lots: Frames from one of the 20th-century’s greatest makers are up for sale, along with a collection of Richard Gere’s photographs
6
56 Book Offers: Save more than a third on the the latest titles from our sister publisher ACC Art Books
26
26 Off the Cuff: Forget your pandemic pyjamas, sartorial elegance is back, with antique cufflinks leading the way 30 Under Pressure: On the eve of the 70th-anniversary of the Rolex Deep Sea Special, we celebrate the groundbreaking timepiece 36 It Shouldn’t Happen to an Auctioneer: Eight well-known faces share their tales of triumph and disaster from the rostrum 42 Passport to Pimlico: What makes a legendary dealer? Antique Collecting quizzes one such London trader prior to the sale of his stock and possessions 48 Paper Weights: Aside from the legendary wallpaper giant William Morris, a number of leading iconic designers flocked to the genre
TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY VISIT WWW.ANTIQUE-COLLECTING.CO.UK/SUBSCRIBE WEEKDAYS FROM 9.30AM TO 1PM ANTIQUE COLLECTING 5
NEWS All the latest The gallery was the first public collection to acquire a work by Odundo in 1976 – a stoneware pot Esinasulo (Water Carrier) made following Odundo’s residency at the Abuja Pottery in Nigeria in 1951. Chief curator, Andrew Bonacina, said: “Odundo’s use of handbuilding and coiling, rather than throwing on the wheel, allows her to create oversized forms, distanced from traditional, domestically-scaled vessels and pushing them into the realm of sculpture.” The purchase was made possible due to donations from the Art Fund, V&A fund, Henry Moore Foundation and the gallery’s collection. Odundo’s work continues to soar at auction, reaching a record £200,000 in 2020.
Bowled over A West Yorkshire gallery has acquired a ceramic vessel by one of UK’s most esteemed ceramic artists. Asymmetric Vessel, by Kenyan-born Dame Magdalene Odundo (b. 1950) is one of the first new pieces the potter has completed in three years. It will now go on public show at The Hepworth Wakefield.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN APRIL
ANTIQUE
news
This month sees a new role for the Duchess of Sussex’s dress and three must-see exhibitions Left Vivian Maier,
New York, 1953, ©Estate of Vivian Maier, Courtesy of Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, NY
Right Vivian Maier, Self-portrait, New
York, 1953, © Estate of Vivian Maier, Courtesy of Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, NY
6 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above left Dame Magdalene Odundo in her studio, © Cristian Barnett Above Dame
Magdalene Odundo, Asymmetric Vessel, 2021 Above right The music
room in the museum, © Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath Preservation Trust
BATH PLUG
To commemorate the bicentenary of the death of Bath-based astronomer William Herschel (17381822), the Bath Preservation Trust has been given £64,000 for a year-long programme of events in 2022 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Herschel Museum of Astronomy is located in the house where William and his sister Caroline, lived, worked and made several important discoveries during the late 1700s. It was in the garden of the home in 19 New King Street that William Herschel became the first person ever to see the planet Uranus in 1781.
NANNY GREAT This summer sees the UK’s first exhibition of the work of a mysterious Chicago nanny who led a double-life as one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th century. Two years before her death, a vast hoard of negatives by Vivian Maier (1926-2009) was discovered stashed in a Chicago storage locker. For 40 years Maier worked as a nanny in New York and Chicago while capturing life on the streets in her spare, producing an extraordinary body of work of more than 150,000 images. Since the 2013 Oscar-nominated documentary Finding Vivian Maier, she has attracted a cult following among collectors and photography fans. The exhibition at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes opens on June 11.
Far left Raphael (1483-
1520) Saint Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1507, oil on poplar, © The National Gallery Left Raphael (1483-
1520) An Allegory (‘Vision of a Knight’), c. 1504, oil on poplar, © The National Gallery Above right Portrait of
Anne Boleyn, after Hans Holbein, 19th century
1
Renaissance man
Right Hever Castle in
Delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions, this month sees an exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of one of the giants of the Italian Renaissance – Raphael (14831520) who died at the age of 37. In his brief two-decade career, Raffaello Santi shaped the course of Western culture like few artists before or since. Raphael takes place at the National Gallery from April 9 to July 31.
Kent, photo by Peter Smith
3 to see in
April
Left Raphael (1483-1520)
An Angel, pen and brown ink over geometrical indications in blind stylus, © Ashmolean Museum Above right A portrait
of Anne Boleyn, English school, 1534
3
Prints charming
There’s a chance to see some of a Bath gallery’s finest prints, spanning 700 years, when the city’s Victoria Art Gallery hosts From Hogarth to Hodgkin: Our Best Prints. Running until May 4, the exhibition celebrates the history of printmaking from its earliest days (with old masters such as Cranach and Dürer) continuing to the present day with works by Grayson Perry, Cornelia Parker and Paula Rego. Alongside the artworks, there will be a display showing how printing techniques have developed over the last five centuries and a guide to woodcuts, mezzotints, etchings and screen printing.
power 2Ann
Hever Castle in Kent, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn (1501-1536) continues a series of exhibitions this month on the life and times of the second wife of Henry VIII. Becoming Anne: Connections, Culture, Court, which runs until November 2022, marks 500 years since the 21-year-old made her debut at the English court at York Palace – the home of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530). Known as the Château Vert pageant Boleyn played the role of Perseverance at the time Henry VIII was pursuing her sister, Mary.
Far right Utagawa
Hiroshige (1797-1858) Wisteria at Kameido Tenjin Shrine, 1856, woodblock print Right David Inshaw
(b. 1943) Silbury Sunset, etching and aquatint Below right Howard
Hodgkin (1932-2017) For Jack, 2005, hand painted aquatint and carborundum etching
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 7
NEWS All the latest Waiting room
New shoots
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and Saatchi Gallery continue their partnership this month showcasing new work from leading botanical artists and photographers at a new exhibition. Subjects depicted vary from Rosulate Violas found in the Andes Mountains to native British trees and hedgerow plants. The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show is on at the Saatchi Gallery from April 9-29 with free entry for RHS and Saatchi Gallery members. Above Sydney-based artist
Melinda Edstein, Corymbia ficifolia, (Red flowering gum) RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 2022
Great news for collectors of medical antiques with the announcement the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has reopened its museum doors for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The London museum houses a range of objects, including medicine spoons, leech jars and tongue scrapers. For more details go to www.history.rcplondon.ac.uk
Above View of the exhibition RCP Unseen on the
A Giorgio Armani dress as worn by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex for the CBS television special Oprah with Meghan and Harry has gone on display at the Fashion Museum in Bath. The black and white silk georgette dress, also selected as the museum’s dress of the year 2021, was worn by the duchess at one of the defining pop-cultural moments of last year. The highly-anticipated two-hour television interview aired in nearly 70 countries and drew an estimated 60 million viewers worldwide. The dress can still be bought in the US today, priced $4,700.
gallery, photo courtesy of Matt Chung Above The Armani dress was worn by the Duchess of Sussex
Mast see For museum fans who enjoy a very hands-on experience, visitors to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich can now climb her famous masts. Plucky visitors will traverse one of the ship’s lower yardarms before reaching the top platform and taking in magnificent views of the London skyscape. Cutty Sark was built in Dumbarton in 1869, designed to carry tea from China to England as fast as possible.
30 seconds with... Rachael Osborn-Howard, founder of newly-launched London-based Curated Auctions What made you open a brand new auction house? Believe it or not I saw a gap in the market for a specialist, high-end auction house that would bridge the gap between the excellent service that galleries and dealers offer and the excitement of buying at auction. What are ‘curated’ auctions? One in which the lots have been either selected or ordered in a meaningful way, where each object is examined, expertly catalogued and researched, with added
8 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
INTERVIEW OUTFIT
In 1870, she returned from Shanghai with 1,305,812lb of tea, her speed aided by 11 miles of rigging and 32 sails. Prices for the climb start at £41 for adults and £26 for children. Right A plucky museum worker climbs the rigging,
© National Maritime Museum, London
explanatory and academic footnotes where possible, to provide the bidder with more information; in the same way that a museum or art gallery would curate their exhibits.
Rosso because it was actually cast by Rosso’s son, after his death. Prior to that sale, his later works had not realised anywhere near that amount at auction.
How did you start in the business? My first job after university was at a general auctioneers in Kent. I worked in the antiques department, but the auction house was based at a cattle market and also sold property, horses, farm machinery and a number of animals.
What do you dream of finding? That would really have to be another piece by Medardo Rosso.
What has been your greatest find to date? My greatest success was selling a wax head after the Italian sculptor Medardo Rosso (1858-1928). Although Rosso’s reputation never matched that of Auguste Rodin (18141917) or Umberto Boccioni (1882-1862), he was at the forefront of modern sculpture from the 1880s to the early 1900s. The piece that was my greatest success – and made £185,000, hammer – was ‘after’
Do you collect? If so, what? Unfortunately, with three small children at home, sadly, I don’t have the time or space for collecting. Which pieces are selling really well at auction today? Quality and rarity always sells, be it furniture, clocks, paintings or sculpture. Curated Auctions’ next sale, Montpelier Interiors: Decorative by Design, is on April 7. For more details to to www.curatedauctions.co.uk
Crafty move
MATERIAL GIRL
An Eastbourne gallery has unveiled an exhibition by one of the UK’s unsung artists – Eileen Mayo (1906-1994). Having worked as a model to some of the best-known artists of her day, including Laura Knight and Dod Procter, Mayo went on to establish an artistic reputation in her own right across a wide range of media, from illustrations and prints to paintings and tapestry. Eileen Mayo, A Natural History continues at the Towner Eastbourne until July 3. Above Gallery staff hang the tapestry Echinoderms, 1950, by Eileen Mayo, image courtesy of West Dean College of Arts and Conservation/ Towner Gallery
Lost and found London Transport’s lost property office opens its doors this Easter with some of its odder finds, including a wooden leg, lifesize nun doll and giant toy warthog. Since the lost property office opened in 1933 it has become the receptacle of more than 15 million objects each discarded on London’s Tube trains and buses. The London Transport Museum is located in Covent Garden with its lost property on show from April 2-18. For more details go to www.ltmuseum.co.uk Above Have you left anything behind? by P Gates, 1951 © TfL London Transport Museum’s collection Below Lost Property Office by Topical Press, 1933, © TfL London Transport Museum’s collection
Some 30 international artists, ranging from contemporary to traditional, have made the final of this year’s fifth Loewe Foundation craft prize. The finalists number four from the UK including the ceramicist Kate Malone and wood sculptor Eleanor Lakelin, both of whom were chosen from more than 3,100 submissions from 116 countries. Last year’s prize was won by the textile artist Fanglu Lin for her installation, She, made using a tie-dye technique practised by the Bai minority group in China for more than 1,000 years. The winner will be announced on June 30 and receive €50,000.
Above One of the UK finalists David Clarke’s work
Stash, silver plate, pewter and steel
HOMER’S ODYSSEY
Plans are afoot for the first UK exhibition of Winslow Homer (1836– 1910), one of the most celebrated American painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The National Gallery in London will host the exhibition of approximately 50 of his paintings spanning more than 40 years of the artist’s career. While Homer is a household name in America, he is less well known in Europe with none of his paintings appearing in any UK public collection. National Gallery director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, said: “Homer’s paintings explore the power, grandeur and beauty of nature, as well as the dangers it poses to human life.”
The exhibition is set to take place from September 10 to January 2023. Above Winslow Homer (1836–1910) Eight Bells,
1886, oil on canvas, © Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy Massachusetts
Water colours An unused London heritage site is set to become the largest space in the world dedicated to illustration. Following a £12m revamp, New River Head – a former Islington pumping station – will become The Quentin Blake Centre, following the closure of the House of Illustration in Camden. A grant from Islington council will help fund the new facility set to house the 45,000-work archive of Sir Quentin Blake. Sir Quentin (b.1932) said: “I am enormously proud to have my name associated with this international home for an art which I know and love.” New River Head takes its name from the channel cut in the early 17th century to supply London with clean drinking water from springs in Hertfordshire.
Above New
River Head, Islington, © Justin Piperger Right Quentin
Blake (b. 1932) The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration © Quentin Blake
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 9
LETTERS Have your say
Your Letters This month’s mail bag includes tips for a cultural visit and a mystery object
Our star letter receives
a copy of Bulgari Treasures of Rome by Vincent Meylan worth £55. Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD or email magazine@ accartbooks.com
Left What is the piece
used for? Below left A Grimwade’s Beatrix Potter toy tea service
I wonder if I might pick your readers’ brains? In an extravagant mood I recently bought this from my local auction house without doing any pre-sale research. Part of it makes me think it is a bedside table, while the other half screams coalscuttle. Was there ever any need in times gone by for a bedside coalscuttle..? It seems rather unlikely to me. Any information would be gratefully received. S J Green, by email
I found your report on collecting Beatrix Potter in the February issue very interesting but was surprised to find no mention of porcelain. I have 20 surviving pieces from my pre-war nursery tea set by Grimwade and would love to discover more. Alastair Leslie, by email
10 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Star letter
In the February issue of Antique Collecting, Dr Philip Errington’s fascinating article on the collectability of Beatrix potter books and watercolours was well timed to coincide with the opening of the current Beatrix Potter exhibition at the V&A. Very few museums have significant collections of her work. From 1913, Beatrix became a very active member of the Armitt Library and Museum in Ambleside, and her husband, William Heelis, also became a member, and subsequently a trustee. They donated many books and letters to the museum but their most outstanding gift was a legacy of hundreds of watercolours by Beatrix. These are mainly of fungi but there are also lichens, fossils, microscope drawings and archaeological artefacts. Your readers may wish to know about this important collection, particularly if they happen to be visiting the Lake District on one of the many wet days for which the region is noted. Tony Lonton, by email Above The Armitt Library and Museum is well worth a visit
Answers to the quiz on page 46 Q1 (a) The colours represent the three branches of the services. The wider central red for the army which had the major role. Q2 (d) Dating from the 17th century, the books illustrate the diversity of trees and were made from the different woods. Q3 (b). Q4 (a) and (c). Thompson faked paintings by ‘inventing’ the artist Captain John Eyre (1604-1644) who, he claimed, was educated at Oxford, fought for the Roundheads and produced more than 300 artistic works. Q5 (d) Gloag’s Dictionary of Furniture, 1990, lists 150 types of table. Q6 (b) Böttger (16821719) produced the first European hard-paste porcelain. He claimed to be an alchemist, but never produced gold. Q7 (c) When pronounced properly ‘déesse’ is the French for ‘goddess’. Q8 (b) 40 lines = 1in. Q9 (d) Three types were made by James Sinclair of London. Lord Carnarvon used the ‘Tropical Una’ (made to withstand hot, dry climates) in Egypt. Q10 Ans. (b) Stones polished in their natural irregular shape are baroque. Shaped, domed or rounded stones are cabochons. Flat-faced stones are faceted. (a) twitch charges = scratchweight; (b) Mag’s solace = cameo glass; (c) party set = tapestry (d) a new race = caneware
40 Station Road West Canterbury Kent CT2 8AN t 01227 763337 e general@tcag.co.uk
Auction of the A.E. Halliwell Studio Collection of Original Artwork Monday 11th April 2022 thecanterburyauctiongalleries.com
AUCTION Sales round up
The 19th-century study of a bull sold for four times its mid estimate
Parker Fine Art Auctions, Farnham An early 19th-century naive study of a bull sold well above its £800-£1,200 estimate when it fetched £4,000 at the Surrey auction house. Livestock breeding was big business in the early 19th century when animals were bred to be larger than ever – a phenomenon owners were keen for artists of the day to capture as a status symbol or advertisement of their breeding prowess. Parker’s Vicky Saunders, said: “Nearly all of the star lots were animals – from improbably large cattle to fluffy kittens.”
Tennants, Leyburn
AROUND the HOUSES
From Uncle Monty’s iconic sofa, to the first blueprint for a tank, the UK’s salerooms offered much in recent sales Fellows, Birmingham A pair of limited-edition “James Bond” Omega watches, won in an online competition last Limited-edition Omega year costing £2.99 to enter, sold for a total of Seamasters are £25,520 at Fellows Auctioneers’ recent sale. highly sought The Seamaster Professional 300m after watches, number 11 of 257 ever made, were designed to celebrate the 50th-anniversary of the 007 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The watches included the inscription Orbis non sufficit (Latin for ‘the world is not enough’), as well as a hidden number 50 on the 10th hour marker, both celebrating the sixth outing in the famous film franchise. Fellows’ watch manager, Laura Bishop, said: “Limited-edition Seamaster models which are only a few years old are hugely sought-after and valuable in the world of horology.”
12 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
A rare Martin Brothers’ ‘Wally Bird’ jar made in 1902 topped the recent sale in North Yorkshire when it sold for £15,000. Martin Brothers is one of the most significant names in the history of British pottery, but it is their iconic ‘Wally Birds’ for which they are best remembered. Robert Wallace Martin (18431923) created stoneware tobacco jars and covers in the form of anthropomorphic birds, full of The Whitefriars’ character with sly expressions or vase in meadow mischievous grins. At the same green was sale a Banjo glass vase in the another top colour meadow green made seller by Whitefriars Glass and designed by Geoffrey Baxter in 1967, sold for £1,900. Work by the Martin Brothers continues to fly at auction
Catherine Southon, Selsdon
The Rolex “Pepsi” was so named because of its blue and red bezel
Another watch to spark a bidding war, this time at Catherine Southon’s Surrey saleroom, was a Rolex GMT Master “Pepsi”, which sold for £22,320, more than double its high estimate of £10,000. Launched in 1954, the watch was designed for pilots on transcontinental flights with the blue and red bezel said to be inspired by the colours of Pan American Airways, who commissioned the watch. But the colour combination also earned it the nickname “Pepsi”. The watch came with its original receipt from 1970 and its service history, both adding to the price achieved.
Kinghams, Moreton-inMarsh
Luxury goods were in high demand at the Cotswolds auction house’s recent sale
A Hermès 1999 Chèvre de Coromandel Constance handbag was one of the top lots at the Cotswolds auction house’s recent sale when it doubled its high estimate of £2,000 to sell for £4,000. Sourced from male mountain goats, chèvre de coromandel is one of the most coveted Hermès leathers. While lightweight, it is tough and its textured surface makes it more impervious to scratches. The bag was created by Hermès in-house designer, Catherine Chaillet, who was pregnant at the time and named the design after her first child.
Pallasites make up just 0.2 percent of all known meteorites
Elmwoods, London An Edwardian Burmese ruby scorpion brooch, c. 1900, exceeded pre-sale expectations when it sold for £1,350 against a low estimate of £500. Burmese rubies are prized above all others for their bluishred colour coupled with a bright fluorescence, giving them an intense fusion of colours and vivid appearance. Following the Victorian trend, turn-of-the-century jewellery continued to reflect a societal fascination with insects and bugs, sparked by a general interest in the natural world. Jewellery featuring moths, spiders, wasps and bees were among the The ruby brooch most fashionable did well at the designs. London jewellery specialist
Christie’s New York The polished end piece of a pallasite, dubbed the most beautiful extra-terrestrial substance known, sold for $60,480 in the US auction house’s rare meteorites sale. Found in Fukang, part of the Uyghur Autonomous Region, the asteroid had a pre-sale guide price of $20,000-$40,000. Pallasites are not only rare, representing about 0.2 percent of all known meteorites, they are also widely considered the most dazzling otherworldly substance — with samples of Fukang among the most coveted. This one, which contains olivine and peridot, resulted from a catastrophic collision with another asteroid.
Roseberys, Norwood McTears, Glasgow Four works by John Bellany (1942-2013) one of Scotland’s most important post-war artists, sold for a combined £8,500 on March 6, against a £15,000 estimate. Each work portrays a different street scene of Barga, which is often described as the most Scottish town in Italy due to its long history of emigration. The paintings were given to the family of his interpreter, and close friend, Georgio Marchetti. McTear’s director, Magda Ketterer, said: “Bellany is a giant of Scottish contemporary art, with his work globally sought after by high-profile collectors. Bellany is one of Scotland’s most important post-war artists
The A portrait of Dorette, the muse and later wife black chalk on of the British painter and etcher, Gerald Leslie paper portrait of Brockhurst (1890-1978), soared past its estimate the artist’s muse of £8,000-£12,000, selling for £57,500 at the south and lover was a London auction house. top seller Dorette was the artist’s nickname for the model Kathleen Woodward who he met in 1929 when she was 16 and he was 40 and married to his first wife, Anaïs Folin. On Brockhurst’s divorce in 1940 the pair married and he carried on painting her obsessively, as he had Anaïs. For Brockhurst, Dorette represented a feminine ideal; with each portrait emphasising her youth and beauty. His stated goal was to capture appearance, rather then the sitter’s character.
