Antique Collecting magazine February 2022

S E C R E T S O F A G E O R G E I I I B O O K C A S E B E S T CO L U M N I S T S S U B S C R I B E R O F F E R S

FEBRUARY 2022

THE GREAT POTTERY SHOW DOWN One of the finest collections of British studio ceramics goes on display

Inside:

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

LALIQUE PERFUME BOTTLES TO OWN EASTERN PROMISE CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Shining a light

VOL 56 N0.8 FEB 2022

Why switched-on collectors love the Anglepoise lamp

CHRISTINA TREVANION JEWELLERY TO WIN HER HEART

VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL

WHEN NIT COMBS WERE THE MOST ROMANTIC GIFT

POT TER MANIA

Forget Harry, why Beatrix is getting collectors in a spin

ALSO INSIDE Preview of the oddest sale ever • Auction results • Antiques puzzles

FIRST WORD

Welcome Over the years I have heard many reasons as to why we collect (knowledge and learning, relaxation and stress reduction, nostalgia, pride of ownership…) but collecting as a surrogate family is new to me. Such was the reason put forth by the legendary Yorkshire collector of British studio pottery, W.A. Ismay, who died in 2001, and part of whose outstanding 3,500-piece collection is on show in York this month. Certainly, Ismay’s family of pots cluttered his kitchen and home in the same way as actual offspring – each bringing their own stories and memories. And, certainly, in a less prosaic way, lack of children does give the would-be collector the space, and money, to build up a collection.

Whatever Ismay’s reasons for collecting, we should be grateful he did, and even more so that he left his monumental collection to the city of York. Have a look at the feature on page 28.

This month sees the unveiling of one of the first landmark V&A exhibitions of the year, this one devoted to the illustrator and author Beatrix Potter. If you grew up with her tales and still have her books knocking around you could be sitting on a small fortune. Turn to page 16 to see which editions are most sought after by collectors. (You will also discover how the creator of Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail once used chloroform to kill a rabbit – to study it – and went on to help stuff her brother’s bat.)

On a lighter note, this month will see lovers everywhere exchange gifts on Valentine’s Day. On page 22, Christina Trevanion presents her guide to lovers’ jewellery down the ages and on page 34, we consider how the humble nit comb was once considered the key to a beloved’s heart.

Resident columnist Marc Allum considers the joys of joining a club on page 66, and on page 40 we put the design classic of the Anglepoise lamp firmly in the spotlight.

Enjoy the issue.

IN THIS ISSUE

JOY MCCALL

previews a magnificent collection of perfume bottles

by René Lalique, p 24

DR PHILIP W. ERRINGTON

considers the collecting power of Beatrix Potter, p 16

OTTO BILLSTRÖM

shines a light on the design classic – the Anglepoise lamp, p 40

Georgina Wroe, Editor

JOHN MAKEPEACE

The renowned British furniture maker looks back on his career, p 46

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

We love

This Martin brothers “Wally bird” tobacco jar, dated 1902, which has an estimate of £15,000-£20,000 at Tennants’ sale on February 26

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

PARKER

FINE ART AUCTIONS

Hawthorn House | East Street | Farnham | Surrey | GU9 7SX

MONTHLY SALES of FINE PAINTINGS TO SELL WITH US: £10 plus VAT PER LOT (no other charges) parkerfineartauctions.com info@parkerfineartauctions.com 01252 20 30 20

Sold for £19,000

Contents VOL 57 NO 8 FEBRUARY 2022

THIS MONTH

REGULARS 3

Editor’s Welcome: Georgina Wroe introduces this month’s issue, which includes a celebration of Valentine’s Day this February

6 Antique News: A round-up of what’s happening in the world of antiques and fine art this month

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56 Book Offers: Save more than 30 per cent on the price of the latest mustread titles from our sister publisher ACC Art Books

Your Letters: A delve into the postbag unearths correspondence on a model horse and gift vouchers for dealers

12 Around the Houses: Recent sales include a rare Celtic war trumpet and a ceramic cat by Louis Wain 22 Lots of Love: In romantic mood, Christina Trevanion takes a look at lovers’ jewels for Valentine’s Day

6 S E C R E T S O F A G E O R G E I I I B O O K C A S E B E S T CO L U M N I S T S S U B S C R I B E R O F F E R S

FEBRUARY 2022

THE GREAT POTTERY SHOW DOWN One of the finest collections of British studio ceramics goes on display

Inside:

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

LALIQUE PERFUME BOTTLES TO OWN ROARING SUCCESS CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE TIGER

40

ANTIQUE COLLECTING VOL 56 N0.8 FEB 2022

CHRISTINA TREVANION JEWELLERY TO WIN HER HEART

VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL

WHEN NIT COMBS WERE THE MOST ROMANTIC GIFT

POTTER MANIA

Forget Harry, why Beatrix is getting collectors in a spin

ALSO INSIDE Preview of the oddest sale ever • Auction results • Antiques puzzles

24 Saleroom Spotlight: Joy McCall reviews a single-owner collection of perfume bottles by René Lalique 26 Waxing Lyrical: David Harvey puts an impressive George III bookcase into focus

12

38 Puzzle Pages: Pit your wits against our quiz and crossword setter Peter Wade-Wright

Alan Caiger-Smith, Teapot, 1960. © Estate of Alan Caiger-Smith.

Photo by Philip Sayer

@AntiqueMag

16

34

Subscription Offer: Save 50 percent on the annual cost of the magazine and receive a book worth £60 free of charge

60 Auction calendar: All the latest listings from the UK’s salerooms 64 Fairs Calendar: Never miss an event taking place near you 66 Marc My Words: Antiques Roadshow’s Marc Allum is in praise of joining a club in 2022

16 Natural Talent: On the eve of a new exhibition Dr Philip W. Errington reveals the collecting power of the author and illustrator Beatrix Potter 28

COVER

FOLLOW US

59

Top of the Lots: A mummified cat, a portrait of the French queen Marie Antoinette and an ancient Egyptian headrest all go under the hammer this month

FEATURES

33 Market Report: What does 2022 hold in store for UK fairs?

Shining a light

Why switched-on collectors love the Anglepoise lamp

45 An Auctioneer’s Lot: Charles Hanson celebrates the incredible work of the Austro-British potter Lucie Rie

A Clay in the Life: Part of the amazing collection of post-war British studio pottery amassed by W.A. Ismay is on show this month

34 Comb Lover: Of all lovers’ gifts over the centuries, is the nit comb the oddest? Antique Collecting reports 40 Perfect Poise: Shining a light on the design classic of the Anglepoise lamp and the models collectors need to look out for 46 Seats of Learning: Holly Johnson pays tribute to the furniture maker John Makepeace, 45 years since the creation of his School for Craftsmen in Wood 51 Tiger Feat: With February 1 heralding the start of the Year of the Tiger, we report on its representation in Asian art

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NEWS All the latest

TUNNEL VISION

WHAT’S GOING ON IN FEBRUARY

ANTIQUE

news

From a new silverware and jewellery archive, to the latest exhibitions – we preview the best of this month’s events Stone ranger A major exhibition on Stonehenge which aims to shed light on the mysterious stone circle near Salisbury is unveiled this month.

Built 4,500 years ago – at the same time as the Great Pyramid of Giza – Stonehenge is the world’s most sophisticated prehistoric stone circle and one of the most famous landmarks on the planet. But much about it is still shrouded in uncertainty, speculation and folklore.

From February 17 to July 17 the British Museum hosts The World of Stonehenge bringing the story of the Wiltshire attraction into focus, revealing how prehistoric Britain was more sophisticated than previously thought. For more information go to www.britishmuseum.org

6 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Grounds around

Beckford’s Tower, home to the newly-discovered grotto © Tom Burrows Below The Salisbury monument shares its secrets for the first time, image Shutterstock

A long-lost tunnel in gardens around a famous Bath landmark has been restored and is set to open to the public later this year.

Last August, the Bath Preservation Trust (BPT) discovered a grotto tunnel underneath William Beckford’s extraordinary tower, which was created in 1827 to house his library and art collection.

BPT’s director, Simon Butler, said: “While not quite on a par with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, it was a wonderful moment, to finally be able to see the entrance to the tunnel.”

Renowned collector, Beckford rode to the tower accompanied by his pack of spaniels from his home in Lansdown Crescent, giving rise to the name Beckford’s Ride. The tower reopens to the public on March 5 for weekend visits. For more details to www. beckfordstower.org.uk

Left Eric Ravilious (1903-

1942) Train Landscape, 1939 © Aberdeen City Council Right Frances Hodgkins (1869-1947) Portrait of Cedric Morris, 1930.

Towner Eastbourne Below far left Eric

Ravilious (1903-1942) Hardware, 1938. Courtesy of The Ingram Collection, photo credit © JP Bland Below left Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) The Carnation House, Kew, 1938 © The British Council

3 to see in

February

1Extraordinary Eric

An exhibition reflecting the amazing body of work created by the artist and designer Eric Ravilious (19031942) opens in Hampshire this month.

The Winchester Discovery Centre is hosting Extraordinary Everyday: The Art & Design of Eric Ravilious from February 18 to May 15.

Ravilious was only 39 when he died on active service, leaving an incredible legacy across the fields of fine art and design.

Some 80 years after his death, the new Hampshire Cultural Trust exhibition explores the work of the talented painter, designer, ceramicist, book-illustrator, and wood-engraver.

3

Groupthink

Work by the writers, artists and thinkers of the Bloomsbury Group are showcased in a new exhibition in Sheffield.

Beyond Bloomsbury: Life, Love and Legacy brings together more than 140 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by Virginia Woolf, her sister Vanessa Bell, Dora Carrington, Roger Fry and Duncan Grant – all members of the infuential group.

The exhibition continues at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield until February 13 before going to the York Art Gallery from March 4 to June 5.

2

Art school

Artists who studied at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in Hadleigh are celebrated in a new exhibition at the Suffolk school.

Lucian Freud, Maggi Hambling and John Nash were among the artists who enrolled at the school established in 1940 by Cedric Morris and his partner Arthur LettHaines in their home, Benton End. Through the 1940s and ‘50s the 16th-century building and art school was home to a diverse group of artists, writers, and horticulturalists.

The exhibition continues until April 18.