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 13
AUCTION Sales round up Chiswick Auctions, London A Victorian horseracing trophy, known as ‘Her Majesty’s vase,’ found after 177 years, sold for double its estimate at the west London auctioneer’s recent sale. The vase, which fetched £40,000 against a pre-sale estimate of half that, was last seen in 1845 when it was presented by Queen Victoria to the owner of the winning horse at the Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall races. The family of its recipient Sir John Barker-Mill, 1st Baronet (1803-1860) had little idea of its significance after the vase and stand had become separated from each other. They recently reunited after the stand was were found in an outbuilding. The vase The stand was made by was found in the silversmith an outbuilding John Samuel while the vase Hunt (1785was used as a 1865) wine cooler
Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh
Each Four scent bottles by René Lalique (1860–1945) perfume bottle from the quartet were among the star lots at the Scottish exceeded their auctioneer’s recent sale dedicated to the guide price French glassmaker. The Bouchon Cassis bottle, designed in 1920, has a stopper formed of cascading bunches of currants in four different colours, each having a low pre-sale estimate of £2,000. They sold for sums of between £5,250 for the orange bottle to record sums of £18,750 each for bottles in clear blue and black. Lalique started designing perfume bottles for the perfumier François Coty, his neighbour on the Place Vendôme in Paris, who believed success in the fragrance business lay in beautiful packaging and an affordable price. A similar bottle Bouchon Mûres (Blackberry stopper), also in black and clear glass and deemed even rarer, sold for £27,500.
Wilkinson’s, Doncaster A 17th-century oak court cupboard sold for £88,000, shattering its estimate of £6,000-£8,000 at the south Yorkshire auctioneer’s recent sale. The piece is finely carved with a frieze of arabesque strap-work. A pair of figural pilasters is central to the cupboard, or buffet, one carved as Atlante a character from the epic 16th-century Italian poem Orlando Furioso; the other a bare-breasted caryatid wearing a ruff collar.
Laidlaw Auctioneers, Carlisle The ‘lost’ blueprint for the world’s first tank sold for £14,600 at the Cumbrian auction house’s recent sale. The plans for the Mark I tank, which came from a private vendor whose family had owned them for many years, were secured for the nation by the Tank Museum in Dorset. The blueprint is dated May 1916, just four months before the Mark I tanks’ first outing during the Battle of FlersCourcelette, part of the Somme Offensive in WWI.
Paul Laidlaw with the blueprint purchased for the Tank Museum
Bellmans, Billingshurst One of the most famous sofas in film history belonging to Uncle Monty in the cult film Withnail & I sold for £15,000 at the West Sussex auction house, smashing its low estimate of £4,000. Uncle Monty’s Chelsea house in the 1987 black comedy, starring Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann, was the real-life home of Professor Bernard Nevill. The equally recognisable tapestry from the film, expected to make £2,000-£4,000, sold for £13,000 to a private bidder. The sofa is known to millions of fans of the cult film Withnail & I
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The intricately carved 17thcentury cupboard sold for £88,000
The tapestry from the film flew past its pre-sale guide price, fetching £13,000
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EXPERT OPINION Christina Trevanion C H R I S T I N A T R E VA N I O N
Lots of Love Christina ‘bears’ all when she reveals the animal magic at the heart of black forest ware
‘Bears are ubiquitous with black forest carvings, and thus less sought after, whereas dogs are much rarer and more valuable. Finally, there’s the maker – many pieces are not marked, but among those which are artist-signed popular maker’s include Johann Huggler, Fritz Abplanalp and Albert Mader’
F
or many, mention of the Black Forest conjures up images of a dense, mysterious woodland in which magical creatures lurk behind towering trees, made familiar through the tales of the Brothers Grimm. Or perhaps its makes you think of chocolate sponge, smothered in mountains of cream and cherries. In auction circles, however, the term ‘black forest’ invokes something altogether different, though equally as magical!
Swiss origin Black forest wares are wooden carvings which take the form of forest animals, trees and foliage. While many assume that these carvings originate from the Bavarian Black Forest in southwest Germany, the name is a misnomer. In fact, black forest wares originated in the picturesque town of Brienz, Switzerland in the early 19th century. Centred around the crystal blue waters of Lake Brienz and surrounded by breathtaking mountain views, Brienz was a highlight for wealthy Victorian tourists on the Grand Tours of Europe. While the Swiss town was in the throes of famine in 1816, local woodturner Christian Fischer was struck with a flash of inspiration and began embellishing his products with carvings of animals and foliage, which charmed the travellers eager to bring home souvenirs from their trip.
Zoo inspiration
A black forest carving modelled as a cockerel
16 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
The venture was a success, and soon Fischer began teaching other local artists his craft to accommodate the carving rush. By the mid 1800s, black forest carvings became synonymous with wealth and luxury the world over and examples of the craft were even featured in the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, The Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and Exposition Universelle, Paris in 1900. By the turn of the 20th century, the wood carving industry was at the heart of Brienz’s economy, becoming the major employer in the region, and even establishing the Brienz School of Woodcarving in 1884, which is rumoured to have maintained a private zoo on site in order for students to be able to study the anatomical details of animals up close.
WHAT’S IT WORTH?
Practical use Black forest carvings can be purely decorative or have more practical uses in the form of furniture and home accessories, ranging from small items such as ashtrays, inkwells and nut crackers to grand statement pieces such as benches and hall stands. Carvings usually take inspiration from the indigenous wildlife found in and around northern Europe. Bears have become synonymous with the art form, but other popular subjects include owls, dogs and boars, as well as trees and foliage. The taste for black forest wares reached as far as North America, and, in turn, carvings in the form of American wildlife became hugely popular, such as eagles and stags. While wood carving was a highly respected art form in the 19th century, black forest carvings are not without their sense of whimsy – bears are often depicted skiing, reading books or even smoking! Boasting exceptional craftsmanship and the eternally popular subject matter of wildlife, it’s no surprise that black forest carvings remain popular among avid antiques buyers and more casual shoppers alike. While many may assume black forest wares would be suited for a rustic fairy tale cabin, they are actually quite versatile, and can make interesting design features in many different spaces.
Above A black forest
Grindelwald bookslide with two bears Right An early 20th-century black forest jardinière stand Below A carved oak black forest jewellery box
When it comes to valuing a black forest carving, many factors come into play. First and foremost is quality, which may range from fair to first rate. Top of the range examples are usually stashed away in private collections and rarely come to market, being snapped up quickly when they do. Next, there’s size – good quality, small to mid-sized carvings are often valued at hundreds, but larger and more unusual pieces of a similar quality such as benches and hallstands can be thousands. Another factor is the subject matter – bears are ubiquitous and therefore less sought after, whereas dogs are much rarer and more valuable. Finally, there’s the maker – many pieces are not marked, but among those which are, artist-signed popular makers include Johann Huggler, Fritz Abplanalp and Albert Mader. While the signature of a notable artist can have an effect on the value of a piece, it may not always be necessary. It is sometimes possible to attribute a work of art to a carver who has a distinctive style, a recurring subject matter, or who works with a particular type of wood. In such cases, it is best to seek the advice of an expert.
Christina Trevanion is managing partner and founder of Shropshire’s Trevanion Auctioneers & Valuers as well as a regular face on a number of antiques programmes.
‘While wood carving was a highly respected art form in the 19th century, black forest carvings are not without their sense of whimsy – bears are often depicted skiing, reading books or even smoking’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING
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Our next Fine Art & Antique Auction will be held on
Wednesday 27 th April 2022 Inviting entries until 8 th April
Public Viewing: Monday 25 th April & Tuesday 26 th April 9.30am - 5pm
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THE COLLECTABLES AUCTION HOUSE As a family business we care for your items as much as you do Excalibur Auctions is a specialist auction house selling movie & music memorabilia, comics, vintage toys and model railways In April and May we have three exciting auctions commencing with something outside our usual areas of speciality - a single owner collection of circa 700 pairs of trainers by Nike, Adidas, Timberland etc - running through the last two weeks of April In May we're back in our comfort areas of Movie & Music Memorabilia on 14th May and Vintage Toys & Model Railways on 28th May
We’re here to help you achieve the best possible price for your special collections - large or small Please do get in touch if you would like our help, we can take a look at your memorabilia, comics and toy items and give you a FREE valuation.
hello@excaliburauctions.com T: 020 3633 0913 www.excaliburauctions.com Unit 16 Abbots Business Park, Primrose Hill, Kings Langley WD4 8FR 18 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
EXPERT COMMENT Charles Hanson
An Auctioneer’s Lot
A
Son of the soil Charles Hanson shares his love of the landscapes of part-time farmer-cum-artist, George Turner, whose work continues to enchant
little-known fact is that I am a farmer’s son. Growing up on a small farm in Derbyshire means I can drive a tractor with ease and have a huge fondness for Britain’s rural heritage. Consequently, whenever I see a painting by George Turner (1841-1910) – also known as Derbyshire’s John Constable – it stops me in my tracks. I can’t help but admire his wistful rural scenes as I gaze on the rolling hills he captured so perfectly. While antique porcelain, furniture and fabrics provide an insight into how people lived in centuries gone by, it is art that really provides us with an actual representation. It shows us the landscapes, the people, the clothing, the housing and the transport of the day. And also, thanks to Turner who worked in agriculture in the 1800s, we can also gain an insight into farming life.
Above George Turner
(1841-1910) Landscape with harvesters, signed and dated, was offered for sale with a guide price of £15,000-£20,000. Above right George
Turner (1841-1910) The Golden Harvest, Barrow upon Trent, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1898, sold for £3,200. Below right George
Turner (1841-1910) Highland Cattle
Landscape painter Turner was born almost a century after fellow landscape artist, Suffolk-born Constable in 1776, who famously said the countryside “made me a painter, and I am grateful”. The same may well be true of Turner but, unlike the East Anglian artist, Turner’s work can be bought for hundreds not millions of pounds. Born in the village of Cromford, near Matlock Bath, Turner later moved to Derby with his family. He showed an early talent for music and art, encouraged by his father Thomas Turner. Though
a tailor by trade, Thomas was an art enthusiast and must have been proud of his son’s blossoming talent. In 1865, he married Eliza Lakin (1837-1900) and became a part-time farmer. He raised four children at Walnut Farm in Barrow upon Trent while juggling his work as an artist and a teaching career – with his successful students including the Scottish landscape painter David Payne (1843-1894) and the fellow Derbyshire artist Louis Bosworth Hurt (1856–1929). After Eliza’s death in 1900, he moved to the village of Kirk Ireton and later married fellow artist Kate Stevens Smith (1871-1964). They set up home in another picturesque Derbyshire village, Idridgehay, where he died in 1910.
Derbyshire delight Turner, who has 22 paintings in national UK collections, worked in oils painting scenes mainly of his native county, so his evocative paintings are a regular delight at our Derbyshire headquarters. At auction, a Turner painting can go under the hammer with estimates ranging from around £1,500 to several thousands of pounds. For example, we offered a Turner landscape with harvesters, signed and dated (above left) for sale last year with a guide price of £15,000-£20,000. But not all are as pricey. In the same sale, The Golden Harvest, Barrow upon Trent, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1898, made £3,200 and a rural scene from Foremark reached £1,300. Turner’s work takes us back in time. It is a poignant reminder of agriculture’s importance through the centuries. Long may the work of artists inspired by the great British countryside centuries ago excel at auction. They always remind me of how lucky I am to live in the green and pleasant land that is England. Hansons’ April antique and collectors’ auction takes place at its Derbyshire saleroom from April 11-14, for more details go to www.hansonsauctioneers.com. Anyone with a painting or antique to be valued should email charles@hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
‘Whenever I see a painting by George Turner (1841-1910) – known as Derbyshire’s John Constable – it stops me in my tracks. I can’t help but admire his wistful rural scenes and gaze on the rolling hills he captured for eternity’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 19
COLLECTING GUIDE Walter Sickert prints A disciple of both the French Impressionist Edgar Degas (1834-1917), who once referred to his mentor as “the lighthouse of my experience” and a student of the American-born artist James McNeill Whistler (18341903), Sickert is well worthy of attention in his own right. Despite several large exhibitions over the last 20 years, Sickert’s reputation has not brought out the same prices at auction as the better-known artists with whom he kept company for much of his life – a position which may well change with this month’s retrospective. At the lower end of the market collectors should take note of the value for money Sickert’s prints provide. An enthusiastic etcher, who learnt his skills at Whistler’s studio, his prints are as skilled as they are expressive.
Theatrical beginnings
Raising the curtain The first major retrospective in 30 years on Walter Sickert (1860–1942), one of the most influential painters of the 20th century, opens at Tate Britain this month. Sure to set the price of much of his artwork soaring, prints by the artist remain eminently affordable
I
n 1934, Virginia Woolf described Walter Sickert as “probably the best painter now living in England”. At the time, the artist was 74 and nearing the end of a career that had set British art on its head. Known as a master of self-invention and theatricality, Sickert took a radically modern approach to painting, transforming how everyday life was captured on canvas. An exhibition at Tate Britain this month brings together more than 150 of his works from 70 public and private collections, from scenes of rowdy music halls to groundbreaking nudes and the Camden Town series. Spanning Sickert’s sixdecade career, it will also explore his legacy as one of Britain’s most distinctive, provocative, and influential artists.
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Right Walter Sickert (1860-
1942) The Eldorado, c.1906, © The Barber Institute of Fine Arts Below right Walter Sickert
(1860-1942) Cheerio, etching, published by Ernest Brown & Phillips at The Leicester Galleries, 1929, image courtesy of Piano Nobile Far right Walter Sickert (1860-1942) Queen’s Palace of Varieties, Poplar, 1885, etching, annotated in pencil, has an estimate of £1,000-£1,500 at Dreweatts’ sale on March 16 Left Walter Sickert, (1860– 1942) The Plaza Tiller Girls, 1928, image courtesy of Piano Nobile, Robert Travers (Works of Art) Ltd.
Born in Munich to a Danish father and English mother, Sickert was eight when the family moved to London. In his teens his first job was as an actor, a short career which would none-the-less spark a life-long fascination with theatre, seen in his paintings, drawings and etchings. With artistic leanings Sickert enrolled at the Slade School of Fine Art when he was 18, but irregular attendance saw him quit academia to take up a position as Whistler’s student when he was introduced to the continental artists of the Les Vingts group, which counted in its number over the years Monet, Seurat and Gauguin among others. At Whistler’s request Sickert travelled to Paris in 1883, where he met Degas, and soon befriended him. Degas influenced the young artist’s choice of subjects – the city, the racecourse, the bathroom and the stage were beloved by the
Impressionists but all seen as shocking in the UK. The theatre was of especial interest to the one-time actor, for whom London music halls would be an obsession. The city itself, in all its grubbiness also appealed to Sickert, who later wrote: “London is spiffing, Such evil racy little faces and such a comfortable feeling of the solid basis of beef and beer. O’ the whiff of leather and stout from the swing-doors of the pubs!”
Dip in Dieppe In 1985, after his first marriage to Ellen Cobden (the daughter of the radical politician Richard Cobden) collapsed, Sickert spent a decade living in France making frequent visits to Venice. Sickert frequently described himself as a “French Painter,” partly because of his two mentors (Whistler had spent time in France) and because of the length of time he had spent there. Like many artists of the day, he summered in the coastal resort of Dieppe, which, in the 1890s, was a magnet for visitors with a growing circle of British artists and writers, including Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley and Max Beerbohm visiting every summer. Sickert successfully infiltrated the varied social groups that had grown up in the town, switching effortlessly between the roles of middle class respectability and bohemian artist. The works created by Sickert during this continental period, including a number of prints, reflect a hybrid of styles, combining the detail learnt from Degas with the muted palette of Whistler’s compositions.
Opposite page Walter
Sickert (1860–1942) Brighton Pierrots, 1915, Tate, purchased with assistance from the Art Fund and the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1996 Right Walter Sickert
(1860-1942) The Camden Town Murder, originally titled, What Shall We Do for the Rent?, alternatively, What Shall We Do to Pay the Rent? Far right Walter Sickert (1860-1942) The Camden Town Murder (La Belle Gâtée), 1908, etching with aquatint, sold for £850, against an estimate of £1,200-£1,800, image courtesy of Roseberys Below left Walter Sickert (1860-1942) Dieppe, La Ruede la Halle au Blé, 1898, etching on wove, signed in pencil, signed and dated in the plate, sold for £840 last March, against an estimate of £200-£300, image courtesy of Roseberys Bottom left Walter
Sickert (1860-1942) St Mark’s, Venice (Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus), 1896, Tate Bequeathed by General Sir Ian Hamilton GCB, GCMG, DSO 1949 Below right Walter
Sickert (1860–1942) Reclining Nude (Thin Adeline), 1906, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Jack the Ripper The murder of a part-time prostitute Emily Dimmock in a bedroom in Camden Town in 1907 caused a media sensation, with Sickert creating four paintings alluding to the killing. The artist’s apparent obsession with Jack the Ripper, who murdered five prostitutes in London 20 years earlier, caused the American crime writer Patricia Cornwell to propose Sickert was the Ripper. Sickert, she said, knew and painted the Old Bedford Music Hall at which Emily was a frequent visitor. Her theory is not taken seriously by most experts, in part because Sickert was in France when the murders took place.
Mornington Crescent and Fitzrovia When he returned to London, remaining there from October 1905 to July 1906, Sickert was 44 but at the start of creating the works for which he is most well known. These were his pictures of north London lodginghouse rooms, dingy interiors with nudes captured on iron
‘During the 1880s, prints were not an offshoot of Sickert’s work in oil or on paper, on the contrary, his first exploration of a subject was often on copper’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 21
COLLECTING GUIDE Walter Sickert prints Left Walter Sickert
(1860–1942) La Hollandaise, c.1906, Tate Purchased 1983 Right Walter Sickert
(1860-1942) Entrance to 8 Fitzroy Steet, Whistler’s Studio, c. 1918, pen and brown ink, sold for £9,000 at 25 Blythe Road Below right Walter
Sickert (1860–1942) Woman Seated at a Window, 1908-1909, most likely painted at 6 Mornington Crescent, image courtesy of Piano Noble, Robert Travers (Works of Art) Ltd
SICKERT’S FINEST One of Sickert’s best-known works, Ennui, c. 1914, depicts a couple who appear in many of his Camden Town interiors. While apparently married, the pair was not – the old man, who Sickert called Hubby Hayes, was a petty criminal; while the woman, Marie Hayes, was the artist’s charlady. In the painting, the man leans back in his chair drawing on a cigar while his wife leans against a chest of drawers. For Hubby Hayes, the cigar and large gin provide some consolation, but his wife has no such comforts.
Below left Walter Sickert (1860-1942) Ennui, 1914, oil on canvas Below far left Walter
Sickert (1860-1942) Ennui, original etching, second plate, sold for £550 at Wilkinson’s recent sale
beds. From Degas, Sickert considered that the human figure, especially the female nude, should be treated with unflinching objectivity. While Sickert’s nudes were admired in France they were dubbed immoral in Britain because of their unidealised bodies, contemporary settings and voyeuristic framings. In London, Sickert took lodgings in a pair of rooms on the first floor at 6 Mornington Crescent, on the edge of Camden Town, while renting a studio in 8 Fitzroy St, just south of Camden Town. The latter provided the backdrop for many of his paintings of that year: the green, striped sofa; the heavy black frame with a gilt moulding; and, most importantly, the olive green wall against which Sickert arranged all of his sitters. But Mornington Crescent became his preferred workspace. Woman Seated at a Window was most likely one of 12 works executed at 6 Mornington Crescent. Walter Sickert, is at Tate Britain from April 28 to September 18, for more details or to book tickets go to www.tate.org.uk. Piano Nobile in London specialises in works by Sickert with a number of paintings, drawings and etchings on offer. For more details go to www.piano-nobile.com
ENNUI PRINT In 1914, the year of Ennui, Sickert’s straitened financial circumstances led him to broker a deal with the Carfax Gallery. In exchange for a fixed maintenance of £200 a year the gallery became Sickert’s sole dealer, with the proviso he produced a series of 16 etchings exclusively for the gallery. Given the success of his Ennui when it was first exhibited at the New English Art Club in the summer of 1914, Sickert decided to include an etched version in the Carfax series. He continued to revise the design and the print was later published by the Leicester Galleries. Sickert produced three separate sized etched versions of Ennui: a large plate, a medium plate and a small plate.
‘Despite several large exhibitions over the last 20 years, his reputation has not brought out the same prices at auction as the better-known artists with whom he kept company for much of his life – a position which may well change with this month’s retrospective’ 22 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
SICKERT THE PRINTMAKER
Right Walter
Sickert (18601942) Maple Street, London, c. 1915-1923, oil on canvas
From the start of his career printmaking was an extremely important part of Sickert’s oeuvre. Over his career he created a body of prints, along with their numerous different states, many in rare or unique impressions in engraving, etching, aquatint, soft-ground etching, and lithography. The subject matter they encompassed, from London music halls, Dieppe street scenes and views of Venice, to his trademark shabby interiors and nudes, match that of his paintings. And the scope of the genre puts them well within the budget of most collectors. Sickert’s basic training was as a printmaker rather than a painter. As Whistler’s pupil and assistant his primary responsibility was to help print etchings, including Whistler’s first Venice Set. Sickert, who had sketched throughout his teenage years, quickly learned from Whistler how to use the etching needle on copper as an alternative to a pencil. Of the 110 Sickert etchings, from 1882-1888, catalogued by Ruth Bromberg in her 2000 Catalogue Raisonée, all but 26 were pure etchings, with many being unique impressions of an only state. During the 1880s, prints were not an offshoot of Sickert’s work in oil or on paper, rather, his first exploration of a subject was on copper.
Rowlandson House Left Walter Sickert
(1860-1942) Maple Street, etching, signed and dated 1915, second state, with title, published by Carfax Gallery, 1915, sold for £950 last September, image courtesy of Dawsons
Paul Martin: Why I love Sickert I have a passion for art from the early 20th-century British School and topping the list of artists has to be Walter Sickert. Though he was the son and grandson of painters, Sickert chose a career on stage before studying art in 1881 at the Slade and later became the founding member of the Camden School. I love his work; I love the muted tonal quality. He had the ability and the confidence to capture the non-event. His subject matter was everyday life, based
In the autumn of 1909, Sickert started private etching classes in his studio at 31 Augustus Street. A year later he founded a private art school, Rowlandson House, on the Hampstead Road specialising in drawing, etching and painting. Bromberg considers how the printmaking facilities provided for the students on the top floor encouraged Sickert’s own production of etchings. Between 1910–1914, Sickert printed and editioned for sale three etchings: Noctes Ambrosianae; The Old Bedford and Dieppe, The Old Hotel Royal. He also produced a number of other images, many of which bear a studio stamp in violet ink, ‘Cumberland Market Press’. His skills remained throughout his career to such an extent, in 1915, he declared: “I don’t mind telling you that I am devlish pleased with myself. I have always known that I was potentially the only living etcher, but I was quite prepared never to have the energy to prove it.”
around the drab suburban working-class life of north London. He reflected the mundane and the ordinary, like the bloke leaving the house to go down the pub, or the woman staring at the wall in her sitting room – this is pioneering Modernism. He painted the nude, not like a classical figure of beauty, but with rolls of fat – warts ‘n’ all: lugubrious females naked on their beds, doing their own thing, in their own home. His narrow, dull tonal qualities work really well in today’s modern minimalist interiors. I think his work is fabulous and it certainly hasn’t peaked in value, so it’s still affordable.
Paul Martin is an antiques dealer and the presenter of various well-known BBC antiques programmes including Flog It!, Trust Me, I’m a Dealer and Paul Martin’s Handmade Revolution.
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 23
COLLECTING GUIDE Walter Sickert prints
Q&A
We asked Jennie Fisher, the co-head of modern art at the Berkshire auctioneers Dreweatts about the importance of Sickert’s prints
Q A
How far have Sickert’s prints been underappreciated? Like many artists of the period, Sickert’s printmaking was an integral part of his artistic practice, but it is true that the value of those works is fairly low in comparison to his paintings. Prints by modern British artists have generally been rather modestly valued in comparison to those of their European and American counterparts. The positive side to this is that prints are relatively affordable and can be a great way to acquire a work of art by a leading artist for a fraction of the price of an original painting.
Q A
Sickert was famously a student at Whistler’s studio, how instrumental was his influence as an etcher? Certainly in terms of the technical practice, Sickert learnt a great deal from Whistler and went on to use those practices throughout his artistic career. Like Whistler, he drew directly onto the plate as one might draw onto a sheet of paper and his mastery of line and tone was a key element of both artists’ work.
Q A
Were there periods or subjects Sickert most captured in print? Sickert’s prints are a direct reflection of the subjects that interested him in terms of painting and drawing. As a collector, this makes them incredibly
appealing as they are a direct insight into Sickert’s working practice. As such, we see music halls, theatres, café scenes as well as interiors and views of London, Dieppe, Paris and Venice.
Q A
Did he have a preferred print method? How closely did he involve himself in the process? Sickert produced in excess of 226 prints, a significant proportion being etchings, but he also used drypoint, engraving and lithography or a combination of those methods. He was intimately involved with the process, frequently revising and perfecting the plates, resulting in prints often being produced in a number of different ‘states’ as he worked and re-worked each subject.
QA
Who were his publishers? Sickert had a number of different publishers throughout his career, notably Carfax Gallery in the 1910s and Colnaghi and Leicester Galleries later on. However, many prints were never actually editioned, instead they were produced in different states with only a few of each actually printed. In this respect, Sickert was frequently more interested in experimenting with the medium and the evolution of the image rather than producing a final piece for commercial sale.
Q
Sickert was known for his extravagant lifestyle. How commercial a decision was it to concentrate on prints? Although Sickert definitely made the decision to enter into a commercial relationship with Carfax Gallery as a result of his depleted financial situation in 1914, financial gain was never the primary driving force behind his printmaking. Sickert loved the medium and the creative opportunities that it afforded him.
A
Q A
What informs price when it comes to Sickert’s prints? As with any print, the desirability of the subject matter, the rarity of the image and the condition of the impression all inform the value of Sickert’s prints. The most popular subjects are generally his theatre and music hall views, as well as his interior scenes. As Sickert experimented so freely with his prints, they can vary enormously in tone and strength of line, and the stronger and bolder images tend to command a premium.
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Q A
Have you any advice for would-be collectors of Sickert’s prints? As with any work of art, the key is to buy what you love. The publication of an extremely comprehensive catalogue of Sickert’s prints by Ruth Bromberg in 2000 has initiated a far greater understanding of their importance in his work as a whole and this has certainly translated to the market for his prints which is enjoying a renewed interest. Instead of viewing Sickert’s prints in isolation, collectors should see them as an integral part of his artistic output, informing and relating to his paintings and drawings. They are beautiful and intricate works of art and for the budding collector, eminently affordable in comparison with his original works. Dreweatts’ next fine art sale is timed and online running from April 12-22, for more details go to www.dreweatts.com Left Walter Sickert (1860-1942) The Burning of the
Japanese Exhibition at Knightsbridge, 1885, etching, second state, has an estimate of £1,200£1,800 at Dreweatts’ sale on March 16 Above Walter Sickert (1860-1942), The Old Fiddler,
etching with drypoint, c. 1919, second state, has an estimate of £700-£1,000 at the same sale Below Walter Sickert (1860-1942) La Gaité Rochechouard, etching, engraving and drypoint, 1920, inscribed in pencil, first state, has an estimate of £1,500-£2,000 at the same sale
JEWELLERY | WATCHES | MAKERS | DESIGNS | COLLECTING
IN THE
Loupe This month we put cufflinks in the spotlight – revealing the most collectable pairs, and take a deep dive into the Rolex Deep Sea Special on the eve of its 70th anniversary
Blue swoon: this art deco aquamarine and diamond pendant shone at the Cotswolds auctioneer Kinghams’ recent sale when it sold for £22,968, shattering its pre-sale estimate of £3,000-£5,000
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 25
IN THE
Loupe
OFF the CUFF As more and more of us slough off pandemic casual ware, sartorial elegance is back with a vengeance sparking a revival in cufflinks
W
hen it comes to cutting a dash for today’s man about town, there isn’t much jewellery that fits the bill. While Harry Styles might dazzle on the catwalk with his pearls and Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Peter Jones makes an impression with a brooch, it is to cufflinks that the more discerning male turns for understated evidence of good taste. Ben Gosling, a partner in the London auctioneers Elmwood’s, said: “Men are increasingly looking to the past to emulate timeless, elegant style. Cufflinks, especially well-designed ones, form an essential part of this wardrobe. It is a method of subtly expressing your personality while remaining refined in your overall look.” Head of Roseberys’ jewellery & watches department, Mark Bowis, said: “Cufflinks remain ever popular and prices have stayed strong. Cufflinks are accepted as the only article of jewellery that is generally acceptable for a gentleman to wear.” Another factor behind the boom, according to Ben Gosling, is re-purposing. He said: “An increasingly popular trend is buying cufflinks to convert into earrings.”
26 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Links to the past Above A pair of gold
button design cufflinks, 1996; a pair of silver cufflinks by Deakin & Francis, 1998; and a pair of Deakin & Francis knot cufflinks, stamped sterling, have an estimate of £400-£600 at Roseberys’ sale on March 15 Below left A pair of signed knot cufflinks by Hermès with French assay marks and the mark for Georges L’Enfant, c.1970, has an estimate of £800-£1,200 at Roseberys’ sale on March 15 Below right A pair of
enamel cufflinks by Van Cleef & Arpels, has an estimate of £600-£800 in Lyon & Turnbull’s sale on March 30
In Victorian times men’s jewellery was kept to a minimum and firmly practical in style: cufflinks, shirt studs and waistcoat buttons. The best late-19th century cufflinks were produced by Fabergé whose work masters used guilloche enamel, diamonds and precious stones to produce exceptional examples. By the Edwardian period, fashions were relaxing, the taboo on precious stones in men’s cufflinks was lifted and, before long, formal attire was ablaze with gemstones. Men who wanted to show off their status started to look to cufflinks to impress. Edwardian gold cufflinks, usually 15 or 18ct, became popular in a wide range of designs. It is, however, those subjects which are described as ‘novelty’ or inspired by a specific theme such as sport, hunting or nature which are most desirable today. Foxes, rabbits, hounds, boars and stags, diamondstudded foxheads, enamelled gamebirds or fresh water fish became popular, appealing to sporting enthusiasts, while amusing, though more morbid designs, included enamelled skulls and crossbones.
Cufflinks
Well-dressed man
Golden age The golden age for cufflink production was the first 30 years of the 20th century. After WWI, the trend was for complete sets of accessories made up of buttons and dress studs for formal attire. This was the era when jewellers such as Cartier and Tiffany produced elegant and highly-original examples in a range of materials. Many were set in gold and the versatile new metal which was revolutionising jewellery construction – platinum. Using platinum as well as gold provided craftsmen with limitless opportunities for creating intricate and innovative designs in fancy patterns set with gemstones and hardstones cut into suitably compatible shapes.
French appeal Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier, for example, produced distinctive square ‘chequer board’ cufflinks with matching dress studs invisibly set with diamonds, rubies and sapphires, while Fabergé produced diamond, gem-set and enamel cufflinks in neoclassical shapes which they sold from shops in St Petersburg, Moscow and London. Charlotte Peel, Lyon & Turnbull’s (London) head of jewellery, said: “Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and
Above A pair of
diamond cufflinks each modelled as a bulldog with round-cut diamond eyes, sold for £625, more than double its low estimate of £300, at Lyon & Turnbull’s sale on March 9 Top right A pair of Sir Michael Caine’s cufflinks dated 1967, designed as the masks of Comedy and Tragedy, sold for £4,462 at Bonhams’ sale on March 2, against an estimate of £400-£600 Above right Sir Michael
Caine and Lady Shakira Caine, 1970s Below left A pair of cufflinks by Hermès, has an estimate £700-£900 in Lyon & Turnbull’s sale on March 30
The actor Michael Caine is a sartorial icon both on and off screen. In the 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service, in which Caine plays Chester King, the actor sported rose gold plated oval cufflinks made by Deakin & Francis. Last month, Caine and his wife, Shakira, consigned a number of possessions for sale at Bonhams, including three pairs of cufflinks: one by the French accessories maker S.T. Dupont, one by Cartier and one pair – fittingly for an actor – depicting the famous Comedy and Tragedy masks of Greek mythology (above). ‘Comedy’ is set with circular-cut sapphire eyes, while ‘Tragedy’ has step-cut ruby eyes, with both on engine-turned T-bar terminals and mounted in nine carat yellow gold. The pair sold for £4,462, more than 10 times its low estimate of £400.
Right A pair of Sir
Michael Caine’s cufflinks by S.T Dupont, estimated at £300-£550, sold for £2,550 at Bonhams’ sale on March 2 Below right A pair of Sir
Michael Caine’s cufflinks by S.T Dupont, estimated at £100-£150, sold for £2,167 at Bonhams’ sale on March 2
‘The vintage era for cufflink production was the first 30 years of the 20th century when jewellers such as Cartier and Tiffany produced elegant and highly original examples in a range of materials set in gold and the versatile new metal – platinum’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 27
IN THE
Loupe Left Shirts in the latter
half of the 17th century and 18th century were worn under a long, knee-length coat known as a justaucorps Right Cartier cufflink
set, with interchangeable batons, consisting of malachite, black onyx, coral, tiger eye and cornelian, c 1985, price £11,500, image courtesy of Moira Fine Jewellery Below right Cartier ruby
History of the shirt Starting in the Middle Ages, shirts began to take on decorative features including ruffs and intricate embroidery. As time went on elaborate, puffy sleeves morphed into shirt cuffs, which were tied with thread or ribbon. Roseberys’ head of jewellery and watches, Mark Bowis, said: “The use of cufflinks can be traced back to the 17th century when they were referred to as ‘sleeve links’ and used to replace a cord tie to the sleeves of a billowing shirt. “Silver examples of sleeve links bearing the head of Charles I were considered to be loyalist symbols to the monarch and are still being found by metal detectorists today.” In the 18th century, pairs of buttons started to be used to link shirt cuffs together. Referred to as “sleeve buttons” or in French as bouton de manchette they reflected the jewellery styles of the day, with painted portrait miniatures, paste gems or cut crystals.
Tailored look
In the mid 19th century, the modern shirt cuff, similar to the ones still in fashion today, came into being. A band of cloth was attached to the end of the sleeve and fastened with a button, or pair of buttons, sometimes referred to as a “barrel cuff”. The double-folded cuff also made its appearance at this time. Starched and stiff, they were kept together with chain link fasteners known as cufflinks. In 1884, the German-born jeweller George Krementz patented an American cufflinkmaking device allowing link types to be diversified to include push-button connections and swivelling bars. Mass manufacture cufflinks were born.
Death knell
By the 1950s there was a trend for plain, sewn-on plastic buttons for shirt cuffs, which relegated more fancy cufflinks to evening wear. It sounded a death knell for the once-loved cufflink.
28 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
and platinum dress set, c. 1950, in its original case, price £22,000, image courtesy of Moira Fine Jewellery Bottom right The
“Four Vices” cufflink is a perennial collectors’ favourite Bottom left An early
‘cufflink’, dated to 800BC – the disk would have been drawn through slits in the garment, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Road to Ruin A pair of original Edwardian “Four Vices” cufflinks has a lasting appeal for collectors. Also known as the “Road to Ruin”, the quartet was made in solid gold and enamelled with images of a cocktail glass or champagne bottle; a race horse; a Cancan dancer and a deck of cards. Originals are rare, with the best examples fetching more than £1,000. Consequently, they are often reproduced by applying new enamel to old gold.
Cufflinks
What to look for Boucheron are among the most highly-prized names for cufflinks and, really, jewellery in general. Look out for designs by Deakin & Francis, a jeweller established in 1786, which stocks more than 850 different cufflinks from classic designs (above) to any kind of novelty cufflink you could imagine.”
Art deco & beyond Enamelled designs continued to be popular into the 1920s and ‘30s, echoing the bold, bright colours, angular, geometric designs of the art deco period. In the 1940s, Cartier created what is probably their most famous design, being the ‘stirrup’ cufflink comprising: a straight bar normally with cabochon gem terminals to twinhinged closing arms. From the 1930s, Van Cleef & Arpels produced cufflinks using its famous invisible-set gem technique, with calibre-cut rubies, emeralds or sapphires, mounted in square panels with either diamond or gem divisions.
Above left Cufflinks by Deakin & Francis, 1926, have an estimate of £400-£600 in Lyon & Turnbull’s London sale on March 30 Above Tiffany & Co. art
deco enamel cufflinks, c. 1925, priced £7,000, on offer from Moira Fine Jewellery Below left A pair of Cartier turquoise, diamond and platinum art deco cufflinks sold well above estimate of £2,000-£3,500, achieving £6,500, image courtesy of Elmwood’s Below A pair of Cartier art deco rock crystal cufflinks in 18ct white gold sold for £12,500, at Elmwood’s jewellery sale on March 10 Below right A pair of
Cartier ruby cufflinks from the 1940s, image courtesy of Elmwood’s
Cufflinks have always been both functional and, at the lower end of the market, cheap – with mass-produced examples in 9ct gold, silver or gilt metal being common. It is to the iconic jewellery-making names collectors should look for real quality. Charlotte Peel from Lyon & Turnbull, added: “The holy grail of cufflinks at auction would probably be either a cased set of interchangeable baton cufflinks by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels or Boucheron (they all made similar cufflinks with interchangeable batons, so you can match them to any outfit), or a pair of diamond cufflinks by the contemporary jewellery designer, Joel Arthur Rosenthal, known as JAR.” Claire Frost from Moira Fine Jewellery agreed with the most sought-after jewellery houses. She said: “The brands always in demand among collectors are Cartier, Tiffany and Fabergé. Black and white as a colour combination is always popular, so look for black enamel or black onyx and mother of pearl. Rock crystal is also popular, as well as moonstone.”
Budget options
The two most important aspects to consider when buying period cufflinks at the lower end of the market are design and condition. Inspect cheaper cufflinks with great care for indications of later repair and dents. Damage to the enamel is often concealed by ‘cold painting’ but it is almost impossible to match the original patina. Some cufflinks are quite simply four buttons which have been recently ‘joined up’, so check that the connecting chains are original. Finally, examine any makers’ marks extremely carefully. A Russian ‘56’ stamp, a French gold ‘eagle head’ control mark or an individual series of numbers on the edge of the setting can increase value substantially.
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 29
IN THE
Loupe
Under W Pressure Next year see the 70th anniversary of one of the most ground-breaking watches ever made – Rolex’s Deep Sea Special
30 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
ith less than three dozen examples having been produced, the Rolex Deep Sea Special (DSS) is a very hard-to-get watch. Until last November only five of the ‘hen’s tooth’ timepieces had ever appeared at auction. But that all changed last November when, in the same month, the Geneva branches of both Phillips and Christie’s offered two separate DSS watches for sale. The DSS was the Formula 1 of watchmaking, pushing the boundaries of what was scientifically possible. And it worked, the watch’s ground-breaking technology paved the way for all future dive watches. Phillips head of watches, Alexandre Ghotbi, said: “The DSS is the watch that defined what Rolex is today, it is the philosophy behind its creation that led Rolex to focus on tool watches in general and dive watches in particular. Without the Deep Sea Special there would be no Submariner or Sea Dweller.”