Above right Benton End with the iris Benton Apollo bred by Cedric Morris. Courtesy of the Benton End House & Garden Trust Right Glyn Morgan, (1926-2015) Cedric Morris in his Garden, c.1957, Ipswich Borough Council Museums and Galleries © the Estate of Glyn Morgan / Bridgeman Images

A George Charles Beresford (1864-1938) Virginia Woolf, 1902 © National Portrait Gallery

B C

B Gwen Raverat (1885-

1957) John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes, c.

1908 © National Portrait Gallery

A

C Vanessa Bell (1879-

1961) View of the Pond at Charleston, East Sussex, 1919, oil on canvas. © The Estate of Vanessa Bell

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 7

NEWS All the latest

Behind the scenes

Locked-away paintings, sculpture and decorative artworks from Britain’s private country houses and collections can now be accessed online, thanks to a new archive.

The Paul Mellon Centre has launched the scheme featuring more than 100,000 digitised photographs of British art and architecture, sketchbooks, past exhibitions and even recent TV shows.

The resource can be accessed at https:// photoarchive.paulmellon-centre.ac.uk Above Still from Fake or

Fortune?, Series 8, episode one: The Lost Gainsborough, broadcast on BBC One on July 25, 2019

Going underground Railwayana fans have a chance to explore four of London’s lost underground stations this spring with new tours of Down Street, Euston, Moorgate and Aldwych.

London Transport Museum (LTM) has resumed its Hidden London tours after a hiatus of almost two-years due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

Above left Down Street Station in Mayfair is now a shop Above LTM’s underground tours are restarting after the pandemic

Marley host London’s Saatchi Gallery stages an exhibition on the world’s best-known reggae singer Bob Marley (1945-1981) this month. With never-beforeseen photographs and family memorabilia, Bob Marley: One Love Experience is on at the gallery for 10 weeks before starting a multi-city tour.

Last May marked the 40th anniversary of Marley’s death of cancer in Miami, aged 36, in 1981. The musician arrived in Britain in 1972 with The Wailers in the hope of launching their international career. For more details go to www.bobmarleyexp.com Right Bob Marley playing football, credit Adrian Boot

30 seconds with...

Charlotte Glyde from Salisbury-based auctioneers Woolley & Wallis’ jewellery department Do you have a favourite jeweller?

It would have to be the AngloItalian designer Andrew Grima (1921-2007) who changed the way people perceived jewellery, not just in Britain, but around the globe, and is consequently widely regarded as the father of modern jewellery.

Grima returned from serving in WWII to discover art schools were largely closed. With no formal training, he was not constrained by traditional ideas and, being self taught, his approach to jewellery design was fresh, bold and extremely innovative. Grima jewels were unlike anything being

8 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

A 90-minute tour will allow intrepid visitors to discover defunct underground locations, including Down Street station, located between Hyde Park Corner and Green Park.

Down Street was a working station from 1907 to 1932 and became critical to winning WWII when it was transformed into the Railway Executive Committee’s bomb-proof headquarters. It also sheltered Winston Churchill and his cabinet during the height of the Blitz.

LTM has also launched a new season of secret tours of central London, including a walking tour of Covent Garden, Kingsway, Lincoln’s Inn Fields and Victoria Embankment.

For more details go to www.ltmuseum.co.uk

produced in the UK in the post-war period.

Known for his striking designs combining large gemstones and bold yellow gold mounts his work was strikingly original in terms of form, colour – everything!

What’s the piece you would most like to find?

A piece of jewellery or vertu by a well-known designer-maker such as René Lalique. It’s the wonderful feeling of seeing something in gouache illustrations, or publications, and then seeing them in the flesh. Designs are always so much more magnificent than I imagine.

Do you own a special piece?

I own a 19th-century ‘pool-of-light’ rock crystalmounted gold locket pendant, which contains a four-leaf clover that I found while studying for my gemmology exams. I treasure it.

What is currently selling well?

Signed jewellery generally and anything antique that is good quality and in good

condition. White diamonds and coloured stones with certification continue to be popular with collectors.

The timelessness of the art deco period means its jewels are still coveted 100 years after being made. Signed pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Boucheron continue to do well, showing that collectors like to protect themselves with the security of quality that comes from these big houses.

Are there any under-the-radar designers waiting to be discovered?

We mostly specialise in antique and vintage jewellery but there are so many amazing modern jewellers today who are doing exciting things. I can’t wait for the 2022 Goldsmiths’ Fair this September to see what designers have been up to in the last couple of years making the antiques of the future.

Woolley & Wallis’s next sale is fine porcelain and pottery on February 9.

TREASURE CHEST

Rarely-displayed treasures once owned by the leading Regency architect and prolific collector Sir John Soane go on show for the first time next month.

Hidden Masterpieces, on until June 5 at the central London museum, is made up of objects which are rarely displayed due to their sensitivity to light.

Work has also begun at the museum on the restoration of what will be the oldest example of an architectural drawing office.

For more details go to www.soane.org

Team effort One of the country’s most important archaeological sites at Sutton Hoo has joined forces with the long-running series Time Team.

It’s hoped new, non-invasive geophysics surveys will reveal more about the Anglo Saxon site in Suffolk, including its royal burial ground.

Seven years after the last episode of the Channel 4 show, the archaeological series is set to return on YouTube.

Photogrammetry, which extracts 3D

information from photographs and aerial cam will help bring the landscape to life.

For more details go to www.nationaltrust. org.uk/sutton-hoo Above left Time Team’s (L-R) John Gater, Jimmy Adcock and Mike Langton at Sutton Hoo Above The National Trust and Time Team hopes to

shed new light on the famous Suffolk site

OPEN BOOKS

Above The dome area in Sir John Soane’s Museum, photo Gareth Gardner

Norfolk hoards A hoard of more than 130 Anglo-Saxon gold coins found in west Norfolk is set to be the largest find of coins from the period in England.

Buried shortly after AD 600, the hoard consisted mainly of Frankish and Byzantine coins, along with a gold bracteate (a type of stamped pendant), a small gold bar and two other pieces of gold which were probably parts of larger items of jewellery.

At the time England was divided into kingdoms of which the East Angles (including modern Norfolk and Suffolk) was one of the most important.

Below The Anglo Saxon hoard could be the biggest of its era ever discovered in England

The UK’s only specialist library dedicated to jewellery, silver and hallmarking has been made accessible to the public online.

15,000 books and journals from the Goldsmiths’ Company library, including material dating back to the 14th century, is now available digitally.

Librarian, Eleni Bide, said: “Improving access to our records is key to inspire and educate the next generation of craftspeople, as well as providing invaluable resources for students, researchers and academics.”

The impressive collection includes

Above The Goldsmiths’ Company

library has gone online

the archive of the Sheffield-born silversmith Omar Ramsden; About Time by the jeweller Andrew Grima; and a biography of the celebrated Turkish jeweller Sevan Biçakçi by Vivienne Becker.

Plot thickens Described as “the biggest attraction to open in the capital since the Shard” there’s a chance to step back in time this May to experience the Tower of London as it was in 1605 – the date of the Gunpowder Plot.

Live actors, virtual reality and special effects will tell the story of Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament to kill King James I and his government.

The action takes place in a purpose-built theatre space opposite the famous tower where Fawkes and other Gunpowder conspirators were imprisoned, tortured and killed.

For more details and tickets go to www.gunpowderimmersive.com Right The Tower of London is the

backdrop for the immersive experience

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 9

LETTERS Have your say

Your Letters This month’s postbag asks if subscribers can help a clumsy reader and one suggestion for antique dealers

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

How about this for progress? My local antiques retailer in Essex offered Christmas gift vouchers this year. It didn’t take me long to spend the generous amount given to me by a friend. Such a great idea and one I’d love to pass on to other dealers.

Claire Pincer, Shoeburyness, by email I fully understand aucton houses like in these difficult times to save money by not sending out catalogues ahead of sales; asking us, instead, to view the auction lots online. But, as an older collector, I treasure catalogues as a very important reference tool which is not always as accessible on a website.

MK Heavers, Surrey, by email

Above right A large model of a Clydesdale horse is required Right James has joined the ranks of antiques aficionados Below left Could vouchers revive the business?

Star letter I am writing from Australia and asking your readers from some help. My wife originally came from London and, when she arrived in Australia, brought with her a large girth Clydesdale ornament in full regalia, close to half a metre in length. The horse had a very imposing look and was given place of pride.

Unfortunately, a couple of decades ago I was the culprit who dropped the ornament and have ever since been searching high and low for a replacement both here and online – but to no avail. I would love to get back in my wife’s good books and replace it.

Does anyone know where I can source such a beast?

Carlo Guidotti, Perth by email This new year’s resolution was not the traditional aspiration to lose weight, give up drink, or chocolate, but to “knowledge up”.

The subject I chose was antiques, so imagine my delight, when I received a copy of Antique Collecting through the post – a new subscription being a birthday gift from my niece. I have studied it cover to cover and a couple of articles have spurred me on to further research. I will let you know how I’ve got on in 12 months’ time. I might be a long way from being recruited onto the Antiques Roadshow panel but hope to be somewhat better informed by 2023.

James Kiley, by email

Answers to the quiz on page 38 Q1 (b) 1890s. Q2 (c) Capodimonte. Q3 (d) bronze.

Q4 (a) ivory Q5 (b) water sprinkler. Q6 (b) garden seats (all from Coalbrookdale’s catalogue, c. 1870).

Q7 (d) the early 1960s Jaguar E-type. Q8 (c). After Captain Davenport. Interestingly, Loudon’s 1833 Encyclopedia misspelt the piece of furniture as a ‘devonport’. Q9 (c) 50. In fact, it had the names of 19 London subscribers and 29 in the provinces. Q10 (d) a beaver. The stamp (which cost 3d) was the first not to depict a monarch or political leader. (a) Angelic ergot = George Catlin, (b) Circle if calf = Clarice Cliff (c) Abhor corgi anguish = Gainsborough chair (d) Toxic-laws angst = lost-wax casting

10 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

AUCTION Online, 27 January – 10 February 2022 VIEWING 3–10 February 2022 8 King Street London SW1Y 6QT CONTACT collectorenquiries@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7839 9060

Auction | Private Sales | christies.com Other fees apply in addition to the hammer price. See Section D of our Conditions of Sale at the back of the Auction Catalogue

AUCTION Sales round up The uniform defied all pre-sale expectations

The walnut pedestal desk was by the furniture maker and Queen’s nephew, David Linley

AROUND the HOUSES

Thomas Del Mar, London

A 16th-century German breastplate and backplate sold to the Art Institute of Chicago for £107,500, more than five times its guide price of £5,000 at the London auctioneer.