Rolex Deep Sea Special Opposite page Rolex
Deep Sea Special no. 35 sold for £860,000 in Geneva last November, image courtesy of Phillips Left Rolex Deep Sea
Special, one of 35 made in 1965 to celebrate the dive success of the DSS in 1960, image courtesy of Phillips Below right Reverse of
Rolex Deep Sea Special no. 35 inscribed with the dive depth, image courtesy of Phillips Bottom right L-R:
Lieutenant Larry Shumaker, Lieutenant Donald Walsh, Dr Andreas B. Rechnitzer and Jacques Piccard aboard the Bathyscaphe Trieste
DSS prototypes Horologists believe that seven prototype Deep Sea Special watches were built by Rolex between 1953 and 1960, but only three have so far been identified: the Deep Sea Special no. 1 with a ‘low glass’ (made from Plexiglas) that accompanied Trieste on its first deep-sea trial in 1953; the Deep Sea Special no. 3 with a ‘high glass’ (a taller and thicker crystal, also of Plexiglas) that made the trip down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 1960 and is today on display with the Trieste at the Smithsonian Institute; and the Deep Sea Special no. 5, also a ‘high glass’ version. The latter was offered at auction by Christie’s in 2000. only three of the early prototypes have ever surfaced (no.1, no.3 and no.5). Last November, Christie’s Geneva sold an elusive Deep Sea Special no. 1, the first prototype, for an eye-watering £1.5m.
Age of exploration The 1950s was an age of pushing boundaries. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Everest on May 29, 1953, while the US and Russia looked to Space to fulfil Man’s greatest ambitions. But the mystery of the oceans was no less alluring. There was a rise in popularity of scuba diving after WWII, fuelled in part by the books and films of Jacques Cousteau, with a subsequent demand for diving watches. With the ascent of Everest the world turned its attention to plumbing the depths of the world’s greatest oceans. The adventurers’ pioneering spirit was matched by the technical advances of the watchmakers of the day.
Deep dive Enter the Piccards, a Swiss/ French family with adventure in its blood. Auguste Piccard (1884-1962) was a balloon designer and the first person to enter the stratosphere. His brother Jean Felix (1884-1963), who emigrated to the US, conducted stratospheric flights in the 1930s. (The Star Trek character, Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the starship Enterprise is said to be named after him.) Auguste’s son Jacques (1922-2018) was more concerned with becoming one of the first people to reach the bottom of the ocean. To do so father and son came up with a bathysphere (ancient Greek for ‘deep ship’), which, once created, was named the Trieste. On September 30 1953 the inventive duo took the Trieste down to an unprecedented 3,150 metres, off the Italian coast in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
‘To celebrate the successful deep dive, Rolex produced a commemorative series numbering 35, it was not offered for public purchase, but instead to the most distinguished science, technology and watch museums, including the Deutsche Museum in Munich and the Clock and Watch Museum Beyer in Zurich’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 31
IN THE
Loupe
The depths Pressure-proof Oyster Enter the watch makers. For the brand manager at Rolex the triumph of the human spirit meant one thing: a marketing opportunity to prove the infallibility of the Swiss maker’s dive watches and, in particular, the strength of its revolutionary Oyster case. The ground-breaking waterproof case was invented in the 1920s. With its hermetic case, watches became water resistant, no mean feat in those days, but by the ‘50s the goal was to make the watch able to withstand high pressure from the depths of the ocean. Without a special watch the deepest a diver can achieve is just 127 metres (417 ft). Rolex contacted Jacques Piccard who agreed to take the Rolex Deep Sea Special no. 1 on the Trieste dive. The watch successfully held up to a pressure of 1,150 atm, or 1,150 kgs per cm2. After the dive off the island of Ponza, on October 8 Rolex received Piccard’s congratulatory telegram reading: “Your watch perfectly resisted to 3,150 metres”.
Above left Rolex Deep Sea Special no. 35, with its high dome made of Plexiglass, image courtesy of Phillips Above right A 1961
Rolex advertisement shows the watchmaker’s prowess Below left The Rolex Deep Sea Special no.3, believed to be the actual watch strapped outside the Bathyscaphe Trieste, on show at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC Below The Bathyscaphe Trieste. On the conning tower are Dr Andrea B. Rechnitzer (left) and Jacques Piccard Right Jacques Piccard
considers the Rolex Deep Sea Special no. 3
32 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
But for the Trieste – and Rolex – the greatest day was still to come. Jacques was back aboard in January 1960, this time in the western Pacific and with Don Walsh, a US naval lieutenant, as his new co-pilot. They plunged 10,900 metres to touch the Challenger Deep, a depression at the southern end of the Mariana Trench — the deepest point on Earth. The duo was accompanied by another watch, the Rolex Deep Sea Special no. 3, which today is found in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. To celebrate that successful deep dive, Rolex produced a commemorative series numbering 35, it was not offered for public purchase, but instead to the most distinguished science, technology and watch museums including the Deutsche Museum in Munich and the Clock and Watch Museum Beyer in Zurich. Its integrated bracelet combines stainless steel and gold, and a black dial with gold markers is housed beneath its gigantic domed crystal. Last November Phillips sold one such from 1965, which had been kept in a museum in Germany, for £860,000.
AN IMPORTANT DIAMOND NECKLACE, BRACELET AND BROOCH, VAN CLEEF AND ARPELS sold for £97,500
AN EXCEPTIONAL ANTIQUE DIAMOND RIVIERE NECKLACE, 19TH CENTURY sold for £78,000
AN ART DECO DIAMOND BROOCH, CARTIER sold for £32,500
INVITATION TO CONSIGN 0% SELLER’S FEES
A COLOMBIAN EMERALD AND DIAMOND RING sold for £33,800 AN IMPORTANT NATURAL FANCY PURPLISH PINK DIAMOND PENDANT sold for £350,000
AN IMPORTANT 9.03 CARAT SOLITAIRE DIAMOND RING, CARTIER sold for £195,000
A LARGE AND IMPORTANT NATURAL PEARL AND DIAMOND RING, EARLY 20TH CENTURY sold for £156,000
FINE JEWELLERY & WATCH AUCTIONS ZERO FEES for selling EXCEPTIONAL PRICES achieved SPECIALIST sales WEEKLY auctions
101 Talbot Road, London, W11 2AT 0207 096 8933 valuations@elmwoods.co.uk www.elmwoods.co.uk
ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER in April
SALEROOM SPOTLIGHT An outstanding collection of Buddhist and Hindu treasures, many from the golden age of southeast Asian art, goes under the hammer this month in London
T
he passion of the collector Jean-Pierre Yonan (19432019) for Buddhist art knew no bounds. From the 1970s to early 2000s, the Lebanese-born businessman, travelled the globe in his search for the finest pieces which took pride of place in his homes in New York, London, Geneva and the south of France. Six stand-out lots from his collection will be offered for sale at Chiswick Auctions’ Islamic and Indian art sale on April 29, much of it dating from the 10th and the 15th centuries when southeast Asian sculptural art and architecture witnessed its golden age. During this time, large temple complexes were built, with one of the biggest and most well-known being Angkor Wat, near Siem Reap in Cambodia, which was built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II (reigned 1113–c. 1150). The ruling classes also commissioned a vast number of exquisite sculptures in a variety of media, including terracotta, sandstone and bronze.
Origins of Buddhism The migration of people from India was one of the main cultural catalysts in southeast Asia, shaping not only art and mythology, but also written language, religion,
34 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
mathematics, and science. In Cambodia, preAngkor Wat sculptures were characterised by lively physicality and subtle animation, the faces always ignited by a gentle smile. However, during the classical Khmer period (10th-13th centuries), the sculptural canon became much more hieratic, stylised and prone to stasis instead of displaying movement. The change was fostered by a shift in political ideology, whereby kingship and divine power were conceived as one, and therefore, sculptures were seen as signs of divine authority on earth. With the rule of Jayavarman VII (11811219), a new chapter began for Buddhist art. The creations of this period saw the introduction of a wider range of figures, such as Bodhisattva Lokeshvara (left).
Hindu revival
Above A Khmer carved
buff sandstone head of the Bodhisattva Lokeshvara, the Lord of the World, Cambodia, Angkor Wat style (1100-1175), c. 11001175, 43.4cm. It has an estimate of £1,500-£2,000 at this month’s sale Top right A Khmer carved buff sandstone head of the Hindu god Shiva, Cambodia, Baphuon style, 10101080, 43cm. It has an estimate of £1,000-£1,500 Left Statue of a large gilt
bronze standing figure of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni, U-Thong C period, Thailand, mid14th-15th century, 184cm high. It has an estimate of £8,000-£12,000 Right Angkor Wat,
in Cambodia, image Shutterstock
During the 70-year Baphuon period (1010-1080) the main practised religion in Cambodia was Hinduism, with a focus on the deity Shiva’s cult. Its art reflected Shiva’s perceived preference for austerity – the deity advocated strict fasting and long hours of yoga – with sculptures mirroring these qualities. The head of Shiva (above) – with its hair braiding, rudraksha jewelled band, symmetrical arrangement of the hairline around the temples and wide, flat forehead – is similar to some outstanding Shiva sculptures of the Baphuon period.
Golden age The year 1431 marked an important victory for the Thai people over the Khmer rulers, which is celebrated as the Siege or Fall of Angkor, a seven-month-long siege on the
Greco-Roman influence
The earliest lot in the sale dates from the 1st to 3rd century AD and comes from Gandhara, today in northwest Pakistan, which was an area known for its remarkable Buddhist artworks. The piece reflects the influence of Alexander the Great’s campaigns, which led to a melding of Greco-Roman stylistic influence on Buddhist subjects. The wavy hair is tied in a topknot representing the cranial protuberance (ushnisha) of the Buddha alongside a straight Greek nose, while the monastic robe (sanghati) is reminiscent of a Roman toga.
AUCTION fact file
WHAT: The JeanPierre Yonan Collection of Buddhist and Hindu art, part of the Islamic and Indian art sale When: April 29 Sale type: Live Where: Chiswick Auctions, 1 Colville Rd, London W3 8BL Viewing: April 22, 10.30-5pm; April 23, 11-4pm and April 25-28, 10-5pm. Also online at www.chiswick auctions.co.uk
‘The 10th to 15th centuries were the golden age of southeast Asian art. Large temple complexes were built with one of the largest being at Angkor Wat in Cambodia’ Khmer capital of Angkor by the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. With the rise of a new capital in 1350, Ayutthaya (Thailand), the Thai kingdom was fully formed and ready to be the dominant power in the region until 1767. This shift in socio-political powers was deeply felt in the arts, too, where considerable changes were introduced. The main materials used in previous sculptural productions, such as stone and terracotta, were largely replaced in this era with bronze (either plain or often gilt). The Buddha’s hands and fingers became much more elongated and standard mudras (poses) were revisited. The ‘calming the ocean’ hand gesture was introduced in Buddhist sculptures in this period. The gesture consists in the abhaya mudra (‘fear not’ gesture) but with both hands raised, instead of just the right hand. It is seen on the gilt bronze statue of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni, opposite.
IN MY OPINION...
We asked Beatrice Campi, head of Chiswick Auctions’ Islamic and Indian art department, for her collection highlights How important is the collection?
Its importance is determined by two main factors: the quality and rarity of the artworks; and their provenance and presence in the secondary market. Collectors often ask, have these pieces been seen at auction recently? Were they bought lately? Do they come from the trade? Ideally, the collection would have been secretly treasured in a private home, looked after by a passionate collector uninterested in the fluctuations and trends of the current art market. This collection nails both. The pieces are rare and soughtafter examples which have been in a private collection for the last 30-40 years.
Do you have a favourite piece?
Being an Islamic and Indian metalwork specialist, I’m always drawn to metal more than hardstone, so it would have to be the gilt bronze standing figure of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni (opposite). I love the gentleness of the Buddha’s expression. It makes me feel at peace every time I look at it.
Your tips for a new collector?
Get as much information as possible from the seller, learning more about a piece will help you to understand it better. If it’s a sculpture, enquire about its provenance to ensure it left its original country within the timeframe deemed acceptable by international cultural property laws. Finally, make sure you like it.
Where are you expecting interest to come from?
Above A carved schist
bust of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, 73.3cm high. It has an estimate of £6,000-£8,000 Left A Khmer carved
sandstone standing statue of the female goddess Uma, wife of the Hindu god Shiva, c.11001175, 56cm. It has an estimate of £3,000-£5,000
The collection is likely to be of particular interest to both American and Asian buyers. The market for Indian, Himalayan and southeast Asian art is very strong in New York and Hong Kong, where large auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s host specialist sales twice a year.
Is there anything for the newbie?
The two lots of Hindu deities (left and opposite), estimated at £3,000-£5,000 and £1,000-£1,500 respectively, are both reasonably priced and their dimensions are quite contained, so a newbie collector could easily find a spot in their homes to display and appreciate them.
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 35
AUCTIONEER ADVENTURES Tales from the rostrum
IT SHOULDN’T HAPPEN TO AN AUCTIONEER
An auctioneer’s lot is a heady mix of excitement, entertainment and unassuming bungalows filled with treasure. Eight well-known faces share some memorable highlights from their careers When Charles Hanson isn’t running auction rooms in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Oxfordshire and London, he’s a popular presenter on Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt I remember being called to a house in Lincolnshire when the client said: “You must meet Charlie, he’s been here a long time. He was dug out of that field over there.” He opened a wardrobe and there in front of me, hanging on a coat hanger, was Charlie, a human Anglo-Saxon skeleton. Another time, I was asked to check a blue-and-white plate lying shattered in 16 pieces in a tomato patch. The fragments formed an English Delftware plate, dated 1725,
36 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above Auctioneer
Elizabeth Talbot of TW Gaze at the rostrum, image courtesy of TW Gaze Left Charles Hanson met
his skeletal namesake, image credit Pictoria Right Charles sold a
bust of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, image courtesy of Hansons
inscribed Drink Fare, Don’t Sware. It went on to make £5,000. One occasion I thought I’d really made it when I was asked to clear a castle, but when I arrived I was told, “I’m sorry, Mr Hanson, the castle’s been cleared”. Instead, I was pointed towards a 1960s bungalow. Never judge a book by its cover. That bungalow was full of history, not only that, we found a hidden safe. Inside was an envelope containing a flawless 5ct emerald-cut diamond ring. It made £112,000. Even pig farms can harbour hidden treasures. In lockdown, I was alerted to a bronze bust found in the ground on a farm. It turned out to be of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, from the 1st century AD. It sold for nearly £200,000.
Left Christina Trevanion
with the Grana military watch Below right Izzie Balmer
crossed swords with her dad in the saleroom
Christina Trevanion, is the managing partner and founder of Trevanion Auctioneers and Valuers in Shropshire, alongside being a familiar face on Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip One of my favourite moments as an auctioneer is telephoning a client who hasn’t been able to attend an auction in person or watch it online, and discuss the results. I remember meeting a lovely elderly lady who was having a clear-out to fund home improvements so she didn’t need to go into care. She gingerly handed me her “husband’s tatty old watch”, saying it would be unlikely I would want it. In the 1960s, she told me, her husband was late for work so often his site foreman gave him his spare watch. Much to my delight, the unassuming ‘spare’ turned out to be a soughtafter WWII military WWW Grana wristwatch, which I put into auction with an estimate of £2,000-£3,000. After the auction, I phoned the lady to let her know: “Oh, Christina, did the watch not sell?” “No, it sold rather well.” “Did it? Well you do amaze me, that tatty old watch?” “Yes! What do you think it sold for?” “£2,000..?” “Nope, more.” “£3,000..?” “Nope, more!” “Oh, lord… £5,000?” “Nope! Are you sitting down?” “YES!” “It sold for £9,000!” Silence…then: “Oh, Christina, love, what have you done?” It was a life-changing sum of money and such a lovely moment I will cherish forever.
When she’s not appearing on shows such as Antiques Road Trip, Izzie Balmer is an auctioneer and head valuer at Wessex Auction Rooms in Wiltshire As an auctioneer you’d think I’d know better than to wave, call out, nod or raise an eyebrow in the saleroom while an auction is underway. But I recall an auction when I was operating the internet platform and my brother walked in. Excitedly, I waved at him. He, far more coolly, waved back. But we almost found ourselves buying a wardrobe. Fortunately, the auctioneer realised the error (after I, redfacedly, admitted what had happened). Another evening I was on the rostrum when my dad walked in and, before long, started bidding on an Indian sword (which I knew to be a reproduction and worth about £20). Knowing my dad hadn’t viewed it and didn’t know, I tried to ignore his bid. But he kept raising his hand. To push home my point, I pointedly re-read the full description in an effort to make him see sense. But to no avail and dad became the successful, if disappointed, owner of a modern reproduction sword – which never did make it on display. The first time I sold a really high-value item I recall being unsure the of the increments after £10,000. Some auction houses say 10 per cent but that wasn’t the case with this saleroom. I didn’t want to lose the pace by stumbling over the next bid so I panicked and decided to go up in £100 increments. All the way to £22,000. To say it took a long time is an understatement, although I later discovered the painting might have sold for less if I’d gone up by £1,000s as both parties kept thinking “Well, it’s just another £100.”
‘You’d think I’d know better than to wave, call out, nod or raise an eyebrow in the saleroom while an auction is underway’
‘Even pig farms harbour treasures. I was alerted to a bronze bust found in the ground on a farm. It was of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and sold for nearly £200,000’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 37
AUCTIONEER ADVENTURES Tales from the rostrum Adam Partridge runs his own auction house Adam Partridge Auctioneers & Valuers in the northwest, and has appeared as an expert on Flog It! Bargain Hunt and Cash in the Attic
Left A pair of vases
caused excitement for Adam Partridge Below The pair of Elkington cloisonné vases soared past its estimate Below right Catherine
Southon waved her gavel and fell through the rostrum
One of my most memorable appointments was when I was called to an unassuming council property in the Stockport area to look at a pair of vases. Having met the vendor in the local pub, my anticipation levels were fairly low. But as soon as I saw what he had to offer I felt a physical reaction of excitement in my gut. Staring back at me was the most fabulous large pair of Elkington cloisonné vases, undoubtedly made for one of the great exhibitions in the late 19th century. The vendor was keen to sell them direct to me for £2,000 but I dutifully explained auctioneers don’t buy pieces, they advise on value, auction them and then take a commission on the sale. Encouraged by the news that I thought the vases were worth more than £2,000, he consigned them for auction. Further research indicated that they were indeed made for the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. On the sale day, after huge pre-sale interest, we had eight telephone bidders from all around the world. The vendor was pacing excitedly and when the bidding shot up to £40,000 he couldn’t contain his excitement and shouted, “Go on, lad!” to the surprise of others in the room. When the hammer fell at £86,000 he actually ran around the room celebrating. The next day when he called to ask me not to put the result in the papers, I was worried something sinister was afoot. I had, of course, checked the vases’ provenance and was satisfied they were an inheritance. I needn’t have worried, it transpired the vendor was in half-shares with his brother to whom he’d already given £1,000. As the saying goes: “Where there’s a will there’s a relative.”
‘When the hammer eventually fell at £86,000 the vendor ran around the saleroom celebrating’ 38 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
A much-loved regular on Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt, Catherine Southon also runs her own auction house, Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers, based in Kent I was fortunate to start at Sotheby’s Bond Street back in the late 1990s. Before internet bidding, salerooms were buzzing with keen bidders and auctioneers had to be very animated to command the attention of the room. I well remember at one of my first auctions being rather over animated and sending a glass of water flying across the revered Sotheby’s rostrum. In the 10 years since I set up my own saleroom I have many tales. I recall a fire alarm going off causing the entire saleroom to congregate in the carpark for 20 minutes. Another time I remember there being an accidental pile-up of cars in a domino effect in the car park. While the porter read out the number plates of the damaged cars the entire room disappeared just as I started the jewellery section. I also remember falling through the rostrum while waving the gavel, then balancing on one high heel on a temporary makeshift rostrum while a new one was being built!