Known as a cuirass, the armour features a “peascod” breastplate and is embossed with allegorical figures of warriors.

At the same sale a Georgian officer’s scarlet single-breasted uniform sold for £11,875, against an estimate of £800-£1,200. Dated 1803 to 1815, the coat features four pairs of silver-embroidered frog-drop loops with gilt buttons and a black velvet collar.

Recent lots from the UK’s salerooms include Eric Cantona’s no. 7 shirt and a Celtic war trumpet found in a garden

The pair collected Victoriana when it was out of fashion

Chorley’s, Prinknash Abbey Park A narrow chinoiserie The narrow bureau bookcase bookcase belonged to the owned by the Queen’s favourite Queen’s longestcourtier serving assistant private secretary was the top seller in the Gloucestershire auctioneer’s recent sale, hammering at £4,000 – 10 times its estimate.

Expected to sell for £400£600, the highly-decorated 63cm-wide piece was one of 100 lots from the estate of Sir Martin Charteris, KCVO, CB, OBE – a recurring character in the Netflix series The Crown played by Harry Hadden-Paton.

Considered the Queen’s favourite courtier, Charteris retired in 1977, before moving to the Cotswolds.

At the same sale a walnut pedestal desk by the Queen’s nephew, the furniture maker David Linley, sold for £10,500 against an estimate of £1,000, defying the industry belief Linley pieces fare badly on the secondary market.

12 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

The 16th -century cuirass sold to an American museum

Tinworth’s zoomorphic creations are very sought after today

Lyon and Turnbull, Edinburgh Zoomorphic pieces by George Tinworth (1843-1913) from the collection of Peter Rose and Albert Gallichan – both pioneering collectors of Victorian decorative arts – soared above their estimates at the Scottish auction house.

Peter Rose was one of the first scholars to write about Tinworth whose later works for Doulton Lambeth featured mice and frogs in humorous situations.

The Bicyclist, c. 1885, featuring a 12cm frog riding a penny farthing, fetched £5,250 (against an estimate of £1,000-£1,500), while a rare ceramic showing a frog and mouse in conversation on a park bench, titled Music & Literature, sold for £6,875, beating its low guide price of £800.

Peter Rose and Albert Gallichan started collecting in the 1950s while living in an attic flat in Hampstead. At the time their taste for Victoriana defied the prevailing fashion for modernism.

Kinghams, Moreton-inMarsh

Louis Wain’s cat purred past its pre-sale guide price

The recent film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain starring Benedict Cumberbatch helped produce an estimate-busting sale of a pottery cat at the Cotswolds auctioneer’s recent sale. Cat-loving Wain (1860-1939) designed a series of Cubist-inspired ceramic cats which he mainly called Lucky. While failing to find a market in the UK, the cats were hugely popular in America.

Estimated at £2,000-£2,500, the 22cm Lucky Sphinx cat, c. 1914, sold for £8,420 to a Londonbased trade buyer.

The portrait is dated 1612 and shows the wife and son of the writer John Smyth (1567-1641)

A pair of Aestheic Movement ebonised chairs

by Christopher Dresser sold for £3,800

Ewbank’s, Woking Tennants, Leyburn A rare 15th-century illuminated manuscript The medieval almanac, found in illuminated a drawer, sold for physician’s £95,000 in the North almanac sold for £95,000 in North Yorkshire auction Yorkshire house’s recent sale.

The manuscript, c. 1425, is a one of 30 surviving examples of an English folding almanac, nearly all of which are confined to major institutional collections.

Such almanacs were used by doctors to determine astrological calculations and advise on medical interventions.

An early 17th-century double portrait of the family of the author of the Berkeley Manuscripts was one of the top sellers at the Surrey auction house’s recent sale when it sold for £5,460, more than five times its low estimate.

Research by the auction house showed the portrait depicted the wife and son of John Smyth (1567-1641), an historian and land steward for the Berkeley family, whose manuscript is one of the most important documents on life in the period leading up to the English Civil War. Inscriptions on the portrait, which is dated 1612, determine the woman as Smyth’s second wife, Mary Browning, who was aged 35 at the time of the sitting.

From the mid 16th to late 19th century, it was the custom of well-to-do families to dress young children in gowns like the one shown. At the age of six or seven they were “breeched” or put into trousers.

Dix Noonan Webb, Mayfair

Keys, Aylsham An impressive Canton enamel box was the star lot at the Norfolk auctioneer’s three-day fine art sale, selling for £40,000, against a pre-sale estimate of £1,000-£1,500.

The 39cm diameter petal form box, with gilt metal scroll decoration and panels depicting flowers was bought by a Chinese collector after a bidding battle which saw the maiden bid of £400 multiplied by 100 before the hammer fell.

A thriving industry for the manufacture and export of Canton enamels grew up in the 18th century, with the more refined enamels made in the Emperor’s workshops and in private shops in Peking.

Canton enamel was a thriving industry in 18th-century China

The boar’s head trumpet was found by a metal detectorist

A rare, first century Celtic war trumpet in the shape of a boar’s head doubled its estimate to sell for £4,216 at the London auction house’s recent sale.

Known as a carnyx and used in battle and ceremonies, the bronze piece was discovered five years ago by a metal detectorist in a field at Bardwell in Suffolk.

DNW’s consultant Nigel Mills, said: “The miniature trumpet has a hollow slightly curved shaft with a snarling boar’s head at the summit with a wide open mouth projecting forwards and a series of curving crests along its back. There is a small opening behind the head which could have been for the attachment of a wooden tongue.”

The only other surviving carnyx that was found in the UK is in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 13

AUCTION Sales round up

Chanel makeup and accessories also sold beyond their estimate

The collection of perfume sold for £500

Cuttlestones, Penkridge

One vendor at the Stafford auction house was left with the sweet smell of success when a collection of perfume, expected to make £40, sold for £500, and makeup thought to sell for £50 sold for £600.

The perfume was made up of 46 bottles of scent including Clarins, Estée Lauder, Hermès, Chanel, Guerlain, Coty, Christian Dior and Nina Ricci.

Meanwhile, the 30-piece collection of Chanel makeup included eau de parfum, hair mist, pressed powder, soap, lip colour and blush powder.

The landscape painter Francis Towne is a collectable artist today

Halls, Shrewsbury

A watercolour of a mountain stream by the in-vogue landscape artist Francis Towne (1739-1816), sold for £8,000, against a low estimate of £600 at the Shropshire auctioneers.

After his death Towne, who was rejected by the Royal Academy 11 times, sank into obscurity. But today his bold, watercolour compositions are highly sought after.

At the same sale a collection of more than 200 brass colliery tokens and checks, which had a pre-sale guide of £600-£800, sold for £6,500.

Lamp checks, also known as tokens, or tallies, informed colliery management which workers were underground at any time. At the start of the shift the check was exchanged for a a safety lamp. At the end of work the miner handed his lamp in and retrieved his check either from the lamp man or Colliery checks are from a ‘tally board’. sought after by collectors and museums

14 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Hansons, Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge A globe depicting the world in the 1500s – bought for £150 at a Welsh antiques fair – sold for £116,000 at the Staffordshire saleroom, spinning past its estimate of £20,000-£30,000.

Dated to 1550, in-house research revealed it was not only one of the earliest terrestrial globes in existence, but potentially the oldest ever offered at The globe auction. Hansons’ Jim Spencer said: “I first depicts the thought it was a modern reproduction but was world in the age struck by the engraved gores, indicating age.” of seafaring adventures The globe depicts a world before Australia was discovered in 1606. Japan is called Sipannge; North America is marked Devicta ann 1530 and South America is marked Nova Terra Inventa anno 1492 and Canibales Tropophagi.

Mallams, Oxford

The lapis lazuli-set bracelet sold for more than 20 times its low estimate in Oxford

A lapis lazuli-set bracelet with an estimate of £500-£700 sparked a bidding war at the Oxford auctioneers before selling for £13,000.

With a gaspipe-link design and a fringe of yellow precious metal beads, the piece sold to a private UK buyer.

At the same sale, an antique gold seal ring featuring a dog’s head crest, raced past the same estimate to sell for £11,000.

Mallams’ jewellery specialist, Louise Dennis, said: “It is likely that this seal ring was of considerable A gold seal age, possibly 17th or 18th ring impressed century in date, and with a dog’s head therefore quite a rare was another piece, which resulted in saleroom competitive bidding on favourite sale day.”

Graham Budd, online Eric Cantona’s iconic No. 7 Manchester United shirt sold for £13,255, against an estimate of £5,000-£7,000, at the sporting memorabilia specialist’s recent sale.

Cantona, who famously donned the shirt with the collar turned up, wore it when playing against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League at Old Trafford on April 23, 1997, during his final season at the club. At the same sale Ryan Giggs’ signed red-and-white Manchester United no.11 sold for £9,038 to an overseas buyer against an estimate of £500-£600.

The famous French player joined Manchester United in 1992

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1. Late Victorian all diamond set hairpiece (approximate diamond weight 20ct) Sold for £17,400 to a West Country Buyer 2. 1920’s Solitaire Diamond (approximately 6ct) and Ruby Ring Sold to a Private Buyer for £30,000 3. 1970’s Rolex “Submariner” Chronometer (Model No. 1680/0) Sold for £14,000 to a Private Buyer 4. Olga Wisinger-Florian (1844-1926) – Oil painting – “Spring Blossom”, board 16ins x 26ins. Sold to an Austrian Collector for £35,000

COLLECTING GUIDE Beatrix Potter

NATURAL TALENT Long before a certain boy wizard, Potter-mania referred to the children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. On the eve of a major exhibition celebrating her genius, book specialist Dr Philip W. Errington reveals what makes her so collectable

Beatrix Potter, aged 15, with her dog, Spot, by Rupert Potter, c.1880–1881, print on paper.

Linder Bequest. © V&A Museum

Above Complete set of Beatrix Potter deluxe editions, image

courtesy of Peter Harrington

B

eatrix Potter was born into a privileged background, hailing from a successful cotton business family in Manchester. By the mid1840s, the Potters owned the largest calico printworks and their product was world-famous.

However, Potter’s father, Rupert, abandoned the family firm, and moved to London to become a lawyer. In 1863, he married Helen Leech and, three years later, their first child was born: Helen Beatrix Potter. She began to show early artistic ability and by the age of 12 a drawing teacher was engaged to nurture her talent. Potter and her younger brother Bertram also kept a menagerie of pets in their nursery (and, later, schoolroom) in Bolton Gardens, Kensington, often smuggling in toads, newts, birds, bats, snakes, mice and, of course, rabbits, without their parents’ knowledge. Potter – who had more than 92 pets during her lifetime – took inspiration from some of them for her stories, notably her domesticated rabbits Benjamin Bouncer and Peter Piper.

It was a crucial part of Potter’s upbringing that animals were to be enjoyed, but also studied. When her brother’s bat became unwell, she was given detailed instructions on how to kill and stuff it. A dead squirrel was boiled and then dissected, and – perhaps inconceivable to Peter Rabbit fans – a rabbit was once killed with chloroform. In observing animals and understanding their biology, Beatrix Potter began her other, less wellknown career, as an accomplished anatomical artist.

Her skill was not confined to animals, however, and she became adept at drawing fungi and plants. Peter Harrington previously sold a fascinating copy of Peter

Below Picture letter by Beatrix Potter sent to Noel Moore from Heath Park, Birnam, 21 August, 1892. Ink over pencil on paper. © Lloyd E. Cotsen Collection, Princeton University

Above Peter Rabbit in Mr McGregor’s Garden, image courtesy of

Peter Harrington Rare Books

16 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Left Beatrix Potter,

drawing; magnified studies of a ground beetle (Carabus nemoralis) by Beatrix Potter, c. 1887. Linder Bequest. © V&A Museum Right Old Mrs Rabbit,

redrawn by Beatrix Potter in 1927. Sold by Peter Harrington in 2011 for £20,000 Below left Rear wrapper of A Happy Pair, image courtesy of Peter Harrington Below Potter’s first book was A Happy Pair. Sold

by Peter Harrington in 2016, for £30,000, image courtesy of Peter Harrington Below right Mrs Rabbit

Rabbit inscribed to a J. Squire who helped her acquire a specimen as part of her research on the fungal properties of dry rot. He delivered the specimen to Bolton Gardens in a brown paper bag, where she hid it under a stone in the garden, for fear of her parents’ disapproval (“How I should catch it, my parents are not devoted to the cause of science,” she wrote in her journal).

At the age of 20 she wrote a scientific paper entitled On the Germination of the Spores of Agaricineae and submitted it to the Linnean Society. It was read and well-received, but additional work was required before possible publication and Potter withdrew the piece; no copy exists today.

pouring tea for Peter while her children look on: variant illustration for The tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, 1902. © V&A, courtesy Frederick Warne & Co Ltd.

Original artwork Most of the artist’s work is in collections and libraries (the V&A and the Free Library of Philadelphia both have magnificent collections), but there are still occasional pieces which surface. When I worked in the auction world I was responsible for bringing the extant collection of Beatrix’s brother to sale and established the current world record for the artist’s work (The Rabbits’ Christmas Party: The Departure, which sold for £289,250 including buyer’s premium).

In 1927, Potter sought to help the National Trust acquire a strip of Lake Windermere’s shore known as Cockshott Point. She therefore redrew a number of her favourite illustrations to help raise funds and these pieces were sold in the United States. Potter eventually contributed £104 to the appeal, which was a sizeable contribution at the time. Peter Harrington has one of these illustrations, redrawing an illustration from The Tailor of Gloucester.

Right Original drawing

by Beatrix Potter of a mouse (with tea cup) from The Tailor of Gloucester, available from Peter Harrington, priced £20,000

Early success

‘A dead squirrel was boiled and then dissected, and – perhaps inconceivable to Peter Rabbit fans – a rabbit was once killed with chloroform. In observing animals and understanding their biology, Beatrix Potter began her other, less well-known career, as an accomplished anatomical artist’

Beatrix Potter first encountered some commercial success when a selection of drawings of rabbits were accepted as designs for Christmas and New Year greetings cards in 1890. The publisher also used Potter’s designs – once again featuring rabbits – as illustrations to a set of verses by Frederic E. Weatherly and published A Happy Pair. It was Potter’s first book and contains six chromolithographed illustrations each signed ‘H.B.P.’ This is a very fragile publication and is bound with a silk cord.

The birth of Peter Rabbit Potter’s life in Kensington was rather lonely and sheltered, with close friendships discouraged by her parents. Her happiest time in Bolton Gardens was perhaps with Annie Moore, who was hired when she was 17 as her German tutor and companion.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 17

COLLECTING GUIDE Beatrix Potter and white drawings and a coloured frontispiece was offered to at least seven publishers, including Frederick Warne, who all rejected it.

Potter knew exactly how she wanted to publish the story: it had to be affordable for “little rabbits” and in a small format – just the right size and weight for small hands. Unable to find a publisher who would accept her proposed format, she published Peter Rabbit herself in a private edition of 250 copies.

The author sold copies of the book herself at 1s.

2d. a copy. Customers included the author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who, according to Potter, ‘had a copy for his children and he has a good opinion of the story and words’. Running short of copies, the author ordered a further 200 books.

The “Bunny Book”

After Annie’s marriage, the two stayed in touch, and Potter often wrote illustrated letters to Annie’s children.

Although she didn’t know it at the time, Beatrix Potter would sow the seeds that changed children’s literature forever on September 4, 1893, when she wrote a letter to cheer up Annie’s eldest son, five-year-old Noel Moore, who was sick with scarlet fever. The illustrated letter was a story based on her recent pet rabbit, Peter Piper. The letter starts ‘I don’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits, whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter…’

In 1900, Potter took the story of the letter and embellished it so that the resulting tale was about a third as long again as the original. The book, featuring 42 black

Finally, the firm of Frederick Warne expressed interest in commercial publication of the “Bunny book” project, as they termed it.

The publishers decided that colour illustrations were to be used throughout and the text shortened. However, their new author proved to be a forceful personality with strong opinions. Warne wanted to use a cheap woodblock method of colour publication, but Potter insisted on an expensive, three-colour engraving process on copper. The result of this was a less attractive royalty (the first 3,000 copies were entirely royalty free) but a more attractive book. The author needn’t have worried about the contract: by publication in October 1902, the first printing of 8,000 copies had already been sold. By the end of the year 28,000 copies had been published.

Potter’s favourite book At long last, Frederick Warne acknowledged they had a major talent. Peter Rabbit was followed by The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin in 1903 and then The Tailor of Gloucester – her favourite book which also started life as a story

PAINTING BOOKS AND “PIRATED EDITIONS” There are additional Potter volumes which are not part of the established series. There are a number of attractive painting books (Peter Rabbit’s Painting Book from 1911 and Tom Kitten’s Painting Book from 1917, for example). There is also Peter Rabbit’s Almanac for 1929. In addition there are translated editions. A Dutch version of Peter Rabbit first appeared in 1912 and there have been a prodigious number of translations since.

Another area for collectors is that of the ‘pirated’ edition.

Because of a mistake at Frederick Warne, Peter Rabbit was not registered for copyright in the United States. Any publisher could bring out an edition of the work and, from 1904, a prodigious number did so. (Happily, there’s an admirable bibliography by John R. Turner of these, first published in 2012)

18 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above left A black and white drawing for Peter Rabbit, image courtesy of Peter Harrington Left Peter Rabbit’s Almanac for 1929. Sold

by Peter Harrington in 2011 for £3,750 (inscribed) Right The first

commercial publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, image courtesy of Peter Harrington

for one of the Moore children, a Christmas present for Freda Moore in 1901. Just as she had done with Peter Rabbit, Potter first had the book privately printed (Warne had not yet published Peter Rabbit and she did not think they would want a second so soon). The Tailor of Gloucester is unique in the series with its period setting (Potter drew the costumes from the collection at the V&A Museum). It was based on a true story that she had heard while staying in Gloucestershire about an elaborate waistcoat which had been commissioned for a grand mayoral occasion.

Signed by “Miss Potter” From Squirrel Nutkin in 1903 to Little Pig Robinson in 1930, there are many wonderful Beatrix Potter titles. Inscribed copies are not uncommon, the greatest commercial value is attached to copies that are signed ‘Beatrix Potter’ or ‘Miss Potter’ rather than her married name Beatrix Heelis. Inscribed copies sometimes include miniature sketches.

Tragic engagement Most of Potter’s early dealings with the Warnes were with the youngest brother, Norman. A courtship developed and Norman proposed by letter on July 25, 1904. Despite the disapproval of her parents, Potter accepted. Sadly, soon after, Warne was taken ill and died a month later from pernicious anaemia brought on by lymphatic leukaemia, a disease difficult to diagnose at that time. He was 37. The true story is not exactly as depicted by Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor in the 2006 film, Miss Potter , but it’s a reasonable adaptation of the relationship.

Move to the Lakes Through her royalties, Potter became an independently wealthy woman. Towards the end of 1905, she bought Hill Top farm near Sawrey in the Lake District. She visited as often as she could, but never for more than a few days at a time, sketching the house, garden, countryside and animals for her new books. In 1909, she bought another farm opposite Hill Top, Castle Farm, which became her main Lakeland base.

Above The first

commercial publication of The Tailor of Gloucester. Sold by Peter Harrington, 2021, for £1,500, image courtesy of Peter Harrington Right An inscription

within The Tale of Mr Tod reads from ‘Miss Potter’. Sold by Peter Harrington in 2000 for £5,000 Below left Man’s court

waistcoat, 1780s, English or French; white silk, embroidered, in Beatrix Potter’s The Tailor of Gloucester © V&A Museum Below Hill Top farm, image courtesy of Shutterstock

Potter bought many pieces of land and property in and around Sawrey, including the Old Post Office, Castle Cottage and a number of small farms. William Heelis, a partner in a firm of local solicitors, who she married in 1913 when she was aged 47, kept her informed of land sales and, over the next 30 years she amassed over 4,000 acres of land in the Lake District, which she bequeathed to the National Trust. On her death in 1943, she had written 23 books now regarded as her primary works, and a large number of other volumes.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 19

COLLECTING GUIDE Beatrix Potter Far left The author’s

privately printed edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, image courtesy of Peter Harrington Left Title page for the

first commercial The Tale of Peter Rabbit, image courtesy of Peter Harrington

COLLECTING BEATRIX POTTER

The cornerstone of a Beatrix Potter collection must be a copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The privately-printed edition consists of two issues: the first (with a flat spine) was printed in 250 copies and the second (with a rounded spine) was printed in 200 copies. This edition has black and white drawings with only the frontispiece in colour.