Elizabeth Talbot, auctioneer at TW Gaze in Suffolk and regular on the BBC’s Flog It! and Bargain Hunt The widely-held belief that it is possible to accidentally bid on a lot at auction is one I have spent my career trying to dispel. A bidder’s intent (however subtly displayed) is very recognisable from the auctioneer’s vantage point on the rostrum and distinct from any accidental movements or gestures. However, just a few years ago, I was presiding over a vintage textiles auction in Diss. The room was full, bidding lively and the mood buoyant. Just in front of the rostrum sat two ladies who were having great fun securing various lots of fashion finery. Men’s wardrobe classics were included in the sale, so it was no surprise to me that, on offering a smart piece of male couture, a gentleman should enter at some speed with detectable determination and gesticulating as he came. Bidding on the lot had already commenced, but I included him in the interaction as soon as I could. By now he was stationary but continued to bid as I returned to him for further instruction. The gavel fell and I asked him for his buyer’s number. He prompted the
Caroline Hawley runs her auction house, Hawley’s Auctioneers and Valuers in Yorkshire, alongside regularly appearing on TV shows Flog It! Bargain Hunt and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is One of my most memorable moments on the rostrum was in 2020. My son had just got engaged and as a joke I changed my phone ringtone to I’m So Excited by the Pointer Sisters, to my amusement and their annoyance! Shortly afterwards we were lotting up the contents of a local estate where a pair of Chinese plates stood out among the usual personal trinkets and mementoes of a lifetime. After thorough research we discovered that they may have a significant value. They were mark and period Yongzheng, 1722-1735. When the plates came up at lot 16 the saleroom was packed, the bidding was frenzied and I was doing my all to remain cool. You could have heard a pin drop in the hushed crowd. On and on the bids came, fast and furious, until it reached a whopping £100,000, and at that exact moment my phone rang out loudly with… you’ve guessed it, my new ringtone, much to everyone’s amusement! The hammer eventually went down at £146,000 and, needless to say, I was so excited.
two ladies in front and, details taken, he duly became the proud owner of a new (vintage) suit. After the auction I was beckoned by the trio who were full of mirth. It turned out the new suit’s owner was the husband of one of the women at the front, the other being his daughter. He had been waving to both when he entered the room. The penny dropped – he had not intended to buy the suit at all. “Why, then”, I asked bemusedly, “didn’t you correct me but rather carry on bidding until the lot was knocked down to you?” His reply? “I was too embarrassed to say anything!” It was, though, apparently the best money they ever spent at auction, a good price for the much-told anecdote. I don’t know if he ever wore the suit.
Left Caroline Hawley
couldn’t contain her excitement Right Not everyone was
happy with Thomas Forrester’s high prices, image courtesy of Special Auction Services Below left Elizabeth Talbot of TW Gaze takes a bid Below right The
elephant god raised a surprising figure
Thomas Forrester is a regular part of the BBC’s Bargain Hunt team, and is also an auctioneer at Special Auction Services which has two auction rooms in the south of England and West Midlands My first auction was a jewellery sale in Bath when I was in my early 20s. Mid-way through the auction a gentleman was getting more and more annoyed at the high prices. He finally stood up and shouted in a French accent: “This is ridiculous, these prices, how can I afford to buy anything!” After he stormed off, all I could do was re-start the auction. On another occasion a lady in the middle row whose rug I’d estimated at £30 to £50, eventually sold for £21,500. In the run-up to the sale, she had been hassling me about her items because she had a very large dentist bill to pay. Even at £21,500 she still wasn’t satisfied. Another tale surrounds the figure of the elephant god, Ganesh. It was another surprising lot, which, this time, I sold for £114,000. The vendor was a lovely lady of a certain age who was even more surprised because my estimate had been £100-£200. When she received the money she phoned to thank me. She told me: “I’m sharing the money with my sister I’ve not told her what it sold for. She has a heart condition and I didn’t want to add to it.”
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 39
EXPERT COMMENT David Harvey Metamorphic library steps have been known since the 1770s as more and more wealthy people undertook the Grand Tour, gathering as they did so all manner of artefacts, paintings, relics and books. Back home, their travels sparked demand for increasing numbers of large library bookcases to house these collections.
Problem solved As libraries grew in stature the problem became how to access the uppermost shelves of one’s imposing breakfront bookcase. As usual, cabinetmakers had the solution. The London firm of Morgan and Sanders is credited with the design and manufacture of this model, which is undoubtedly one of the iconic pieces of English 19th-century furniture. Imagine the owner of a Regency library wondering how to reach the top shelves of his bookcase while leafing through a copy of Ackermann’s celebrated journal The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures,
Waxing lyrical Is it a chair, is it a ladder..? David Harvey takes steps to praise the metamorphic chair
Fashions and Politics, which was the World of Interiors of its day. The journal was published monthly from 1809 to 1828 and included hand-coloured plates of interiors, drapery, furniture and the decorative arts. Page 40 in July 1811 illustrated one such a chair. Imagine the reader’s delight in finding such a neat solution.
The Grand Tour As time goes by, pieces I used to be able to acquire on a regular basis become more difficult to find. So imagine my delight when I purchased this Regency mahogany metamorphic armchair. I also came across this definition of the “M word” which I think fits the bill rather well. “Metamorphic: Characterised or formed by changing, an example of something metamorphic is a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.” This brilliant chair transforms into a set of library steps by undoing a catch at the back and pulling the top rail forward. Hey presto, the whole hinged upper half of the piece comes ingeniously into play.
40 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Copied by Gillows Above The magnificent
mahogany chair dates to the Regency period Above right The solution to every Regency library owner’s problem
Curiously in his Repository Ackermann refers to ‘Saunders’ rather than ‘Sanders’ in the editorials (although the advertisements in his publication seemed to have the correct spelling of the company’s name). The furniture maker, which specialised in patent and export furniture, was prolific – employing more than 100 men and was even responsible for furnishing Nelson’s cabin aboard HMS Victory.
Left Research shows the
chair to be the work of Morgan and Sanders Right Page 40 of
Ackermann’s famous Repository illustrates the ingenious design Below right Roundels
featuring concentric circles is a Regency feature
Clive Taylor, a specialist on Georgian period mechanical furniture, wrote a most illuminating dissertation on this model of chair, which is brilliantly researched and tells us that Gillows of Lancaster appear to have copied Morgan and Sanders’ design but that it seems as though these two firms were the establishments which produced most of the 400 or so examples of this. He compares the two house styles from which we can deduce that this chair came from the London firm rather than Gillows.
Attention to detail Typical of the London chairs of this period is the additional moulded detail to the legs, arms and front rail, as well as the application of roundels of concentric circles to the scrolling arms. The carved detail of the back rail is not found on Lancashire chairs, such as those produced by Gillows. The concave pad linking the scrolling arms to the seat rail is another typical aspect. One big impression the chair had on me when I lifted it into my car was its extraordinary weight. This tells us it is made from very dense timbers of the highest quality and there was no skimping on materials used in its construction. The original cushion had long since disappeared so we followed Ackermann’s description and had another made in the closest we could find to “Morocco” leather.
The chair’s blueprint
Page 40 of Ackermann’s Repository on July 1811 describes the chair in glowing terms: “This month we present our readers with a representation and description of a truly novel and useful article called the Metamorphic Library Chair. This Chair, which forms at the same time, a complete set of Library Steps, is considered the best and handsomest article ever yet invented, where two pieces of furniture are combined in one – an elegant and truly comfortable arm-chair, and set of library steps. The latter is as firm, safe and solid as a rock, and may, with the greatest ease, by merely lifting up with the right hand the back of the chair, be metamorphosed into as complete an armchair as can be wished for. It may be made of mahogany, or any other wood and to any shape or size. Either as represented in the plate, or with caned back and sides, and French stuffed cushions covered with Morocco leather, &c. This ingenious piece of furniture is manufactured at Messrs. Morgan and Saunder’s, Catherine-St."
David Harvey owns Witney-based W R Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd, www.wrharvey.com. He will also be at this month’s Cotswolds Decorative Antiques & Art Fair in Tetbury from April 22-24.
‘Imagine the owner of a Regency library wondering how to reach the top shelves of his bookcase, leafing through a copy of Ackermann’s celebrated journal The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics – the World of Interiors of its day’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 41
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Christopher Butterworth collection This month more than 250 lots from both his stock and personal collection go under the hammer at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet, including lighting, for which he is best known. The rest of the eclectic selection, ranging from African shields to objet ‘d’art, provides an insight into the 62-year-old’s own style (he describes his own home as “palatial on a small scale”). Until it closed in 2017, Butterworth was a regular seller at Christie’s South Kensington interiors auctions. The April 21 sale will be the first chance to buy his pieces at auction since then. There are two reasons for selling: “My wife says I have to, and I am a terrible overbuyer and the cost of storage in London is huge.” Among Butterworth’s downsizing, the pieces he is most loath to part with include an ormolu vase candelabrum, by the pioneering neoclassicist architect James “Athenian” Stuart (1713-1788) and made by Diedrich Anderson (died 1767). After Stuart’s death the vase was bought from his widow by Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) who used elements to decorate his own candelabrum vases. Another cherished treasure is a marble replica of a Nessus and Deianira by the French sculptor Jacques Pradier’s (1790-1852).
Early days
Passport to Pimlico
Stock and personal possessions of a legendary Pimlico dealer go under the hammer this month in Essex. Antique Collecting goes behind the scenes
T
o a generation of interior decorators, Pimlico Road dealer Christopher Butterworth scarcely requires an introduction. Interior designer David Mlinaric describes his Pimlico Road shop as “a fascinating Aladdin’s cave of lights and lamps where everything is interesting and beautiful.” Another renowned designer, Nicky Haslam, simply calls him “the best antiques dealer ever.”
42 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above Some 250 lots
from the Christopher Butterworth Collection go under the hammer this month Right Christopher
Butterworth moved to Pimlico Road in 1996
Butterworth’s rise to the top of his profession came by an atypical route. There was no family background in art and antiques or an apprenticeship with a dealer or auction house. Instead, his formative years were spent working on Fleet Street with a side-line working the rag-and-bone-man circuit with his brother. He said: “Even as a child I had a gift for seeing things, I’m hyper observant. I was fascinated by the natural world of flowers, rocks and minerals and then I became interested in art.” It was as a reader of House & Garden and World of Interiors that his eyes were opened to antiques and lighting in particular. In 1984, aged 24 ,he took a stand at Antiquarius, the well-known Kings Road antiques centre which closed in 2012. These were the halcyon days of antique trading and Butterworth learnt as he went, buying things from Christie’s interiors sales and then selling them on for a profit. He said: “I started cold and realised in a month that I could do it.”
Left A pair of Napoleon
III gilt bronze moderator lamp vases, by the French maker Ferdinand Barbedienne (18101892), c.1870, decorated with bearded men masks on square black marble bases and cast paw feet, 64cm high. The pair has an estimate of £1,000£2,000 at this month’s sale Right Christopher
Butterworth Below right Vases nestle
among the lamps in the Pimlico Road shop
Move to Pimlico With the move to Pimlico Road in 1996 he joined some of the capital’s most renowned dealers. Before long, he had a growing a list of celebrity clients along with a number of country houses showing his wares, from Castle Howard to Wilton House and Chatsworth, all impressed by Butterworth’s “eye”. The dealer only buys what inspires him, with each purchase having to meet his exacting criteria of design, form, decorative appeal and historical interest. He said: “I just couldn’t buy anything that I don’t like, it has to be to my taste.” He continued: “I look for pieces that are beyond their period, so 20th-century ceramics could sit perfectly in a classical house. I prize beauty over perfection.” Dealers whose buying style Butterworth also appreciates include his fellow Pimlico Road resident Will Fisher from Jamb, as well as the West London dealer James GrahamStewart and the Dorset-based antiques dealer and interiors consultant Edward Hurst.
Today’s business in his own words “There’s no doubt it was easier to make a living when I started. Then, I could sit in a sale in Christie’s South Kensington buy things and sell them on two weeks later for a profit. Those were the days of boxed lots, in fact I have still got some little pieces from those boxes. Today there’s not the volume of thing to deal in but I still find things that give me pleasure, otherwise I wouldn’t do the job. “Regarding the next generation of collectors, while I currently see very few young people coming through, I am sure they will do in due course. I am selling a lot of stock and it’s not just to old people. Things are swinging back. “When I started people might have had some interest in 20th-century pieces, but not much. The recent fashion has been for mid-century but you soon get bored – the quality is just not there. “If you shove too much of it into a house it ends up looking like a characterless hotel. It’s odd, I bathe in a 1970s bath, because sanitaryware was one of the things that manufacturers really did well in that decade. But now, ironically, people throw out the ‘70s bathroom but fill the house full of ‘70s furniture.”
True love While Butterworth has a deep knowledge of objects from across a wide range of collection disciplines – for some years he had been the chairman of the vetting committee at the prestigious Olympia Art & Antiques Fair - his ‘USP’ became antique lighting of all periods and a go-to destination for chandeliers, lanterns, light fittings and table lamps from the 17th to 20th centuries. His truest, however, is decorative arts from the 18th and 19th century, often unsigned pieces by unknown makers. “They tell us so much about the history and fashion of the day, they haven’t got nearly enough of the consideration they deserve.”
‘Butterworth’s rise to the top of his profession came by an atypical route. There was no family background in art and antiques or an apprenticeship with a dealer or auction house. Instead, his formative years were spent working on Fleet Street with a side-line working the rag-and-boneman circuit with his brother’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 43
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Christopher Butterworth collection Pimlico: antiques haven Few corners of London boast the number of high-end antiques dealers, interior designers and galleries as Pimlico Road. Sitting between Belgravia and Chelsea, the once down-at-heel neighbourhood is now a mecca for discerning collectors and decorators. Starting at number 50-52 is Soane Britain, Lulu Lytle’s furniture and fabric shop; Linley, where David Linley, Earl of Snowdon, shows off furniture is a few doors down at number 60. Further along the London street, at 76, is the antiques dealer and designer of contemporary furniture, lighting and textiles Rose Uniacke.
The real deal
69 Pimlico Road is home to the dealer Patrick Jefferson, who like Christopher Butterworth, at number 71, taught himself the business. At number 83 is the 18th-century mirror specialist Ossowski; with Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, the arbiter of “country house” style at 89-91. A longer-term resident of the street, at 93, is Christopher Howe from Howe whose range includes an in-house ‘Made by Howe’ collection of 18th-century reproduction copies of classic chairs styled on Chippendale, Strawberry Hill Gothic and arts and crafts. Jamb, at 95-97 (on the site of Christopher Gibb’s old showroom) was founded by husband and wife Charlotte Freemantle and Will Fisher who started buying and selling at the age of 10. Jamb has an international reputation for sourcing the finest 18th and 19th-century English and Irish country house furniture, sculpture and curiosities. Crossing the road takes the collector to Anthony Outred, one of Pimlico Road’s most respected dealers. Outred specialises in furniture, sculpture and works of art – as well as the antique door hardware for which he is internationally renowned.
Right The sale is made
up of pieces from Butterworth’s stock and personal collection Below right Detail of
an ormolu five-light candelabrum, in the Louis XV taste, late 19th century, with flambeau finial, each branch surmounted by a ram’s head, 61cm high, has an estimate of £500-£1,000 at this month’s sale Below left Christopher Butterworth is based on Pimlico Road, in the finest company
Lockdown life Despite little of his selling being done online, Butterworth’s business continued apace throughout the pandemic, with established clients contacting him for specific antique pieces. He said: “France and Italy are my main buying locations and I travelled at every opportunity I could but, with tests for a twoday trip costing up to £475, it made profitable trips more difficult.” Unlike other dealers, Butterworth’s clientele and their commissions didn’t really change. “It wasn’t a case of someone wanting a new desk to improve their home office space, I only work with top decorators, whether they are after a piece of modern deco for a New York apartment overlooking the Chrysler building, or something humble for a ski chalet in Gstaad, or a British grand house.” Let There be Light: The Christopher Butterworth Collection goes under the hammer at Sworders, Stanstead Mountfitchet, Essex, on April 21, for more details go to www.sworder.co.uk
‘”I bathe in a 1970s bath, because sanitaryware was one of the things that manufacturers did really well in that decade. But now, ironically, people throw out the ‘70s bathroom but fill the house full of ‘70s furniture”’ 44 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Left A pair of neo-
classical Carrara marble and ormolu cassolette vases, French, late 19th century, with crisply cast ormolu mounts and flaming torch handles, 58cm high, has an estimate of £800-£1,000 at this month’s sale Right An ormolu vase
candelabrum, by James “Athenian” Stuart (17131788) made by Diedrich Anderson (died 1767), has an estimate of £15,000-£2,000 at the same sale Right A pair of veined
pink marble lamp bases, c. 1900, in the form of Classical columns with gilt bronze Corinthian capitals on stepped, square bases, 40cm high, has an estimate of £400£600 at this month’s sale Below A marble replica of a Nessus and Deianira by the French sculptor Jacques Pradier (1790-1852) has an estimate of £20,000£30,000 at the same sale
Left A pair of Napoleon III
celadon glazed pottery table lamps, French, late 19th century, each of baluster shape with brass animal mask ring handles and wooden plinths, formerly gas converted to electricity, 44cm high, has an estimate of £400-£600 Below A pair of Victorian gilt bronze wall lights, with opaline glass shades, c.1850, modelled as sprays of arum lilies, each with three twistturned arms emanating from ribbon-tied leaves, 43cm high, has an estimate of £500-£800
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 45
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Puzzle TIME
Think you know antiques? Pit your knowledge against that of our puzzling paragon Pete Wade-Wright
Send your answers to Crossword, Antique Collecting magazine, Sandy Lane, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, UK. Photocopies are also acceptable, or email your answer to: magazine@ accartbooks.com. The first three opened by April 10 will win a copy of Jackson’s Hallmarks, Pocket Edition: English Scottish Irish Silver & Gold Marks From 1300 to the Present Day, worth £6.95
APRIL QUIZ Q1 What is the name of this British campaign medal ribbon? (A) The Africa Star 1940-43, (B) The Burma Star 1941-1945, (C) The British War Medal 1914-18, (D) The Africa General Service Medal 1902-56, (E) The Pacific Star 1941-45. Q2 What is a xylothek? (a) a wooden musical instrument, (b) a papier-mâché sculpture, (c) a leaf montage, (d) a collection of wooden books. Q3 What was a ‘limner’? (a) an itinerant glass worker, (b) a manuscript illuminator, (c) a quack doctor (and hence old medical instruments), (d) Western name for a Japanese folding puppet kept up the kimono sleeve. Q4 In the 19th century the Londoner Peter Thompson did what? (two answers are correct) (a) submitted a design for the new Houses of Parliament, (b) designed jewellery for Queen Victoria, (c) forged paintings, (d) published books on natural history.
Q9 What was an ‘Una’? (a) a magnifying glass, (b) a telescope, (c) a microscope, (d) a camera.
Q1 What is the name
of this British campaign medal ribbon?
Q10 If you had an article containing baroques and/or cabochons what would it most likely be? (a) a clock, (b) jewellery, (c) book-cover illustration, (d) an ornate wooden box (originally French).
Q6 What
is Johann Friedrich Böttger most famous for?
Q7 A Citroen DS, but why
is the French classic car so called?
Finally, here are four anagrams: twitch charges, Mag’s solace, party set, a new race. Rearrange them to form (a) U nsually hand-engraved ‘weight’ on a silver article at assay. (b) V itreous material with two or more differentcoloured layers and a carved design (two words). (c) A western European flatwoven textile. (d) P ale, straw-coloured, unglazed articles made by Wedgwood from 1770. For the answers turn to page 10
1
Q5 The Oyster, Credence, Loo and Beau Brummel are all types of (a) chamber pot, (b) cravats, (c) walking sticks, (d) table. Q6 With what is the name Johann Friedrich Böttger associated? (a) silver flatware, (b) Dresden pottery, (c) wood carving, (d) wig making. Q7 The first Citroën DS made in 1955, had, according to Roland Barthes in his 1997 book, Modern Myths, “fallen from the heavens”. But what does DS stand for? (a) desirable, (b) hydropneumatic, (c) goddess, (d) doubly sprung? Q8 Which of the following collectables were measured in ‘lines’? (a) silk, (b) buttons, (c) wood grain, (d) serrated-edge tools.