The first commercial publication dates from 1902. The first impression (8,000 copies) is from October 1902, the second impression (12,000 copies) is from November 1902 and the third impression is from December 1902. There is no way of distinguishing these three, although the binding in green boards was introduced after the first impression.

By the fourth impression (April 1903) the words ‘wept big tears’ on page 51 had been changed to ‘shed big tears.’ All four impressions have endpapers with a holly leaf design.

Potter early issues As most book collectors know, the world of first editions has a very precise set of rules. Only the first edition, first impression tends to count. With Beatrix Potter there are, in the simplest terms, difficulties in establishing the correct impression of early issues. Warne’s second Beatrix Potter title, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, is typical. There were three impressions in 1903 (10,000 copies in August 1903, 10,000 copies in September 1903 and 7,500 copies in November 1903). The year appears at the foot of the title page for each. However, it is thought that the words ‘Author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ were only added to the title page after the second impression.

Of the three impressions, therefore, it is possible to differentiate between only two.

Right Glassine dust

jacket for Johnny TownMouse. Available from Peter Harrington priced £5,000, image courtesy of Peter Harrington Below left First edition of The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, image courtesy of Peter Harrington Below First edition of

Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes (note the lack of a date on the title page), image courtesy of Peter Harrington Below right Christmas

card from 1938. Sold by Peter Harrington in 2000 for £2,000

then there are clues in the printed endpapers. There are, thankfully, two reference works which are essential to any collector: Jane Quinby’s bibliography (first published in 1954) and Leslie Linder’s A History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter (first published in 1971). A friendly bookdealer can also help!

Glassine jackets The original first editions of Potter’s books did not include dust jackets. Perhaps it was felt that the decorative bindings were sufficiently attractive and appealing to potential buyers.

However, the books still needed to be protected in bookshops and a thin glassine jacket was supplied. These jackets rarely survive. This copy of The Tale of Johnny TownMouse includes the jacket noting that it’s the new Potter volume for 1918.

Potter family calico As noted, the Potter family were one of the largest printers of calico in Europe. It was standard practice for publishers to offer deluxe bindings and Potter suggested that her grandfather’s firm might be able to provide material for this purpose. The copy of The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (left) is bound in the family firm’s material. Eventually the publishers would abandon this style and opt for a more traditional cloth binding embellished with gilt.

Dr Philip W. Errington is a senior book specialist at Peter Harrington, which has a number of Beatrix Potter books and artwork for sale, and a highly respected authority on children’s books within the industry, for more details go to www.peterharrington.co.uk. Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature, showcasing more than 240 rarely-seen objects, is on at the V&A London from February 12 to January 8, 2023.

Dates and references This might seem confusing. However, the simple rule must be that a first edition of Beatrix Potter’s books must have the date at the foot of the title page. All copies (and many decades of reprints) will have a copyright date on the reverse of the title page. That is of no interest. The simple rule must be the need for a date on the title page. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule (Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes has no year on the title page), but

20 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Greetings cards

Cards provided Potter with her first commercial success, with the first dating from the 1890s and published by the firm of Hildesheimer and Faulkner. Later works for the Invalid Children’s Aid Association date mostly from the 1920s and 1930s. If you want to see Peter Rabbit as a postman or Father Christmas, this is the collecting area for you.

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ANTIQUE COLLECTING 21

EXPERT OPINION Christina Trevanion C H R I S T I N A T R E VA N I O N

Lots of Love

Love is in the air this month, bringing out the unstoppable romantic in our columnist Christina Trevanion

Left A Victorian

‘REGARD’ bracelet

The fashion for wearing rings on the fourth finger of the left hand also had its origins in Roman times since it was believed that a nerve or vein led directly from there to the heart itself.

From the Roman period to the middle ages and well into the 18th century, rings were made bearing a sentimental inscription or affectionate message in the interior. To the viewer, these secret messages are hidden from view and only known to the wearer.

Such inscriptions – often overlooked unless examined carefully with a lens – were usually in English or French and examples I have seen include the heart-wrenching inscriptions: In thee a flame, in me the same; Amor vincit omnia (Love conquers all) and No heart so true as mine to you – among others.

Above right An opal and diamond heart ring.

Right A ring with a locket of hair Below right A ring

T

oday, when we are largely free to marry whoever we wish, lovers can communicate their affection freely with few, if any, repercussions.

But such was not always the case. Until the early 20th century, marriage was highly regulated and seen as a contract between families to improve their social standing, or increase wealth. A girl’s reputation had to be protected at all costs.

But love conquers all and when two hearts collide, there has always be a way of communicating with one another. Throughout the ages lovers have relayed their feelings for each other using jewellery.

From a young courting couple, to a monarch celebrating his or her dynastic marriage, jewels of all sorts have marked both sentiment and occasion.

set with a lock of hair surrounded by pearls Below Fashionable from the 1780s, rings showed only the beloved’s eye Below left A bangle with typical clasped heart design

Wedding bands In its simplest form the tradition of the giving and receiving of a ring as a solemn pledge symbolising an agreement between families can be traced back to the Romans. This concept of giving a ring in betrothal ultimately led to the concept of the engagement ring that we know today.

Evolving love As the 18th century evolved, so did the secret language of love. Lovers began to give tokens of their affection in the form of a lock of hair, either on its own, or woven with a lover’s. These would be set into a piece of jewellery, either as a ring or slender braid suitable for a gentleman’s watch chain or lady’s bracelet. A miniature portrait worn on a bracelet or within a locket (if it was a clandestine relationship) was a popular love jewel.

22 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

On his death in 1830, King George IV was found to be wearing a miniature of Mrs Fitzherbert (his secret wife and long-term companion) around his neck and under his shirt close to his heart.

A more enigmatic variant was the eye miniature which was fashionable from the 1780s. It showed only the beloved’s eye, giving little clue to his, or her, identity. While preserving the lover’s anonymity it was highly treasured by the wearer.

Right A ring depicting the gemstones for ‘dearest’ Below right A ring

depicting the gemstones for ‘adore’ Below left A locket depicting enamelled blue birds symbolic of love

Key to my heart Unquestionably, the most potent symbol of love, used in all aspects of jewellery, from brooches to lockets and bracelets to cufflinks, was the heart.

Jewels used to convey intimacy formed an important part of early Victorian romantic jewellery. On occasion it took the form of a padlock with an attached key, meaning the wearer held the key to the bestower’s heart.

Other common symbols included a serpent biting its own tail, symbolising eternity in an everlasting circle (much like today’s wedding ring), as well as cupids, bows, and arrows (emblematic of courage). Anchors symbolised hope or anticipation, and could also refer to the wearer being the anchor of their lover’s soul.

All were secret messages exchanged between sweethearts who may have been separated by circumstances with only a small, treasured token left behind as a remembrance of each other.

THE LANGUAGE OF STONES

The early 19thcentury taste for multi-coloured jewellery was further encouraged by the language of stones, whereby sentiments and personal messages were spelt out in gemstones by taking the initial letter of each stone used.

In the saleroom we often see ‘regard’ rings, using ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby and diamond stones; along with ‘dearest’ rings (similarly using diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire and topaz stones), frequently set in a row across the front of a ring or within a border of a brooch or locket.

Known as acostic Victorian jewellery, pieces are rare, although modern-day jewellers are known to make reproductions of versions.

Throughout history jewels have embodied the same romantic notions that are celebrated every Valentine’s Day, and I can’t think of a more perfect gift on February 14.

Flowery thoughts The inclusion of flowers and foliage on jewellery also conveyed important messages of one’s innermost feelings: roses for happiness and love, ivy for friendship, broom for humility, turquoise for remembrance, and pansies which stood for ‘dwelling in my thoughts’.

These treasured keepsakes symbolise the enduring love between generations of owners and their loved ones and are jewelled time capsules espousing endless love stories since the beginning of time.

Above right A bow brooch symbolic of love set with turquoise symbolic of rememberance

Christina Trevanion is the managing director and founder of Shropshire’s Trevanion Auctioneers & Valuers, as well as a regular face on a number of antiques programmes.

For more details go to www.trevanion.com

Right An amethyst heart brooch often given as a token of affection

‘The inclusion of flowers and foliage on jewellery also conveyed important messages of one’s innermost feelings: roses for happiness and love, ivy for friendship, broom for humility, turquoise for remembrance, and pansies which stood for ‘dwelling in my thoughts’’’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING

23

ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Lalique perfume bottles perfumiers of the day, he applied his glassmaking skills to a range of accessories, including scent bottles. Mini works of art in their own right, the bottles attract collectors from across the globe. This February, a single-owner collection of 150 scent bottles by Lalique, with estimates ranging from £300-£30,000, goes under the hammer at the auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull live online.

René Lalique (1860-1945) Trésor de la Mer, commissioned by the American department store Saks Fifth Avenue, 1936, to celebrate its 50th anniversary

Revolutionary style

SALEROOM SPOTLIGHT Miniature artworks in their own right, some 150 perfume bottles by the French designer René Lalique go on sale online this month

F

rom car mascots to jewellery and wallpaper to light fittings, the scope of designs by the French jeweller-turned-glassmaker René Lalique (18601945) is ground breaking. With his early designs firmly based in the art nouveau tradition – heavily influenced by depictions of females, flora and fauna – Lalique was also one of the first 20th-century makers to understand the importance of luxury branding. Spotting a gap in the market, in collaboration with the leading

24 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above right René Lalique

(1860-1945) for Coty, Ambre Antique, frosted glass perfume bottle and stopper, c. 1910, image courtesy of Lyon & Turnbull, not in this month’s sale Left René Lalique (1860-

1945) Trésor de la Mer, Saks, 1936, 9cm (3½in) high and opened, has an estimate of £20,000£30,000 at this month’s sale

Before WWI, scent bottles were made of pressed glass, with silver or silver-plate rims and cut glass or imitation cut glass stoppers.

From the 1870s the double-ended bottle was popular, with one half of the bottle used for perfume, with a screw cap, while the other end was hinged, often spring-loaded for fast access, and was for smelling salts.

Scent was acquired in phials from the pharmacy to then be decanted into generic dressing table bottles at home. Ready-filled bottles of perfume were not yet on the market. Lalique embarked on the design of perfume bottles in 1895, becoming the first to give real importance to the container of these luxury brands.

First collaboration In 1905, he opened a shop at 24, Place Vendôme, where he exhibited not only his jewellery but glass objects crafted in his workshop in Clairefontaine, near Rambouillet. Neighbouring perfumer François Coty was so impressed by the designs he asked him to put his talent to work for the perfume industry. With a background in jewellery making, Lalique used a specific casting process called “cire perdue”, or lost wax, to create a jewel-like finish on his bottles.

The collaboration allowed Lalique to produce Left René Lalique (18601945) Petalia for Tokalon, 1923, 9.7cm (3 7/8in) high has an estimate of £6,000-£8,000 at this month’s sale

Did you know?

The most expensive Lalique perfume bottle to sell at auction was Sirènes, a 1905 design (and probably the first bottle using the lost wax process), which sold for a premium inclusive $370,800 at a sale by Est-Ouest auctioneers in Tokyo 2012.

objects in series and to democratise his art by making it more affordable.

He produced a large number of perfume glass bottles for Coty, including the bottle for the Ambre Antique perfume, in 1910.

The bottle has a tapered cylindrical form decorated in intaglio with a frieze of classical maidens surmounted by a delicate bud-like stopper.

Art nouveau to deco Lyon & Turnbull’s head of sale, Joy McCall, said: “Lalique’s designs reflect the changing fashions and trends of the day from the art nouveau bottles, such as the Cyclamen designed in 1909 for François Coty, to the art deco bottle for Lucien Lelong designed in 1929, which is architectural in form and reminiscent of the Chrysler Building and Empire State Buildings being designed at this time.”

One of Lalique’s “holy grail” perfume bottles is the Trésor de la Mer made in 1939, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Saks Fifth Avenue. The New York store commissioned Lalique to create a special perfume bottle which he did, in the shape of a perfume flacon in the shape of a pearl, hidden inside a giant sea shell box. The opalescent glass object was only made in a limited edition of just 100 examples with an original retail price of $50.

AUCTION fact file

WHAT: Lalique, A private collection of scent bottles When: February 17 Sale type: Live online Auctioneers: Lyon & Turnbull. Viewing at Lyon & Turnbull, 22 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AF, from February 14-16 and online at www.lyonand turnbull.com

We asked Joy McCall, senior specialist at Lyon & Turnbull for her sale highlights How important is the collection?

Collections of René Lalique perfume are rare and this group distinguishes itself in both the scale and calibre. Some bottles were produced in various colourways, while others show the huge imaginative range of forms he created as well as stopper shapes, while others utilise staining and enamelling.

Which will be the most sought after?

Bottles with tiara-shaped stoppers are always popular, and this sale includes 11 examples, as are those in coloured glass. Rarity is another factor, such as the Trésor de la Mer designed for Sak’s in 1936 (far left).

What marks should you look out for?

René Lalique used various marks, including the moulded mark R. LALIQUE, others are engraved, stencilled or intaglio. In some instances, though, it is just a monogram RL or just LALIQUE that appears. Beware, not all engraved or stencilled marks are genuine.

Where is interest set to come from?

Feom Lalique collectors as well as scent bottle collectors. I expect bidders from the UK, Europe, the United States and Canada, Australia, Asia and, in particular, Japan and Hong Kong, as well as possible interest from South Africa. What I am not sure about is whether the sale will appeal more to men or to women, and I am curious to discover what the outcome of this question will be.

Do you have a favourite piece?

Top left René Lalique

‘With a background in jewellery making, Lalique used a specific casting process called “cire perdue”, or lost wax, to create a jewel-like finish on his bottles’

IN MY OPINION...

(1860-1945) Fougères scent bottle, no. 489, 1912, 9.3cm (3 5/8in) high, has an estimate of £4,000-£6,000 at this month’s sale Above left René Lalique (1860-1945) Tantôt scent bottle, no. 524, 1925, 14.8cm (5 7/8in) high, has an estimate £600£800 at this month’s sale

I love the stopper on the Tantôt scent bottle (left), designed in 1925, and the stylised flowers that are echoed in the graphic black enamelling on the body of the bottle. The Oreilles Lézards bottle designed in 1911 is exquisite with its beautifully detailed lizards clustered on each flange.

By contrast, I appreciate Le Corail Rouge scent bottle designed for Forvil in 1922, because of the scrolling enamelled coral forms on the bottle and the wonderful graphic work which emulates this on the outside of the box.

Perhaps, though, the lot I would most like to take home is the Lunaria bottle designed in 1912. I am entranced by the plant pods which Lalique formed by layering glass and using inclusions to form the seeds.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 25

EXPERT COMMENT David Harvey satinwood, with bandings of tulipwood and kingwood, more mahogany and stringing of ebony and boxwood.

The mitre in the corners of the door panels is perfect, passing through 13 different pieces of veneer. And the same treatment is apparent throughout the piece.

The glass doors are brilliantly executed and show the same craftsmanship as elsewhere. Here we again see the juxtaposition of highly-figured mahogany and satinwood, as well as stringing.

Standing proud There is no area where the workmanship or expense has been spared. Pieces of this magnificence were made to be seen – not hidden away in niches. They would have stood proud on a library wall which is why the inlays and bandings on the fronts of this are continued on the sides to make them complete.

Waxing lyrical David Harvey opens the door on a magnificent George III bookcase to discover its secrets within

O

ne of the joys of being an antiques dealer is the voyage of discovery that every new acquisition takes one on. When I first saw this George III breakfront bookcase it struck me as familiar. It’s no surprise, as I owned the pair to it some 25 years ago, and I have since found out that there is another identical example in Australia. This begs the question whether they were originally all made for the same library as a suite of formidable bookcases? They certainly have a number of details making them very special.

Superb veneer The initial impression shows a rich, choice, flame-figured mahogany which is used in the oval door panels. This is surrounded by

26 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above The bookcase is

one of three known to David Above right The piece

was designed to stand proud in the library Below The bookcase’s veneer is of the highest quality Right Pull out slides

prevented scratching

Book slides Another feature common to all three examples of this bookcase I have seen, is the pull-out book slides at the waist. The bookcase would have housed dozens of dusty, ancient tomes harbouring tiny fragments of grit – the act of taking and replacing the books would have scratched the polished surfaces beneath the glazed doors.

Pull-out slides solved the problem by supplying a sturdy surface on which to rest books when in use. There are three slides in all, the central one is double width to match the configuration of all the doors.

Left Glazing bars

prevented the glass from sagging Right A piece’s interior

can be a sign of quality Below right Is this the

work of the famous Lancaster maker?

Glazed doors The client for whom these bookcases were made must have been extremely demanding, wanting the best furniture possible. Glass at room temperature is not as solid as it looks, which is why panes of glass can be thicker at the bottom than the top as the glass sags downwards. To ensure there was no movement in the glazed doors, this cabinetmaker used glazing bars into which the panes were secured with putty run well into the door frames.

In this instance, however, the doors were made even more secure by a wedge driven into the frame ends of the glazing bars preventing any movement – quite a feat of woodworking.

Gillows feel There is something very “Gillows” about this piece, seen in the choice of timbers, the oval panels and the quality of materials, as well as the superb craftsmanship.

The bookcase is similar to other pieces known to be by the illustrious Lancaster makers whose work is well detailed in Susan Stuart’s two-volume book Gillows of Lancaster and London 1730-1840, published by the Antique Collectors’ Club.

I have not discovered a Gillows’ stamp, signature or receipt for the bookcase but, wherever it was made, it

Expert tip

It might be the last thing you look at when examining a bookcase but the inside of the carcass can tell us a lot about the piece.

Here you clearly see the grooves into which the adjustable shelves run. The front part is executed in mahogany and, as you might be able to see, each one has a neatly finished moulded front edge.

Note how the grooves don’t extend all the way down. Examples where they extend to the bottom of the door indicate the piece has been altered from a larger carcass and the same holds true for the top height of the shelves. would have been transported to the client’s home to be assembled in situ.

The bookcase comes in 11 pieces, each of which would have had a case made for it to ensure it arrived in good condition. If, as I suspect, this was one of a suite of three – if not more – then this would have been some undertaking.

David Harvey is the owner of Witney-based W R Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd. For more details go to the website www.wrharvey.com

‘The glazed doors are brilliantly executed and show the same craftsmanship as elsewhere. Here we again see the juxtaposition of highly-figured mahogany and satinwood’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 27

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The W.A. Ismay Collection of studio pottery

A Clay in the Life Part of the remarkable collection of W.A. Ismay (1910-2001), the UK’s most prolific collector of postwar British studio pottery, is on show this month. Dr Helen Walsh, ceramics curator at York Art Gallery, shares her insights

28 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

W

hen I joined York Museums Trust in 2004, my first job was to catalogue the W.A. Ismay Collection of British studio pottery. Even when confronted by nearly 500 boxes of carefully packed pots, I rather optimistically thought I’d have it done in six months. It was five years later that I finally catalogued the last of approximately 3,600 pots. Over those five years, Ismay took me on a fascinating journey through the post-war British studio pottery world. Each box contained a new discovery, a different experience and another artist to get to know.

On his death, Ismay left his entire collection and its associated archive to the city of York and the current exhibition marks 20 years since the collection moved from private to public ownership. The eclectic collection includes objects created by many of the most significant potters working in the UK, such as Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew, as well as work by lesser-known makers.

Collecting obsession Collecting was a way of life for Ismay; the friendships he developed with potters in his collection took the place of a family. His collecting escalated over the years, often reaching more than 100 pots per year. Towards the end of his life his collection became famous.