46 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
C
SOLUTION TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD:
The letters in the highlighted squares could be rearranged to form the word porringer. The winners, who will each receive a copy of the book, are Owen John Bagnall, Gwynedd; Dr F. Macfarlane, Uckfield, by email and E. G. Cain, Newcastle, by email
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DOWN CLUE
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Across
2 Table with one or two hinged parts. (4, 4) 7 Part of monarchical regalia symbolising power. (3) 9 Alan ______ (b.1934) English actor, author, playwright, national treasure etc. (7) 10 European country where, for example, Barovier and Venini produced innovative glassware. (5) 13 Goddess of victory represented as youthful, winged and holding a wreath or palm frond. (4) 14 Flattish object, or name given to utensils made of metal. (5) 17 Literary work, usually religious in nature. (5) 19 _____ window. Generic name for round stained-glass windows found in Gothic churches. (4) 23 Walter ____ (1892-1969). American golfer. Major figure in the sport in the first half of the 20th century. His autographs and books command decent prices. (5) 24 Cut design on a material in order to print an impression of it. (7) 26 Former name of Tokyo and a term that spans a wide range of art forms. (3) 27 William __ _____ (1839-1917). One of the most inventive and innovative designers of the Arts and Crafts Movement. (2, 6)
Down
1 With 8-down, a description sometimes used of a shape of a jug spout. (5) 3 Most prized gemstone believed in Medieval times to protect the wearer from poison. (4) 4 Term used for a rigid material e.g. wood, metal etc. on which a painting is executed. (5)
5 Much painted temptress. (3) 6 One of the Greek and Roman goddesses who determined birth, life and death. (4) 8 See 1-down. Also slang for a magistrate. (4) 11 A slight shade distinct from a principal colour, and parallel lines or dots in the 24-Across process. (4) 12 Greek mythological princess of Sparta supposedly ‘visited’ by Zeus in the form of a swan. (4) 14 A container… or managing to get a snooker ball into a pocket. (3) 15 Indian city famous for the Taj Mahal and the craft of pietra dura. (4) 16 ‘____- and- comfort’. An 18th and 19th-century leg rest. (4) 18 The curricle, Dutch, gouty and pincushion are all types of … (5) 20 The cyma reversa, s-shaped moulding. (4) 21 James ____ (1860-1949) Belgian painter and printmaker who influenced expressionism and surrealism. (anag. ‘snore’) (5) 22 Soft, malleable metal with a relatively low melting point hence useful in many crafts. Anagram of 12-down. (4) 23 Queen of the Olympian gods originally associated with the moon. (4) 25 The eucalyptus is also known as the ___ tree. (3)
Finally: Rearrange the letters in the highlighted squares to form the name of a piece of boudoir furniture with corner uprights. (4-6, 3)
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 47
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR Wallpaper designers
48 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
PAPER WEIGHTS
The 19th-century boom in wallpaper saw a host of designing greats, including Christopher Dresser, A.W.N. Pugin and C.F.A. Voysey take up the challenge, alongside the ‘big daddy’ of them all – William Morris
W
illiam Morris (1834–1896) famously advocated living ‘a beautiful life’. A British craftsman and pioneer of modern design, he started designing wallpapers in the 1860s, inspired in part by Victorian woodblocks, and the Japanese wallpaper art of kinkarakawakami. Within a decade, he was creating some of his most enduring designs including Larkspur, Jasmine (both in 1872), Willow (1874), and Marigold (1875). But Morris was not alone; a new book and exhibition explores the design giants also attracted to the genre, whose work may be lesser known but is just as glorious.
Boom in demand The English wallpaper industry flourished during the 19th century, with both block-printed and machine-printed papers saturating the market. There was a proliferation of naturalistic, ornate, convoluted and intricate wallpapers, especially after 1830 when continuous rolls of paper became readily available. Wallpaper became de rigueur for the homes of Victorian Britain, increasingly so after about 1840, when Harold Potter’s 1839 patent of a four-colour roller printing machine – printing 400 rolls per day – was able to employ newly-invented oil-based inks. The repeal of wallpaper taxation in 1836 underpinned the explosion of mass-produced, low-priced wallpapers
Opposite page Detail
of the iconic Acanthus William Morris wallpaper at Wightwick Manor and Gardens, West Midlands, © National Trust Images/ Chris Lacey Above right William
Morris (1834-1896), Acanthus, 1875, Jeffrey & Co. for Morris & Co.. Available from www.morrisandco. sandersondesign group.com Right William Morris
(1834-1896), Fruit, 1864, Jeffrey & Co. for Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.. Available from www.morrisandco. sandersondesign group.com
‘By the mid-1850s, contemporary-minded design reformers began to condemn wallpapers replicating naturalistic florals embellished with rococo motifs, much loved by most English households. For the reformers, their crusade was against such multi-coloured ornamental decoration, described by them as “design debauchery”’
William Morris Morris attempted to print wallpaper within a year of founding Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in 1861, colloquially known as ‘The Firm’. His intention was to design wallpapers within the constraints of manufacturing rather than creating one-off wall paintings. Of all his products of domestic ornamentation, these ‘wallpaper hangings’ became the most widely popular. Trellis was his first pattern created in 1863. But after Morris’s own experiments with traditional German zinc-plate printing failed he turned to Jeffrey & Co., forging a relationship which lasted until 1927. A year later, his design, Fruit, was much admired by Morris’s lifelong friend Edward BurneJones, who used it to decorate his London dining room, which became a salon for members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In 1874, The Firm launched four new blockprinted wallpaper patterns, including Willow. Morris’s first design for the reconfigured Morris & Co., Acanthus, demonstrates his nowfamous layering technique, which created depth without threedimensional imagery. The pattern’s appeal was far reaching and it decorated many stylish homes, including Wightwick Manor near Dudley in the West Midlands, home to a PreRaphaelite art collection and cared for by the National Trust. and, by the 1850s, further aesthetic and technical advances in wallpaper production generated more than 19 million rolls per annum. Within this context, in 1860 Arthur Sanderson (1829– 1882) established a business importing luxurious French wall coverings from 1863 to 1870. In the coming years, through acquisition of British firms including Jeffrey & Co., the company printed papers designed by some of the giants of the design world. In 1884, the American magazine Carpentry and Building wrote UK wallpaper manufacturers: “Have employed the best artists and have given prizes for good designs. They have taken hints from Morris and his followers.” ANTIQUE COLLECTING 49
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR Wallpaper designers Right Owen Jones
A.W.N Pugin (1812–1852) The two leading protagonists of the Reform Movement were the architect-designers Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812–1852) and Owen Jones (1809–1874). Pugin is today most famous for his neoGothic interiors in the Palace of Westminster. By advocating the concepts of “honesty and propriety”, he criticised the 19th-century tendency in architecture and interior design to borrow indiscriminately from historical styles. By the mid-1850s, contemporary-minded design reformers also began to condemn wallpapers’ naturalistic florals and rococo motifs, much loved by most English households. Their crusade was against multi-coloured ornamental decoration, which they condemned as “design debauchery”. Simple diaper (diamond) patterns (below) designed by Pugin appear in the pattern book of wallpapers supplied for the decoration of the Palace of Westminster between 1851 and 1859. Rich colours, in this case red and gold, and wool flocking create a sumptuous effect with a relatively modest design of repeating quatrefoils and foliate motifs.
(1809-1874) Alhambra, 1852, William Woollams & Co. Below left A.W.N. Pugin (1812-1842), Palace of Westminster wallpaper, c.1848, Samuel Scott for J.G. Crace Jeffrey & Co.
Owen Jones (1809–1874) The influential architect Owen Jones was another leading proponent of the British design reform movement. He is now most remembered for his oft-reprinted book The Grammar of Ornament (1856), which changed the language of decorative art in Britain. Jones argued good design followed rules of representation and colourings found in non-Western patterns. As such, like Pugin, he rejected the naturalistic floral forms found in French wallpapers and traditional English chintzes. He also intended his patterns to work together. Jones’s wallpapers gained broader popularity as his patterns were more suited to the domestic interior than Pugin’s. In 1900, when Sanderson acquired the entire portfolio of William Woollams’s designs and blocks, Jones’s was the most notable.
Christopher Dresser (1834–1904) Co-founder of the Linthorpe pottery and designer of everything from teapots to furniture, Dresser is still known as the “father of industrial design”. From the late 1850s, Dresser designed a whole range of functional, yet beautiful items for people’s homes including wallpaper, carpets, glass and ceramics. In 1876, he was also the first European designer to visit Japan. While there he visited porcelain and pottery makers in conjunction with manufacturers of bamboo furniture, lacquering, embroideries, enamelwork, washi paper making, Jacquard weaving and block-printing of textiles. His 1882 book Japan: Its Architecture, Art, and Art Manufactures did much to advance European enthusiasm for Japanese style, influencing many others, including William Morris. But other similarities between Dresser and Morris were few (other than they were both born in 1834).
50 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Dresser was a futuristic designer while Morris was an historical designer; Dresser was an industrial designer, Morris was a craftsman. As such, Pugin and Jones were Dresser’s main influences. Rather than depicting plant forms in a naturalistic manner, he followed the latter’s guidelines from The Grammar of Ornament that “Flowers and other natural objects should not be used as ornaments, but conventional representations …” He also believed “ornament should also be based upon a geometrical construction”.
Right Walter Crane,
The Orange Tree, 1931 printing of original 1902 design for Jeffrey & Co., Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd Left Christopher Dresser
(1834-1904) Patterns page, 1873, Jeffrey & Co. Below left Attributed to Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) AngloJapanese wallpaper, 1876, Corbières, Son & Brindle Below right Walter
Crane, Lion and Dove, 1900, Jeffrey & Co.
Walter Crane (1845-1915) By 1900, Crane was a highly regarded painter, illustrator and designer of mural decoration, stained glass and pottery. With the wood engraver and printer Edmund Evans, Crane produced several illustrated children’s books. He also created designs for nursery papers. Sleeping Beauty (1879), was produced as a washable wallpaper by Jeffrey & Co. in 1885. This elaborate frieze was designed by Crane to be used with a filling wallpaper entitled The Rose Bush. Crane’s The Orange Tree was printed in 1931 on ingrain paper for a mottled ground effect. With the co-ordinating frieze entitled Fruit, it borrows from the all-over, cascading foliage patterns popularised by Morris with Willow (1874) and Willow Bough (1888).
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 51
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR Wallpaper designers For Sanderson, this large poppy pattern (below) had a “remarkable run” in 1890 and was continued in several colourways the following year. From 1883, he was headmaster at the training institute for London City & Guilds’ qualifications, and was influential in the flourishing of many freelance designers. Taken from The Art of Wallpaper – Morris & Co. in Context by author, design historian and leading authority on Morris, Mary Schoeser, published by ACC Art Books. Subscribers can save 35 percent on the cover price of £30, paying just £19.50, for more details go to page 56. The book accompanies an exhibition at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh on until June 30.
C.F.A. Voysey (1857–1941) Charles Francis Annesley Voysey was an architect and designer, and one of the last great arts and crafts entrepreneurs. His background and training was influenced by Pugin and the Gothic Revival. In fact his early architectural training took place in the office of John Pollard Seddon, a Gothic Revival architect who was influenced by John Ruskin. Voysey’s own architectural practice was established in 1882 but he went on to become equally well known for his furniture, textiles, carpets and wallpapers. By the 1890s, he had created wallpaper for the best-known firms including Jeffrey, Knowles, Sanderson and Woollams, as well as Essex & Co., which printed more than 100 of his patterns. Like many other designers of the period, Voysey was called on to design patterns commemorating royal events. The example, above right, was undoubtedly created in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII, who was crowned in August 1902. The original design was painted out in red and two shades of blue on a white ground, echoing the Union Jack colours.
Above far left C.F.A.
Voysey (1857–1941) Montreaux, c.1904, Essex & Co. Above left C.F.A Voysey (1857–1941) Squire’s Garden, 1896, Essex & Co. Above C.F.A. Voysey
(1857–1941) The ‘Heraldic’ Design, 1902, Essex & Co. Right May Morris (1862-
1938) Honeysuckle, 1883, Jeffrey & Co. for Morris & Co. Below A.F. Brophy (18461912) The Poppy, 1890, Arthur Sanderson & Sons
A.F. Brophy (1846-1912) The Limerickborn etcher and printmaker, Andrew Fengar Brophy was a versatile designer working in fabrics, furniture, glass and metalwork as well as wallpaper in which he was able to supply anything from neoclassical to art nouveau styles. Early successes included a paper design for Jeffrey & Co., which was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.
52 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
May Morris (1862–1938) Apart from needlework, William Morris’s youngest daughter, Mary “May” Morris, was also a talented watercolour artist and designer of jewellery, book bindings, tapestries and wallpaper. Having studied embroidery at the National Art Training School in South Kensington, in 1885, at the age of 23, May took over the Morris & Co. embroidery department where she remained until her father’s death in 1896. In addition, she designed wallpaper for the business as well as editing her father’s Collected Works, published between 1910 and 1915. She also contributed to the preservation of Kelmscott Manor, where her mother lived until her death in 1914 and May remained until her own death in 1938.
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ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Lots in April
TOP of the LOTS
This month’s lots include frames from the renowned London maker John Tanous Ltd and photographs belonging to the Hollywood actor Richard Gere A silver claret or water jug, dated 1885, by Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) for Elkington & Co., has an estimate of £2,000-£3,000 at Roseberys’ sale on April 26. Known as “the father of industrial design”, Dresser’s metalworks were known for their symmetrical, rectilinear shapes and undecorated surfaces. The jug on offer at the London auction house is 23.5cm high, has Birmingham hallmarks and is stamped Elkington & Co. on the base. Dresser was prolific in his designs working for numerous metal manufacturers, including Hukin & Heath (c. 1878-1890s), Elkington & Co. (c. 1875-1888) and James Dixon & Sons (c. 1879-1890s). See his wallpaper designs on page 48. Above Dresser’s designs were abstract and rectilinear in shape
An early 20th-century Louis Vuitton monogrammed canvas case has an estimate of £1,000-£1,500 at Ewbank’s vintage fashion sale on April 14. With wooden and brass bindings, leather carrying handle and two flip locks, the piece of luggage is felt lined and features Louis Vuitton embossed straps. The Louis Vuitton brand was established in 1854 in Paris and by 1913 had a retail shop on the Champs-Élysées before adding further outlets in New York and London. Vuitton’s first trunk was designed in 1858 and became popular because, unlike previous dome-shaped trunks, it was flat-topped and rectangular making it more suitable for travel. Below The case is by the iconic French luggage maker
Some 156 images, many by some of the 20th-century’s most iconic photographers, are part of the Richard Gere collection on offer in an online sale from Christie’s New York which ends on April 7. The Hollywood star said: “Being an actor, my basic tool is emotion. So I think most of the pictures that I respond to have the suggestion of a story or a flicker of the mystery.” In the late 1970s, Gere’s interest in photography was strengthened through his friendship with the late fashion photographer Herb Ritts (1952-2002). Many of the works in the sale were acquired directly from the artists.
Above John Ferneley (1782-1860) is one of the UK’s best equine artists
Above right Richard Avedon (1923–2004), Bob Dylan, Folk Singer, New
York, has an estimate of $40,000-$60,000 Above Diane Arbus (1923–1971), 42nd Street Movie Theater Audience,
N.Y.C., 1958, has an estimate of $25,000-$35,000
An early 19th-century Dutch gilt wood sunburst perpetual calendar, which once hung in the drawing room of the playwright Noël Coward’s country home at Goldenhurst Farm in Kent, has an estimate of £5,000£10,000 at Sworders’ sale on April 21. A perpetual calendar allows its owner to look up the day of the week for a given date in the past or future. It is part of Christopher Butterworth’s collection. For more details turn to page 42. Above right The perpetual calendar once belonged to Noël Coward
54 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Some 120 frames made by the renowned Chelsea firm John Tanous Ltd. – the frame maker of royalty and many major museums – go under the hammer at Parker Fine Art Auctions on April 7. With estimates starting at less than £100 at the Farnham saleroom, the star lot is a 19th-century gilt frame decorated with an abundance of fruit and flowers alongside frogs, mice and lizards. In 1913, brothers Joseph and John Tanous set up a fine art framing business just off the Fulham Road in London. Both were skilled craftsmen and the company soon flourished.
1
Artists’ favourite
As well as making frames for royalty, their client list included the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, as well as some of the best-known artists of the day, such as Sir Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) for whom they framed an entire exhibition of his flower paintings; Pietro Annigoni (1910-1988), known for his portrait of the Queen; Augustus John (1878-1961) and the Irish portrait painter, John Lavery (1856-1941). In 1938, the firm re-framed more than 200 pictures for a Christopher “Kit” Wood (1901-1930) retrospective exhibition organised by the Redfern Gallery. When post-war restrictions limited the amount of available wood, the brothers turned their hand to modernising old frames. In a newspaper interview from the late 1930s, John was quoted: “War restrictions make it difficult to get wood and materials for bronzing and gilding, but one good result is that a brand new industry has started up over here – the modernising of old frames.” Consequently, their 1951 advert offered A unique framing service compiled from a vast stock of old period frames, modernised and regilded in French colour and gold and Decapé finish. In 1994, the company was taken over and reshaped into a bespoke furniture maker and moved to West Sussex where it continues to this day. 1 A 19th-century gilt composition frame, measuring 210 x 167cm, depicting an abundance of flowers and fruit, has an estimate of £3,000-£5,000 at this month’s sale 2 20th-century English school, gilt composition frame, with an ornate top depicting an urn, rebate 59 x 40.6cm, has an estimate of £80-£120 3 Detail from the same 20th-century English school gilt composition frame, with an ornate top depicting an urn, rebate 59 x 40.6cm, has an estimate of £80-£120 4 20th-century English school, fan-shaped gilt composition frame, rebate 34.3 x 59.7cm, has an estimate of £30-£50. Inside it, an oval 20th-century English school gilt composition frame, rebate 17.8 x 12.7cm, and two other oval frames, have an estimate of £30-£50 5 20th-century English school gilt composition frame with a central raised shell motif, rebate 76.2 x 53.3cm, has an estimate of £100-£200.
2
3
‘As well as making frames for royalty, their client list included the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, as well as some of the best artists of the day, such as Sir Jacob Epstein for whom they framed an entire exhibition’
4
5
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 55
SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
BOOK OFFERS
There is plenty to inform, educate and entertain this month from our sister publisher ACC Art Books. Better still, subscribers save more than a third on the cover prices
UP TO
35% DISCOUNT THE ART OF WALLPAPER – MORRIS & CO. IN CONTEXT BY MARY SCHOESER ISBN 9781788841689 RRP £30.00 OFFER PRICE £19.50 PUB DATE: 14/03/22
THE WHISKY BOOK – EVERYTHING YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE WATER OF LIFE
AN UNBROKEN THREAD – CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF NEEDLEWORK BY SUSAN KAY-WILLIAMS ISBN 9781788841627 RRP £35.00 OFFER PRICE £22.75 PUB DATE: 15/03/22
Many initiatives to support women were begun in the late 1800s, but the Royal School of Needlework is one of the few that remain. This initiative was born from the desire to popularise the lost art of ornamental needlework and place it on a par with other decorative arts, such as painting and sculpture. Published to coincide with the Royal School of Needlework’s 150th anniversary, this book tells the story from its founding in 1872 to the current day.
This extensively illustrated volume focuses on William Morris (1834–1896), placing his wallpaper designs within the context of the radical changes in taste witnessed during the Victorian era. The book collects the majority of William Morris’s wallpaper designs in one volume. Accompanies an exhibition at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios. (See the feature on page 48.)
BY FERNAND DACQUIN ISBN 9789401479585 RRP £20.00 OFFER PRICE £13.00
Whisky is a story. Whisky is many stories. This book brings together the most surprising anecdotes from the world of whisky. Enjoy heart-warming tales about secret recipes, haunted castles, hidden distilleries, generous drunks and the first whisky tourist, and discover aspects about whisky that you’ll never find in any other book.
ORDER NOW! Email lauren.kerr@accartbooks.com or call 01394 389988.
56 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
CELEBRATE! THE GREATEST FESTIVALS AROUND THE WORLD EDITED BY TENEUES ISBN 9783961713073 RRP £24.95 OFFER PRICE £16.22
Every culture likes to party. Traditional celebrations, whether the Hindu Holi Festival or the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, have travelled beyond their origins to become international phenomena. Whether seasonal or religious, such holidays represent the human need for authentic experience, direct encounter, and a sense of time or the spiritual. This book leads readers back to the roots of these annual events and festivals, exploring their history, meanings, and evolutions. With vibrant photographs as well as practical information on each featured event, it’s a captivating journey.
WATER LILIES
BY CAROLINE HOLMES ISBN 9781870673839 RRP £30.00 OFFER PRICE £19.50
This book meticulously records our enduring love affair with the most beautiful and exotic of plants, the water lily. It is a comprehensive and detailed account of their introduction into European culture, largely through the passion and devotion of one man, Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac (1830-1911), whose lifelong work in the field of propagation, cultivation and commercialisation of water lilies inspired a generation of horticulturists, artists and poets to create the words and images that are deeply embedded in our culture today.