The memory of Ismay’s pot-packed house at 14 Welbeck Street in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, remained etched in the minds of those who visited, from curators to students. His friend and fellow collector, Alan Firth, said: “I was just staggered at what I saw. It was mind-blowing,

Opposite page Alan

Caiger-Smith, Teapot, 1960. © Estate of Alan Caiger-Smith. Photo by Philip Sayer Below Rosemary Wren, group of works, 197184. © The Estate of Rosemary Wren. Image courtesy of York Museum Trust. These animal and bird figures dating from 1971–1984 were made by Rosemary Wren (some with decoration

by Peter Crotty), showing the more playful side of Ismay’s collection Right W.A. Ismay

pouring coffee in his kitchen, c.1990s. © Janette Haigh. Photo by Janette Haigh

Yorkshire born William Alfred Ismay’s Yorkshire roots were firmly planted and remained a source of great pride to him throughout his life. He was born on 10 April in 1910 in Wakefield, a small city eight miles south of Leeds, and apart from time spent in the army during WWII, he lived in Wakefield and worked in or near to the city all his life.

Ismay’s first experience of buying pots came when he was a small child buying gifts for his mother. He was in many ways a collector looking for his collection, and he found it when he encountered British studio pottery. He wrote: ‘I discovered that present-day ceramics was a field in which relatively low prices made it possible for a person of modest means to make a varied collection.”

Below right Peter

Meanley made this sculpture W.A. Ismay: The Potters’ Friend in 2015 to celebrate the launch of the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) at York Art Gallery

and the thing that I remember was that he enjoyed that, he enjoyed blowing my mind, absolutely.” After spending between six and seven hours in Ismay’s house looking at his collection in 1975, the potter, Michael Casson, wrote to Ismay, saying: “All through this time I had a strange feeling (it might have been that I caught a very bad cold after it – but I don’t think so!) It was a feeling of something in the background, something hanging over me. I know it was the presence of ‘vibrations’ of all those pots, coming in one vast lump, at your house. I’ve tried to tell various people about it … but can’t convey the experience.”

Early days

‘Ismay wrote that beginning his collection of studio pottery helped open up a new social life: “I gradually discovered that my social life, recently diminished by several deaths, could also pleasurably re-expand by knowing personally all or most of the makers of the pots I began to collect”’

Ismay attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield from 1921 to 1929. Despite his intellectual ability his time at school was slightly marred by his poor eyesight. As a pottery collector, one of his most memorable habits was his use of

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 29

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The W.A. Ismay Collection of studio pottery

a large magnifying glass, which would be whipped out of his pocket at private views so that he could study exhibits in detail. His success at school led to the offer of an Oxbridge place, but the expense meant he was unable to take it up. Instead he lived at home and studied Classics at the University of Leeds from 1929 to 1932. After graduating, he joined the West Riding County Library Service as part-time librarian-in-charge at Stanley, just three and a half miles north of Wakefield.

His library career was interrupted by the advent of WWII when he served in the Royal Corps of Signals. For all the hardship of serving in the military, the conflict had benefits for Ismay. It gave him the opportunity to travel and brought him into contact with different cultures, allowing him for the first time to witness craft objects being made by hand. He wrote: “I certainly picked up a great deal during the war, in India, by watching village potters at work, and by buying and using as water-coolers a succession of beautifully-thrown unglazed earthenware bottles, majestically shaped and narrow-necked; and by seeing (particularly at Singapore) the kind of inexpensive contemporary vessels which Chinese people used daily and of which I bought examples.”

New hobby Returning to Wakefield at the end of the war, aged 36, it may have been a comment by his mother – who told him he needed a hobby – that led Ismay to start collecting in earnest.

By the 1950s, Ismay’s remaining family of aunts and cousins had left Wakefield and a number of his friends had passed away. He wrote later that beginning his

30 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above left Hans Coper, Bottle, 1958-1959. © The Estate of Hans Coper.

Photo by Philip Sayer Above Ian Godfrey,

Lidded Pot, 1973. © The Estate of Ian Godfrey.

Photo by Philip Sayer Right Two jars by Lucie

Rie. Ismay bought the jar on the left in 1970 despite Rie’s feeling the glaze was unsuccessful.

She experimented further and achieved the effect she wanted on the jar on the right.

When she offered to swap it, he refused and simply purchased the second jar in addition

collection of studio pottery helped open up a new social life: “I gradually discovered that my social life, recently diminished by several deaths, could also pleasurably re-expand by knowing personally all or most of the makers of the pots I began to collect, and by contriving to make acquaintance also of other non-makers who shared my tastes.”

Later, when writing about the reasons people collect, in a 1982 article for Ceramic Review the nevermarried Ismay wrote: “It is perhaps more the unmarried, the married but childless, or those whose family has grown up a little so that they have more time and space to themselves, who are likely to revive (later on) the accumulative instinct and, particularly if their tastes are for arranging and studying objects, to become collectors in the more specialised sense.”

14 Welbeck Street was a space he shared with his family of pots and one in which he entertained the many people who visited his collection.

Initially, Ismay stuck to his selfimposed restriction of collecting pieces only by Yorkshire makers, purchasing the work of only three potters during 1955. There were nine pieces by Barbara Cass, seven pieces

by Joan Hotchin and two pieces by Irwin Hoyland. His modest initial purchases in 1955 were overshadowed the following year when he collected 65 pots. The scope of his collecting obsession soon grew much further.

Meticulous archive Most of his collection focused on functional pots, however he also bought more sculptural works by some of the important makers, including Gordon Baldwin, Glenys Barton and Elizabeth Fritsch. Ismay took great pleasure in spotting new talent, particularly at college degree shows.

When he discovered a maker whose work he admired, he would stay loyal to them and support them through the years. He also made meticulous notes of his purchases in records which reflect what was happening in his life. After settling his mother’s estate after she died in 1956, Ismay found some respite by widening his search for studio pottery beyond Yorkshire.

During an early trip to London, Ismay visited the Crafts Centre of Great Britain on Hay Hill, where he bought one piece each by Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie and David Leach. On another London trip later that year, he bought 11 pieces by Bernard Leach, five by Hans Coper and six by Lucie Rie. Thanks to his inheritance, Ismay was able to raise his collecting ambitions and purchase work from London exhibitions and galleries, spending significant amounts of money on new pots. He spent between 7s 9d and £6 on pots by Bernard Leach, between £3 and £15 on pieces by Hans Coper, and between £2 and £12 on pieces by Lucie Rie.

Favourite potters In Ismay’s list of potters there were 19 who broke the 30-pot threshold.

The Yorkshire potter Jim Malone (b. 1946) topped Ismay’s list with 80 of his works in his collection; the ceramicist Eric James Mellon (1925-2014) was second with Ismay amassing 68 of his pieces. He had 57 pots by Michael Cardew, 36 by Bernard Leach and 30 produced

by Hans Coper, the numbers perhaps reflecting the soaring prices of some of the artists as much as his preferred aesthetic. Despite being publicly noncommittal on the subject of favourites, Ismay did once let slip in a letter to Cardew that his grain jar made by Cardew was his ‘top pot’.

Retirement fund In 1975, he acquired 177 items, more pots than in any other year by a large margin. This was the year that he retired and so had his retirement lump sum to spend, along with the time to travel to potters and exhibitions: “I found I’d bought 177 pots last year which is a record and quite ridiculous! Having scrutinised my bank balance and the future modest rate of replenishment I realise I must retrench – but I seem automatically to acquire around the basic ‘pot a week’ and have notched up 9 for 1976 so far.”

Over the years he had noticed that he had a habit of purchasing at least 53 pots per year, or a pot a week. This became a benchmark for him, a sign that the collection was healthy and growing.

Magdalene Odundo

Above Elizabeth Fritsch,

Ismay met the potter Magdalene Odundo in 1976 when she was a student at the West Surrey College of Art & Design. It was on the occasion of her undergaduate degree show and she was showing the coiled pots she had made, which were heavily influenced by the traditional pots of her African birthplace. Ismay purchased three such pots from her between 1976 and 1978, which he felt sat comfortably next to a number of pots by African

Pair of pots, 1975. © Elizabeth Fritsch.

Image courtesy of York Museum Trust.

In 1975, Ismay retired from the library service.

He received a lump sum payment and spent all of it on pots, acquiring 177 new pieces that year, the highest number he had ever purchased in one year. Among them were these two pots by Elizabeth Fritsch, costing £35 each Right Jim Malone, Tea

Caddy, 1976. © Jim Malone. Photo by Philip Sayer. The first pot by Jim Malone that W.A. Ismay purchased at Malone’s degree show in 1976

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 31

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The W.A. Ismay Collection of studio pottery potters in his collection. When she began producing the fine burnished vessels for which she is now known, Ismay was fascinated. One piece he purchased in 1982 was a red and black burnished vase with an off-set neck. Bought at her Royal College of Art show, it cost £140; he paid a deposit of £70 on the day then sent her cheques later covering further instalments. In her letter of reply to his first cheque, Odundo wrote: “Please don’t worry yourself as to when you should send the check and so forth. I can wait for the next installment until you are able to pay it.

Don’t deprive yourself of buying other pieces because you feel my check is urgent … It is a great honour for my work to find a place amidst your splendid collection and I am more proud of that than anything else. I have seen the collection and thus know that I am honoured.”

His final purchase of her work was made in 1984 from the exhibition Individual Eye at the Craftsmen Potters Shop in London. It had a retail price of £400 and even with a very generous 40 per cent discount, which reduced the cost to £260, Ismay had to stretch his finances to afford it.

This experience highlights how rapid rises in the prices of pots during the 1980s affected Ismay’s ability to collect.

The market developed from the late 1960s onwards as the number of people collecting British studio pottery rose.

Auction target The monetary value of his collection was never a priority for him and he certainly never purchased items thinking of them as a financial investment, since he had no intention of selling them.

However, although the financial value of his collection was of little importance compared with the pleasure his pots gave him, Ismay was not unaware of the commercial side of the British studio pottery movement. Ismay was seen as both a customer and a potential seller and was

Right Dr Helen Walsh,

photo by Anthony Chappel-Ross.

W.A. Ismay was at work when this extremely important Cycladic vase made by Hans Coper was delivered, so the postman left the parcel in his outside toilet.

Costing £81 in 1975, it was the most expensive piece by Coper he bought Below left Jane Hamlyn, Blue Curly Teapot, 19961998. © Jane Hamlyn.

Photo by Philip Sayer

usually sent catalogues by auction houses with a studio pottery sale coming up. He was generally uninterested in purchasing through auctions, as direct contact with potters and passionate gallery owners was something he valued.