HOW TO LIVE LIKE A MONK – MEDIEVAL WISDOM FOR MODERN LIFE BY DANIÈLE CYBULSKIE ISBN 9780789214133 RRP £17.99 OFFER PRICE £11.69
Using wit and insight, medievalist and podcaster Danièle Cybulskie dives into the history of monasticism and then reveals applications for today, such as the benefits of healthy eating, streamlining routines, gardening, and helping others. Features original illustrations by Anna Lobanova, as well as more than 100 colour reproductions from medieval manuscripts.
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 57
OUT AND ABOUT April
FAIR NEWS
Dust down the picnic hamper and empty your bank account because fairs are back. We preview three of the best this month Bath time
Collectors after a highend bargain should head to the famous Georgian city this month for the Bath Decorative Antiques Fair, which returns to The Pavilion from April 1-3. Garden antiques will be the focus when more than 50 exhibitors reveal stock saved for this important date on the fairs calendar. English, French and Nordic antiques will be on offer, ranging from large, painted cabinets to exquisite model chateaux and chateau furniture in the distinctive Gallic taste. To kickstart an enviable garden in 2022, look out for cast iron urns, planters and benches for both the garden and conservatory. Above Henley-on-Thames dealer Louise Hall Decorative will offer this
large Swedish farmer’s bench, 1800s, priced £3,200
Royal connection Tetbury – the Gloucestershire home of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall – welcomes antique collectors from around the UK making a beeline for this month’s Cotswolds Decorative Antiques & Art Fair. From April 22-24 Westonbirt School is the location for the event, which offers everything from traditional antique pieces to the latest for chic interiors. Organiser, Sue Ede, said: “This is where people come to decorate and furnish their homes in their own personal style. The fair offers a special mix of decorative pieces with fine art, collector’s pieces and personal items such as jewellery, silver, watches and vintage fashion.” There’s also a chance to meet Antique Collecting’s resident furniture expert David Harvey, from W.R. Harvey Antiques, based in Witney, one of the 40 dealers taking part in the fair. Above A pair of George III neoclassical giltwood salon armchairs, c.1775,
on offer from W.R. Harvey Antiques priced £12,500
58 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Scrummy Brummie
Expecting more than 10,000 visitors over four days, Art & Antiques for Everyone returns to Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre from April 7-10. Fair director, Dan Leyland, said: “We are looking forward to a very busy fair, now that international travel has resumed, we are anticipating a surge of interest from our American, European and Asian buyers.” Top right Antiques Roadshow’s Judith Miller will be hosting free talks Above right More than 10,000 visitors are expected
COMING UP… PARK LIFE
First time exhibitor at next month’s Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair, Karen Taylor Fine Art, will be offering a black chalk drawing by Thomas Gainsborough RA (1727-1788), priced in the region of £25,000. Returning for its eighth edition, the fair takes place from May 13-15 in a purpose-built marquee in the grounds of the 17th-century building in West Sussex. With 60 dealers from around the UK taking part, the fair enjoys close links with members of local dealer association the Petworth Art and Antique Dealers Association (PAADA), which was founded in the early 1980s to promote the town’s many art and antique dealers.
LONDON CALLING
Step into spring with next month’s Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair at Battersea Park from May 4-8, which boasts a distinctly garden theme. The favoured haunt of the interior design crowd and in-the-know style lovers, the fair is held in a purpose-built pavilion in the well-known London park. On offer from some of the 150 dealers will be garden seating, statuary, planters and rustic wooden pieces.
Above right Thomas Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1788), Wooded landscape with
track and pool, c. 1780s, on sale for £25,000 Above Garden statuary on offer from the East Sussex dealer Martin D Johnson
FAIRS Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the fairs listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend a fair especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
LONDON: Inc. Greater London Adams Antiques Fairs 0207 254 4054 www.adamsantiquesfairs.com Adams Antiques Fair, Lindley Hall, 80 Vincent Square, Westminster, SW1P 2PE, Apr 24 Etc Fairs 01707 872 140 www.etcfairs.com Bloomsbury Book Fair, Booker & Turner Suite at Holiday Inn, Coram Street, London, WC1N 1HT, Apr 10 Bloomsbury Ephemera Fair, Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way, WC1H 0DG, Apr 24 London Art Fair Live 020 7150 5956 www.londonartfair.co.uk Business Design Centre 52 Upper St, London, N1 Apr 20-24 Sunbury Antiques 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Sunbury Antiques Market, Kempton Park Race Course, Staines Road East, Sunbury-onThames, Middlesex TW16 5AQ, Apr 12, 26 SW19 Antiques 01932 230946 www.sw19antiques.com Wimbledon Homes & Antiques Fair, Prince Georges Playing Fields, London, SW20 8TE, Apr 18 SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: including Beds, Cambs, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex. Arun Fairs 07563 589725 www.antiques-atlas.com Rustington Antiques & Collectables Fair, The Woodland Centre, Woodlands Avenue, Rustington, West Sussex, BN16 3HB, Apr 3
Aztec Antique & Collector Fairs Norfolk Antique 01702 549623 www.norfolkantiquefair.co.uk The Norfolk Antiques & Collector Fair, Norfolk Showground Antique and Collectors Fair Norfolk Showground, Dereham Road New Costessy,Norwich NR5 0TT, Apr 17-18 B2B Events 01636 676531 www.b2bevents.info Detling Antiques, Vintage and Collector’s Fair, Kent County Showground, Detling, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 3JF, Apr 23 -24 Continuity Fairs 01584 873634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Epsom Racecourse Antiques and Collectables Fair, Epsom Racecourse, Epsom Downs, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5LQ, Apr 5 Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fair www.dovehousefine 07952689717antiquesfairs.com Dorking Halls, Reigate Road, Dorking, Surrey, Apr 24 IACF 01636 702326 www.iacf.co.uk. Peterborough Festival of Antiques Market, The East of England Showground, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE2 6HE, Apr 15-16 Love Fairs 01293 690777 www.lovefairs.com Brighton Antiques, Collectables & Vintage Fair, Brighton Racecourse, Freshfield Road, Brighton, West Sussex, BN2 9XZ, Apr 3 Lingfield Antiques, Collectibles and Vintage Market, Lingfield Park Racecourse, Racecourse Road, Lingfield, Surrey, RH7 6PQ, Apr 3 Marcel Fairs 07887648255 www.marcelfairs.co.uk Marcel Fairs. 07887648255 www.marcelfairs.co.uk Antique & Collectors Fair, Sarratt Village Hall, The Green, WD3 6AS, Apr 10 Antique & Vintage Fair, Eagle
Farm Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 8JH, Apr 17 Melford Antiques Fair 07837 497617 www.melfordantiquesfair.co.uk Long Melford Antiques & Vintage Fair, The Old School, Hall Street, Long Melford, Suffolk, CO10 9DX, Apr 23-24 Ridgeon & Turner Ltd, 07766 331998. Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair, Keston Village Hall, Heathfield Road, Keston, Kent, BR2 6BA, Apr 18 Suffolk’s Graham Turner Antique Fairs 01379 897266 Long Melford Village Hall, Chemists Lane (Opposite Bull Hotel), Long Melford, Suffolk, CO10 9LQ, Apr 6 Sunbury Antiques 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Antiques Market, Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher, Surrey KT20 9AJ, Apr 17 SOUTH WEST including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire. AFC Fairs 07887 753956 www.antiquefairscornwall.co.uk Pensilva Antique & Collectors Fair, Millennium House, Princess Road, Pensilva, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 5NF, Apr 24 Arun Fairs 07563 589725 www.antiques-atlas.com Emsworth Antiques and Collectors Fair, North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire, PO10 7DD, Apr 10 Bath Decorative Antiques Fair 01278 784912 bathdecorativeantiquesfair.co.uk The Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath, BA2 4EU, Mar 31-Apr 3 Benson Antiques & Collectors Fair 01235 815633 Benson Parish Hall, Sunnyside, Benson, Nr Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 6LZ, Apr 17
Cameo Fairs 07790 126967 Corfe Castle Antiques & Vintage Fair, Village Hall, East Street, Corfe Castle, Dorset, BG20 5EE, Apr 3 Minstead Antique Fair, Village Hall, London Road, Minstead, Hampshire, SO43 7FX, Apr 17 Cooper Antiques Fairs 01278 784912 www.cooperevents.com The Cotswolds Decorative Antiques & Art Fair, Westonbirt School, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8QG, Apr 22-24 Continuity Fairs 01584 873634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Exeter Antique & Flea Market at Matford, The Matford Centre, Marsh Barton, Exeter, EX2 8FD, Apr 9 Marlow Antique & Vintage Fair 07394 704272 Liston Hall, Chapel Street, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 1DD, Apr 2 Stockbridge Antiques Fair Stockbridge Town Hall, High Street, Stockbridge, Hampshire, SO20 6HE, Apr 2 EAST MIDLANDS including Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland. Halcyon Fairs 01584 873634 www.halcyonfairs.co.uk Buxton Antiques & Collectors Fair, The Pavilion Gardens, St John Road, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6BE, Apr 23-24 IACF 01636 702326 www.iacf.co.uk Runway at Newark, Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY, Mar 31-Apr 1 Stags Head Events (formerly Guildhall Antiques Fairs) 07583 410862 www.stagsheadevents.co.uk Antiques & Vintage Fair, Hodson Hall, Endowed Campus, Loughborough, Leics. LE11 2DU, Apr 3 Bank Holiday Antiques & Vintage Fair, Hood Park Leisure Centre, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leics, LE65 1HU, Apr 18 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 59
THE PETWORTH PARK
ANTIQUES & FINE ART FAIR
In Partnership with 2Covet
What will you discover?
THE MARQUEE, PETWORTH PARK PETWORTH, WEST SUSSEX GU28 0QY
13-15 MAY 2022
Specialist Collectors’ Sale Wednesday, 13th April 2022
Friday 11.00 - 18.00 Saturday 10.30 - 18.00 Sunday 10.30 - 17.00
@ Wolverhampton Auction Rooms
Our next online Specialist Collectors’ sale has a focus on all things paper, including: • Books • Engravings (huge collection) • Stamps • Ephemera
Come and buy the very finest art and antiques at our annual event of distinction
Fully illustrated catalogue available online from
THE
Friday 8th April 2022
ANTIQUES DEALERS
Live online bidding via www.the-saleroom.com or www.easyliveauction.com
FAIR
LIMITED
Viewing strictly by appointment
01797 252030
- please call 01902 421985
For updates please visit www.petworthparkfair.com
Wolverhampton: 01902 421985
ww w . c u t t l e s t o n e s . c o . u k Images depict some of the lots consigned in April Specialist Collectors’ Sale. Please visit our website for the latest catalogues.
WEST MIDLANDS including Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire B2B Events 01636 676531 www.b2bevents.info Malvern Flea and Collector’s Fair, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcs, WR13 6NW, Apr 18 Coin and Medal Fairs Ltd. 01694 731781 www.coinfairs.co.uk The Midland Coin Fair, National Motorcycle Museum, Bickenhill, Birmingham, B92 0EJ, Apr 10 Mad Events Ltd 0207 384 8150 antiquesforeveryone.co.uk Art & Antiques For Everyone, NEC, Bickenhill Parkway, Birmingham, B40 1QA, Apr 7-10 NORTH including Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Yorkshire.
60 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Arthur Swallow Fairs 01298 27493 www.asfairs.com Antiques and Salvage Market, Cheshire Showground, Tabley, WA16 0HJ, Apr 23 Galloway Antiques Fairs 01423 522122 www.gallowayfairs.co.uk Antiques Fair, Duncombe Park, Helmsley, N.Yorks, YO62 5EG, Apr 1-3 V and A Fairs www.vandafairs.com 01244 659887 Nantwich Civic Hall Antique and Collectors Fair, Civic Hall Nantwich, Beam Street, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5DG, Apr 21 WALES Continuity Fairs 01584 873634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk The International Antique Home & Vintage Fair of Wales. Royal Welsh Showground, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, LD2 3NJ, Apr 30- May 1
To request your complimentary invitation for three please email AC@adfl.co.uk
Malvern Flea & Collectors Fair Three Counties Showground, Worcestershire, WR13 6NW.
Easter Monday
18th April
Cash only, entrance: 7.30am-3.30pm - £5
Detling Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair
The Kent County Showground, Detling, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 3JF.
23rd - 24th April Cash only:
Sat: Early Entry: 8.30am - £6 Sat: Entry: 10am-4.30pm - £5 Sun: 10.30am - 3.30pm - £4 Please check www.b2bevents.info in case these dates have changed or been cancelled
Tel: 01636 676531 • www.b2bevents.info
AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
LONDON: Inc. Greater London Bonhams 101 New Bond St, London W1S 1SR 020 7447 7447 www.bonhams.com Impressionist and Modern Art, Apr 7 London Jewels, Apr 27 The Library of a Collector, Apr 27 Modern and Contemporary African Fine and Rare Wines, Apr 28 Design, Apr 28 Bonhams Montpelier St, London SW7 1HH 020 7393 3900 www.bonhams.com Knightsbridge Jewels, Apr 9 Old Master Paintings, Apr 12 Modern British and Irish Art, Apr 13 Prints and Multiples, Apr 27 The Marine Sale, Apr 27 Chiswick Auctions 1 Colville Rd, Chiswick, W3 8BL, 020 8992 4442 www.chiswickauctions.co.uk Designer Handbags and Fashion, Apr 6 Autographs & Memorabilia, Apr 7 Modern & Post-War British Art, Apr 7 Fine Books & Works on Paper, Apr 13 Islamic & Indian Art, Apr 29 Christie’s 8 King St, St. James’s, SW1Y 6QT 020 7839 9060 www.christies.com Finest and Rarest Wines (Online), Apr 7-21 Dix Noonan Webb 16 Bolton St, Piccadilly, W1J 8BQ 020 7016 1700. www.dnw.co.uk Coins, Historical Medals and Antiquities, Apr 12-13 Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, Apr 30 Elmwood’s 53 Chepstow Rd, London, W2 5BP 0207 096 8933 www.elmwoods.co.uk
Fine Jewellery, Apr 6, 21 Jewellery, Apr 14, 28
Forum Auctions 220 Queenstown Road, London SW8 4LP, 020 7871 2640 www.forumauctions.co.uk Books and Works on Paper (Online) Apr 4, 21 Hansons Auctioneers The Normansfield Theatre, 2A Langdon Park, Teddington TW11 9PS, 0207 018 9300 www.hansonsauctioneers.com April Fine Art & Antiques Auction: To Include Coins, Medals, Books Stamps & Toys, Apr 30 Lyon & Turnbull Mall Galleries, The Mall, St. James’s, London SW1Y 5AS, 0207 930 9115 www.lyonandturnbull.com Lalique (Live Online), Apr 28 Modern Made: Modern British & Post-War Art, Design & Studio Ceramics (Live Online), Apr 29 Olympia Auctions 25 Blythe Road, London, W14 OPD, 020 7806 5541 www.olympiaauctions.com British & Continental Pictures, Prints & Sculpture, Apr 6 Asian Works of Art, Apr 27 Morton & Eden Nash House St. George Street, London W1S 2FQ , 020 7493 5344 www.mortonandeden.com None listed in March Phillips 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX, 020 7318 4010 www.phillips.com None listed for April Roseberys Knights Hill, Norwood, London, SE27 0JD 020 8761 2522 www.roseberys.co.uk Antiquities, Islamic Arts & Indian Arts, Apr 1 Design Decorative Arts 1860 to the Present Day, Apr 26 Impressionist & Modern Art, Apr 27 Sotheby’s New Bond St., W1 020 7293 5000 www.sothebys.com Old Masters (Online), Ends Apr 6 Easter Feast (Online), Apr 4-14 Banksy (Online), Apr 20-26 Curated Contemporary (Online), Apr 22-28
SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: Inc. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex Bishop and Miller 19 Charles Industrial Estate, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5AH, 01449 673088 www.bishopandmiller auctions.co.uk Collectable Ceramics (Timed), Ends Apr 10 Selected Antiques, Apr 13, 27 Monthly Jewellery & Silver, Apr 20 General Military & Medals (Timed), Ends Apr 24 Music (Timed), Ends Apr 24 Fine Silver, Apr 28 The Collection of Two Gentlemen, Apr 29 Bellmans Newpound, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, RH14 0AZ. 01403 700858 www.bellmans.co.uk The Friday 500, Apr 1 Wines and Spirits, Apr 11 Burstow & Hewett The Auction Gallery, Lower Lake, Battle, East Sussex,TN33 0AT, 01424 772 374 www.burstowandhewett.co.uk Home and Interiors, Collectables, Apr 6 Home and Interiors, Furniture, Apr 7 Watches & Clocks, Jewellery & Silver, Antiques & Fine Art, Apr 27 The Canterbury Auction Galleries 40 Station Road West, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 8AN, 01227 763337 canterburyauctiongalleries.com General Sale, Incl. The AE Halliwell Collection, Apr 9-11
Durrants Auctions The Old School House, Peddars Lane, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 9UE, 01502 713490 www.durrantsauctions.com Antiques and Interiors Including Art, Oriental, Ceramics, Stamps & Ephemera, Apr 1 Silver and Jewellery with Watches and Coins, Apr 8 Antique and Country Furniture with Rugs, Apr 22 Militaria, Air Guns and Firearms, Apr 29 Ewbank’s London Rd, Send, Woking, Surrey, 01483 223 101 www.ewbankauctions.co.uk Antique and Collectors, incl Silver, Apr 13 Asian Art, Apr 14 Vintage Fashion & Textiles & Sewing, Apr 14 Vintage Poster Signature Auction, Apr 15 Pictures & Prints (Timed), Apr 20 Modern Design, Apr 28 Contemporary Art, Editions & Modern British Pictures, Apr 28 Excalibur Auctions Limited Unit 16 Abbots Business Park Primrose Hill Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8FR 020 3633 0913 wwwexcaliburauctions.com
Collectable Trainers, Running Shoes & Boots (Timed Online), Apr 9-23 Gorringes 15 North Street Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2PE 01273 472503 www.gorringes.co.uk Books, Apr 12
Catherine Southon Auctioneers Farleigh Court Golf Club, Old Farleigh Road, Selsdon Surrey CR6 9PE, 0208 468 1010 www.catherinesouthon.co.uk General Auction, Apr 27
John Nicholson’s Longfield, Midhurst Road, Fernhurst, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 3HA, 01428 653727 www.johnnicholsons.com
Cheffins Clifton House, Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA 01223 213343, www.cheffins.co.uk The Jewellery, Silver & Watches Sale, Apr 7 The Interiors Sale, Apr 14 The Library Sale, Apr 28
Lacy Scott & Knight 10 Risbygate St, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3AA, 01284 748 623 www.lskauctioncentre.co.uk Homes and Interiors, Apr 2, 23 Toys & Models, Apr 29
Fine Paintings, Apr 6
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 61
AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
Lockdales Auctioneers 52 Barrack Square, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP5 3RF 01473 627110 www.locakdales.com None Listed for April Parker Fine Art Auctions Hawthorn House, East Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7SX, 01252 203020 www.parkerfineartauctions.com Fine Art, Apr 7 Summers Place, The Walled Garden, Billingshurst West Sussex, RH14 9AB, 01403 331331 www.summersplaceauctions.com None listed in April Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, CM24 8GE 01279 817778 www.sworder.co.uk Books & Maps (Timed), Apr 1-10 Modern and Contemporary Art, Apr 5 Coins & Medals (Timed Online), Apr 8-18 Home and Interiors (Online), Apr 12, 26 ‘Let There Be Light’ - The Christopher Butterworth Collection, Apr 21 Jewellery, Handbags & Accessories, Apr 27 Toovey’s Antique & Fine Art Auctioneers Spring Gardens Washington, West Sussex RH20 3BS, 01903 891955 www.tooveys.com Asian and Islamic Ceramics and Works of Art, Apr 7 T.W. Gaze Diss Auction Rooms, Roydon Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 4LN, Norfolk 01379 650306. www.twgaze.com Antiques & Interiors, Apr 1, 8, 14, 29 Blyth Barn Furniture Auction, Apr 5, 12, 19, 26 Architectural Salvage, Apr 7 Sound & Vision, Apr 12 Wines & Spirits, Apr 21 Silver, Apr 21 Rural Bygones, Apr 28
62 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
SOUTH WEST: Inc. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood St. Edmund’s Court, Okehampton Street, Exeter EX4 1DU O1392 41310 www.bhandl.co.uk Three-Day Fine Art, Apr 26-28 British Bespoke Auctions The Old Boys School, Gretton Rd, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, GL54 5EE 01242 603005 www.bespokeauctions.co.uk Silver, Jewellery & Collectables, Apr 7 Books & Annuals (Timed), Apr 12-19 Chippenham Auction Rooms Unit H, The Old Laundry. Ivy Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire. SN15 1SB 01249 444544 chippenhamauctionrooms.co.uk Antiques & Objets d’art, Apr 30 Chorley’s Prinknash Abbey Park, Gloucestershire, GL4 8EU 01452 344499 www.chorleys.com Modern Art & Design, Apr 26 David Lay Auctions Penzance Auction House , Alverton, Penzance, Cornwall 01736 361414 www.davidlay.co.uk The Julia & Sven Berlin Collection, Apr 7 Oak & Country Sale, Apr 21
Dore & Rees Auction Salerooms, Vicarage Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1PU, 01373 462 257 wwwdoreandrees.com Select Interiors, Apr 13 Automobilia, Apr 27 Dreweatts Donnington Priory Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE 01635 553 553 www.dreweatts.com Fine Art (Timed Online), Apr 12-22 Duke’s Brewery Square, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1GA 01305 265080 www.dukes-auctions.com Avenue Auctions, Apr 12 Spring Fine Art, Apr 28 Art & Design post 1880, Apr 29 East Bristol Auctions Unit 1, Hanham Business Park, Memorial Road, Hanham, BS15 3JE 0117 967 1000 www.eastbristol.co.uk Jewellery, Gold and Silver, Apr 6 Two-Day Toys, Apr 22-23 Gardiner Houlgate 9 Leafield Way, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9SW, 01225 812912 www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk Vintage & General, Apr 21 Hansons Auctioneers 49 Parsons Street, Banbury, Oxford, OX16 5NB, 01295 817777 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk April Fine Art & Collectors Auction, Apr 2
Jewellery, Silver & Watches, Apr 21 Fine Art, Antiques & Asian Art, Apr 28
Killens Mendip Auction Rooms, Rookery Farm, Roemead Road, Binegar, Somerset BA3 4UL, 01749 840770 wwwmendipauctionrooms.com Interiors and Collectables, Apr 5 Fine Art, Antiques & Militaria, Apr 9 Classic Cars, Motorcycles and Automobilia, Apr 30
Dominic Winter Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 5UQ 01285 860006 www.dominicwinter.co.uk Printed Books, Maps, Early English and Continental Literature & Science, Apr 6
Kinghams 10-12 Cotswold Business Village, London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucester, GL56 0JQ, 01608 695695 www.kinghamsauctioneers.com Jewellery, Watches and Designer Goods, Apr 22
Dawsons Kings Grove Estate, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 4DP 01628 944100 www.dawsonsauctions.co.uk
Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd. Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 8AB, 01460 703041 www.lawrences.co.uk Silver & Vertu, Apr 5 Pictures, 19th/20th Century Design & Ceramics, Apr 6 Jewellery & Watches, Apr 7 Furniture, Clocks & Rugs, Apr 8 General Sale, Apr 20, 27 Mallams Oxford Bocardo House, St Michael’s St, Oxford. 01865 241358 www.mallams.co.uk Art & Music, Apr 6 Mallams Cheltenham, 26 Grosvenor St, Cheltenham. Gloucestershire, 01242 235 712 www.mallams.co.uk Chinese Works of Art, Apr 28 Asian & Islamic Works of Art, Apr 28 Mallams Abingdon Dunmore Court, Wootten Road, Abingdon, OX13 6BH 01235 462840 www. mallams.co.uk Homes & Interiors, Apr 25 Michael J Bowman Chudleigh Town Hall, Chudleigh Newton Abbot, Devon TQ13 0HL, 01626 295107 www.michaeljbowman.co.uk None listed for April Moore Allen & Innocent Burford Road Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5RH 01285 646050 www.mooreallen.co.uk Vintage and Antique Furniture with Interiors, Apr 6-7 Vintage and Antique Furniture with Interiors (Timed), Apr 8 Philip Serrell Barnards Green Rd, Malvern, Worcs. WR14 3LW, 01684 892314 www.serrell.com Interiors, Apr 7, 28 Stroud Auctions Bath Rd, Trading Est, Bath Rd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 3QF 01453 873 800 www.stroudauctions.co.uk Toys, Vinyl Records, Musical Instruments, Pictures & Paintings, Books, Ephemera & Stamps, Apr 6-7
The Pedestal The Dairy, Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 6HF, 01491 522733 www.thepedestal.com Spring Auction (Timed), Ends Apr 5 Special Auction Services Plenty Close, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5RL 01635 580 595 wwwspecialauctionservices. Antiques and Collectables, Apr 5 Glorious Trains Part One, Apr 12 Photographica & Camera, Apr 28 Wessex Auction Rooms Westbrook Far, Draycot Cerne Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 5LH, 01249 720888 www.wessexauctionrooms.co.uk Antiques, Collectables & Furniture, Apr 2, 23 Vinyl Records, CD’s & Memorabilia, Apr 22 Woolley & Wallis, 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, 01722 424500 www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk Jewellery, Apr 7 Silver & Objects of Vertu, Apr 12-13 English & European Ceramics & Glass, Apr 26 African & Oceanic Art/Antiquities, Apr 27 EAST MIDLANDS: Inc. Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Sheffield Bamfords The Derby Auction House, Chequers Road, Derby, DE21 6EN, 01332 210 000 www.bamfords-auctions.co.uk Spring Garden Auction, Apr 1 Three-Day Fine Art and Antique Auction, Including the Lady Elizabeth Hart Collection and The Wallace Collection of Oriental Art, Apr 21, 22 & 25 Batemans Ryhall Rd, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XF 01780 766 466 www.batemans.com Antiques and Collectors, Apr 2 Golding Young & Mawer The Bourne Auction Rooms, Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9LE 01778 422686 www.goldingyoung.com Bourne Collective Sale, Apr 13 Bourne Collective Sale Part Two, Apr 14
Golding Young & Mawer The Grantham Auction Rooms, Old Wharf Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 7AA, 01476 565118 www.goldingyoung.com Grantham Collective Sale, Apr 6 Grantham Collective Sale Part Two, Apr 7 Golding Young & Mawer The Lincoln Auction Rooms, Thos Mawer House, Station Road North Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 3QY, 01522 524984 www.goldingyoung.com Lincoln Collective Sale, Apr 20 Lincoln Collective Sale Part Two, Apr 21 Important Library Sale, The Property of a Gentleman, Apr 27 Hansons Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS 01283 733988 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Antique and Collectors, Apr 11-14 Toy & Camera, Apr 20-21 Clocks, Apr 26 Asian Auction: To Include an Old West Country Private Collection of Chinese Porcelain, The Property of a Late Bristol Gentlemen, Apr 28 WEST MIDLANDS: Inc. Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers The Old School, Tiddington, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 7AW 01789 269415 www.bigwoodauctioneers.com Furnishings & Collectables, Apr 1, 8 Cuttlestones Ltd Wolverhampton Auction Rooms, No 1 Clarence Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 4JL, 01902 421985 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Specialist Collecors, Apr 13 Cuttlestones Ltd Pinfold Lane, Penkridge Staffordshire ST19 5AP, 01785 714905 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Antiques & Interiors, Apr 6, 20 Fellows Augusta House, 19 Augusta Street, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6JA 0121 212 2131. www.fellows.co.uk
Two-Day Jewellery (Timed), Apr 5-6 Watches & Watch Accessories (Timed), Apr 11 Two-Day Jewellery (Timed), Apr 19-20 Two-Day Jewellery & Costume Jewellery (Timed), Apr 26-27 Fieldings Mill Race Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 1JN 01384 444140 www.fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk Fine Art, Antiques & Collectables, Apr 21-22 Halls Bowmen Way, Battlefield, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 3DR 01743 450700 www.hallsgb.com/fine-art.com Modern & Contemporary Art (Timed), Starts Apr 14 Hansons Auctioneers Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST18 0XN, 0208 9797954 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Fine Art & Antique Auction: Including Toys & Nostalgia, Apr 27 Potteries Auctions Unit 4A, Aspect Court, Silverdale Enterprise Park, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6SS, 01782 638100 www.potteriesauctions.com Two Day Fine Art Auction of 20th Century British Pottery, Jewellery, Watches, Works of Art, Collectors’ Items, & Antique Furniture, Apr 8-9 Trevanion The Joyce Building, Station Rd, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 1RD, 01928 800 202 www.trevanion.com Fine Art and Antiques, Apr 27 NORTH: Inc. Cheshire, Co. Durham, Cumbria, Humberside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Sheffield, Yorkshire Adam Partridge Withyfold Drive, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2BD 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Two Day Auction of Fine Paintings and Northern Art with Furniture & Interiors, Apr 13-14 One Day Auction of Studio Ceramics, Apr 29 Adam Partridge The Liverpool Saleroom, 18 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 OBP 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk
Maritime and Rock & Pop with Antiques & Collectors’ Items, Apr 6-7 Anderson and Garland Crispin Court, Newbiggin Lane, Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 1BF, 0191 432 1911 www.andersonandgarland.com Homes and Interiors, Apr 5, 26 The Pictures Auction (TImed), Ends Apr 24 Capes Dunn The Auction Galleries, 40 Station Road, Heaton Mersey, SK4 3QT. 0161 273 1911 www.capesdunn.com Interiors, Vintage, & Modern Furniture, Apr 4, 19 Collectors, Apr 5 Northern Artists & Modern Art, Apr 20 David Duggleby Auctioneers The Gallery Saleroom, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1XN, 01723 507 111 www.davidduggleby.com Jewellery, Watches, Silver & Coins, Apr 7, 28 Decorative Antiques and Collectors, Apr 8 Affordable Art, Apr 8 Collectors & Clearance, Apr 8, 29 The Furnishings Sale, Furniture, Interiors & Clocks, Apr 9 Toys, Diecast Model Cars, Dolls & Vintage Teddy Bears, Apr 22 Duggleby Stephenson of York The Saleroom, Murton, York YO19 5GF, 01904 393 300 www.dugglebystephenson.com Fine & Affordable Art, Apr 1 Furniture, Clocks & Interiors, Apr 1 Coins, Banknotes & Stamps, Apr 4 Collectors & Clearance, Apr 13 Elstob & Elstob Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1AJ, 01677 333003 www.elstobandelstob.co.uk Fine Art & Antiques, Apr 14 Maxwells The Auction Rooms, Levens Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 5DL, 0161 439 5182 www.maxwells-auctioneers.com Monthly Collective Antiques, Apr 12-13 Mitchells Antiques and Fine Art 47 Station Road, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9PZ 01900 827 800 www.mitchellsantiques.co.uk Home and Garden, Apr 7, 14 Country Sporting Sale, Apr 27-29 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 63
AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
Sheffield Auction Gallery Windsor Road, Heeley, Sheffield, S8 8UB, 0114 281 6161 www.sheffieldauctiongallery.com Antiques and Collectables, filming with BBC Bargain Hunt , Apr 1 Silver, Jewellery and Watches, Apr 13, 28 The Collectors’ Auction, Apr 13 Antiques and Collectables, Apr 14, 29 Specialist Collectable Coins, Apr 28 Omega Auctions Ltd Sankey Valley Industrial Estate, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside WA12 8DN, 01925 873040 www.omegaauctions Music Memorabilia, Apr 19 Rare & Collectable Vinyl Records, Apr 20 Music Memorabilia & Vinyl Showcase, Apr 26 Tennants Auctioneers The Auction Centre, Harmby Road, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 5SG. 01969 623780 www.tennants.co.uk Toys & Models, Sporting & Fishing, Apr 6 Antiques and Interiors to Include Beswick & Border Fine Arts, Apr 9 Natural History & Taxidermy, Apr 20 Country House, Apr 22-23 Jewellery, Watches & Silver, Apr 23 Antiques & Interiors, Apr 29 Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, Marconi Road, Burgh Road Industrial Estate, Carlisle, CA2 7NA, 01228 535 288 www.thompsonroddick.com Antiquarian & Collectable Books, Apr 7 Vectis Auctions Ltd Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton on Tees, TS17 9JZ, 01642 750616 www.vectis.co.uk Specialist Diecast, Apr 12 Matchbox Models of Yesteryear, Apr 20 Dolls & Teddy Bears, Apr 21 Model Trains, Apr 22 General Toys, Apr 26 Matchbox Sale, Apr 27 TV and Film-Related Sale, Apr 28
64 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Wilkinson’s Auctioneers The Old Salesroom, 28 Netherhall Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 2PW, 01302 814 884 wilkinsons-auctioneers.co.uk Decorative Sale, Apr 24
Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, 118 Carnethie Street, Rosewell, Edinburgh, EH24 9AL, 0131 440 2448 www.thompsonroddick.com None listed for April
Wilson55 Victoria Gallery, Market St, Nantwich, Cheshire. 01270 623 878 www.wilson55.com Spring Designer, Luxury & Fashion (Timed), Apr 7 Firearms, Shotguns, Airguns, Arms and Militaria, Apr 28
Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, Irongray Road, Dumfries, DG2 0JE 01387 721635 www.thompsonroddick.com Home Furnishings & Interiors, Apr 12, 26
SCOTLAND Bonhams 22 Queen St, Edinburgh. EH2 1JX 0131 225 2266 www.bonhams.com None listed in April Lyon & Turnbull 33 Broughton Place, Edinburgh. EH1 3RR, 0131 557 8844 www.lyonandturnbull.com Contemporary & Post-War Art (Live Online), Apr 6 Prints & Multiples (Live Online), Apr 6 Design Since 1860 (Live Online), Apr 20 McTears Auctioneers 31 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow, G51 4GB, 0141 810 2880 www.mctears.co.uk Paintings, Drawings & Prints (Online), Starts Apr 6 Coins & Banknotes, Apr 7 Antiques and Interiors, Apr 8, 22 Jewellery, Apr 10, 29 Watches & Military Watches, Apr 10 Whisky, Apr 15 The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction, Apr 17 Scottish Pictures, Apr 21 Militaria, Apr 27 British & International Pictures, Apr 27 Clocks & Instruments, Apr 28 Fine Furniture & Works of Art, Apr 28 Toys, Pop Culture & Railwayana, Apr 28 Sporting Medals & Trophies, Apr 29
WALES Anthemion Auctions, 15 Norwich Road, Cardiff, CF23 9AB. 029 2047 2444 www.anthemionauction.com Ceramics, Glass, Paintings, Furniture, Clocks, Works of Art, Books, Sporting Memorabilia, Apr 6 Fine and Antique Auction to include Jewellery, Silver, Ceramics, Glass, Paintings, Furniture, Clocks, Art, Memorabilia, Apr 13
Jones & Llewelyn Unit B, Beechwood Trading Estate, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 7HR, 01558 823 430 www.jonesandllewelyn.com General Sale, Apr 2, 16, 30 Rogers Jones & Co 17 Llandough Trading Estate, Penarth, Cardiff, CF11 8RR, 02920 708125 www.rogersjones.co.uk Jewellery & Collectables, Apr 8 Fine Art and Interiors, Apr 29 IRELAND
Adam’s Adam’s, 26, Stephens Green, Dublin 2, D02 X665, Ireland 00 353-1-6760261 www.whytes.ie The Library Sale, Apr 12 Fine Vintage Wine & Spirits, Apr 26 Asian Arts, & Antiques, Apr 29
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WHAT ARE YOUR VALUABLES WORTH? We are now accepting entries for our April & May auctions. Get in touch for a complimentary auction estimate.
FORTHCOMING AUCTIONS JEWELLERY, SILVER & WATCHES Thursday 21st April 9.30am
FINE ART,, ANTIQUES & ASIAN ART Thursday 28th April 9.30am
VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT Monday to Wednesday 10am - 5pm prior to each sale at our showroom in Berkshire.
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A RARE 11.03ct DIAMOND THREE-STONE KUTCHINSKY’S RING SOLD FOR £51,000
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Antique collecting-preview.indd 1
25/02/2022 12:53
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J Alderman. Daws and George Minterspindles recliningand chairs. Shoolbred/ Hamptons staircase handrail needed. Anything/ Cornelius Georgian Smith Victorian with armchairs. or Regency lots of character considered. Marble fire surrounds. Georgian / Regency/ William IV. Bullseyes etc. Exceptional Georgian / Regency fire grates
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VINTAGE VINTAGE WRISTWATCHES WRISTWATCHES Omega Seamasters and pre-1980s Omegas in general. Omega Seamasters and pre-1980s Omegas in general. IWC and Jaeger LeCoultres, all styles. Looking for Reversos. American market filled IWC and Jaeger LeCoultres, all styles. Looking for Reversos. American market filled and 14k pieces possibly, at the right price. and 14k pieces possibly, at the right price. Breitling Breitling Top TopTimes, Times,Datoras Datorasand and806 806Navitimers. Navitimers. Pre-1960s Rolex models, with a focus in pre-war Pre-1960s Rolex models, with a focus in pre-wartanks, tanks,tonneaus tonneausetc. etc. Gold Gold or or silver/steel. silver/steel.Also AlsoWorld WorldWar WarIIRolex Rolex13 13lignes lignesetc. etc.Princes. Princes.
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LAST WORD Marc Allum
Marc My Words To re-upholster or not, that was the question facing Marc this month. It’s the green solution but watch out for the dead mice Left Marc’s ‘comfy
chair’ had a recent facelift Below right Restoring
an old chair can pose all sorts of questions, image Shutterstock Below far right Re-
upholstery is the green option, image Shutterstock
I
have an old, boxy-looking, early 19th-century upholstered William IV armchair in the kitchen. It’s known as the ‘comfy seat’ and was bought at auction a couple of decades ago for very little money. It was re-upholstered in toile printed on cotton by Marvic textiles in the colour charcoal (although I believe there are several colourways) in a design called Les Vues De Paris. As such, it enjoyed several incarnations: as a salon chair out in France and now in its present position as a favourite perch for the cat. However, within the space of a week, I sat on it, a back caster sheared off, and the webbing collapsed underneath, leaving a Moon-sized crater in the centre, thus turning my rather elegant looking chair into a lopsided disaster.
Build a rapport Luckily, I’d had arm covers made for it on its first revamp. Believe it or not I’d even saved enough fabric to have two new ones made. I’m not a fan of antimacassars so the back is a little discoloured but I can live with that. With a new pin in the caster (which I did myself), new webbing and some spring re-alignment underneath and arm covers made by our amazing upholsterer, the bill was just £150. And guess what? I’ll now have another 20 years’ use out of it. In fact, it might outlast me. So you can guess what I am going to advocate. It’s often worth spending a little extra to get something you enjoy which will have some stylish longevity. Of course, you can use less-expensive fabric and perhaps, when you build a rapport with your local upholsterer, a steady stream of chairs might lead to a working discount. The added plus is your antique chair will have some residual value, as well as the use you will gain from it – unlike most modern upholstery.
Dead mice But what are the downsides of using old upholstered furnishings? Well, I always put my hand down the inside to see if anybody over the decades has dropped anything interesting in the recesses of a chair or sofa. I actually found a £5 coin down the back of a chair recently. On the other hand, I once discovered a nest of desiccated dead mice. Old chairs have often seen some life. Safe to say that if you go down the re-upholstery route it’s your upholsterer that deals with the dead mice. It’s also worth noting that some vintage furniture comes under the fire safety regulations. Check online if you are in any doubt. Marc Allum is an author, lecturer and specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, for more details go to www.marcallum.co.uk
Green solution It’s an argument I’ve had on many occasions: whether to spend the money on upholstery or not. I know that it can be expensive and although it might only cost a £100 or £200 to buy a big old Victorian armchair at auction, four meters of very good fabric at £90 per metre and £350 for the upholsterer to do their work and you are banging on the door of £1,000. Yet, breathing life into an old chair is pretty satisfying. It’s very green, too. And as my poor old armchair keeled over, saving it was my automatic default. After all, I’d had 20 years of solid use out of it already and it’s been around for 200! Napoleon might even have sat on it!
66 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
‘Within the space of a week, I sat on it, a back caster sheared off, and the webbing collapsed underneath, leaving a Moon-sized crater in the centre, thus turning my rather elegant looking chair into a lop-sided disaster’