In 1983, Ismay spotted a large Hans Coper pot, which was almost identical to one he bought for £10 from the Midland Group of Artists exhibition Seven ArtistCraftsmen in 1959, which sold at Sotheby’s for £9,500.

Lasting legacy Once the word got out that Ismay was looking for a permanent collection, expressions of interest began to surface. It was not only public museums that were approaching Ismay now, but private collectors and auction houses, too. Institutions that wanted to cherrypick the best bits of the collection and discard the rest were easily dismissed. One collector from Germany approached Ismay with the suggestion that 14 Welbeck Street be made into a public museum, capitalizing on the unique nature of the domestic interior that Ismay had created. He proposed that items from the collection be sold to finance it. Ismay’s reply was a firm ‘no’.

After reaching the decision to leave his beloved pots to the city of York, Ismay began the process of putting together a catalogue of his collection in 1996. The W.A. Ismay Collection was bequeathed to the Yorkshire Museum in 2001. Comprising of more than 3,600 pots by around 500 potters, it is almost certainly the largest and most important collection of its type in the UK. Taken from The Yorkshire Tea Ceremony, the first major book on the W.A. Ismay Collection, by Dr Helen Walsh and published by the Centre of Ceramic Art and Paul Holberton Publishing. The exhibition of the same name is on at York Art Gallery’s Centre of Ceramic Art until April 2023, for more details go to www.yorkartgallery.org.uk

32 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

INDUSTRY COMMENT the future of art fairs MARKET REPORT

Digital Art The jury is out on how many fairs will return after the pandemic writes Melanie Gerlis, art market editor of The Art Newspaper

Meeting clients The pre-pandemic reality was that art fairs were already less places where art was actually sold and more marketing platforms that focused trading activities around certain times in the year. A large amount of business was done via pdfs, emails and WhatsApp, and there is now a myriad of ways to meet prospective clients. For many galleries 2020 was a surprisingly profitable year, largely because the exorbitant costs of doing art fairs was taken out of the equation.

There has been plenty of talk of the in-person events coming to a natural end. But looking back at the past 60 years highlights just how resilient the art fair industry has proved to challenges, both extrinsic and intrinsic.

In this context, the pandemic looks like just one more force for change. It is a sudden one, squeezing 10 years of gradual adjustment into one sharp time, but is not necessarily a bad one.

While art fairs will not disappear completely, I feel safe saying that many of the 365 physical events which were planned pre pandemic will not come back. The majority of those that do will have a more local feel, while continuing to boost their brands with digital content, even once any restrictions have been lifted.

Must-see-in-person events will be limited to the biggerbrand fairs, which are likely to consolidate international activity back into just a few geographic centres.

Online offering

T

he Covid-19 pandemic was a huge and sudden shock to the art market system. Furlough schemes and job cuts caused significant pain in an already poorly paid industry. As well as fairs and galleries, the many industries that swirl around the art world have suffered, as have the artists themselves, without whom none of it would exist.

But the art fair model was already past its peak, locked in a medieval format that long preceded the transformative powers of technology. The feeding frenzy of top-level collectors fighting to be the first through the gates on VIP days was already not a good look. In an increasingly digital world, it has served its time.

Now, threats to democracy and the old-world order, including a gradual eroding of the aspirational middle classes in the West and a coinciding rise of power in the East, point to different times. The cult of ownership, which underpins any market for tangible goods, is no longer a given.

Above A visitor to

TEFAF Maastricht. The next generation is as comfortable wandering through social media as an exhibition tent

‘The pre-pandemic reality was that art fairs were already less places where art was actually sold and more marketing platforms that focused trading activities around certain times in the year. A large amount of business was done via pdfs, emails and WhatsApp, and there is now a myriad of ways to meet prospective clients’

It is clear, too, that habits have changed and will continue to do so. Those galleries who can afford it have upped their game online, taking cues from the higher-tech auction houses who tapped into the appeal of art-asdigital-entertainment.

To stay in business, art fairs need to keep pace in this more fluid and self-directed environment. Galleries want to be able to pick and choose where, when and how they show; collectors do not always want far-flung travel and a stream of dinner invitations to punctuate how they buy; the next generation is as comfortable to wander through social media as into a nearby tent. Everyone wants to be more environmentally friendly.

The happy truth remains that while sometimes it might be more convenient and agreeable enough to look and buy virtually, we do crave seeing art in person.

Real-life storytelling has proved a sure-fire way to capture imaginations and stimulate sales. Being social creatures, able to communicate passion with conviction, is what makes gallerists good at their job. Hub marketplaces, which have endured centuries, are not going away. Neither is people’s love of coming together to enjoy the cultural experience of art. The shake-up of the art market, and the art fair industry within it, is real but it is not terminal. In the words of the Singaporebased gallerist Richard Koh: “We are finally at the doorstep of the 21st century.” The art fair ride has already been full of twists and turns. More lie ahead.

Taken from The Art Fair Story: A Roller Coaster Ride

by Melanie Gerlis published by Lund Humphries and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, priced £19.99 and available to order from www.lundhumphries.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 33

COLLECTING GUIDES Combs as a love token

Comb Lover

While a nit comb might not be the most romantic gift today, for centuries of Valentine’s Days they were seen as treasured love tokens

I

n years gone by lovers had to be more inventive with the gifts they presented to the object of their desire. Unlike today, when the humble comb is viewed as old-fashioned at best and functional at worst, for centuries the accessory was seen as the most intimate of items. Used by a woman to caress her hair at her boudoir, the mere sight of a comb was enough to arouse desire in a hot-blooded male.

34 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Jan Miense

Molenaer (1610–1668) Allegory of Vanity, c. 1633, oil on canvas

In Chrétien de Troyes’ 12th-century poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, Lancelot comes across a comb snagged with hair from his beloved Queen Guinevere. The Arthurian knight presses it to his mouth and face, inducing feelings of joy, delight and arousal.

In book II of De Amore (Of Love) the 12th-century French author Andreas Capellanus spells out the acceptable love tokens of the day: “A lover may freely accept from her beloved these things: a handkerchief, a hair band, a circlet of gold or silver, a brooch for the breast, a mirror, a belt, a purse, a lace for clothes, a comb [pecten], sleeves, gloves, a ring, a box, a keepsake of the lover, and, to speak more generally, a lady can accept from her love whatever small gift may be useful in the care of her person, or may look charming, or may remind her of her lover, providing, however, that in accepting the gift it is clear that she is acting quite without avarice.”

Combs and other grooming implements were often included in a bridal trousseau in 15th and 16th-century Italy. In 1474, for example, the Italian noblewoman Caterina Pico da Carpi had seven ivory combs in her wedding trousseau.

Similar to the Welsh love spoon, the comb was usually presented to a would-be admirer as a keepsake and symbol of regard.

Secular themes In Europe until the 14th century, the public was nurtured on stories predominantly religious in content. Likewise, the art of the carver was largely concerned with portraying devotional themes. But as tales of chivalry and romance gained popularity, secular illustration became acceptable and for wealthy patrons carved artefacts decorated with romantic and allegorical scenes were executed by the most talented artists of the day.

Small personal objects were also commissioned, including combs. Ivory was one of the first materials used, with several outstanding 14th and 15th-century examples, each having a double row of teeth and attributed to French craftsmen in the V&A Museum.

Romantic imagery Many early combs display carved romantic symbols: a heart, a heart pierced with an arrow, with words of endearment or names or initials indicating they were commissioned.

Wording on some of the combs is in French, the international language of courtship at the time. In other instances the script is in Latin. Some specimens contain, within the central panel, sliding bars that extend sideways and which are similarly pierced to match the comb body. The sliding bars cover recessed areas in the inner

Above H-comb, 1500-

1600, made in France or England, from the Pinto Collection, image courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust Below Women’s comb, 15th–16th century, possibly French Right Dante Gabriel

Rossetti (1828-1882) Morning Music, 1867, image courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust

surfaces which, as Edward Pinto in his book Treen and Other Wooden Bygones, 1969, surmises, may have been receptacles for locks of hair, or fragments of perfumed pomander. On several combs an interfacing or lining of coloured silk was placed within the central panel thus allowing the fretwork to be highlighted.

Skilled workers Pinto also draws attention to a specific type of boxwood comb having both coarse and fine teeth. He makes the point that “throughout the medieval period ornamental

‘As tales of chivalry and romance gained popularity, secular illustration became acceptable and for wealthy patrons carved artefacts decorated with romantic and allegorical scenes were executed by the most talented artists of the day’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 35

COLLECTING GUIDES Combs as a love token

H combs were a recognised and highly-valued European love gift from a gallant to his lady.”

The side with narrow-spaced teeth looks remarkably like a modern nit comb and was undoubtedly used for the same purpose. The 15th and 16th century was a period of particularly skilled workmanship in comb making in France when exquisitely fashioned combs were produced.

Little is known of the lives of the artist craftsmen responsible but the superior quality of the pierced decoration and lace-like carving raised their status to that of fine art. Relatively few of these survive today and of those that do many are museum pieces.

Boxwood examples Boxwood, bone and ivory were the most common materials; in all of these the teeth needed to be cut along the grain for strength. Boxwood is probably the only

36 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Women’s comb,

15th–16th century, possibly French Right Woman’s comb

15th or 16th century, French or Italian Below left H-comb, 1500-1600, made in France or England, from the Pinto Collection, image courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust Below right H-comb,

1500-1600, made in France or England, from the Pinto Collection, image courtesy of Birmingham Museums Trust

European wood with a sufficiently straight and dense grain to allow the carver to create fine teeth without splitting.

Teeth were cut using a double-bladed saw called a stadda. These saws had two blades set close together and could cut 32 teeth to the inch or even more with a very skilled craftsman able to cut up to 50 teeth per inch.

After sawing, the comb could be reduced in thickness with a plane, and cut with extremely fine, pierced ornament, to create an implement that was marvellous

Gerrit Dou (1613–1675) Woman Bather Combing Her Hair, c. 1660, oil on panel

Top left French early

16th-century comb in boxwood, bone and silk, image courtesy of the Walters Art Museum Above left Italian double comb showing scenes of courtly life, image courtesy of the Walters Art Museum Left Woman’s comb 15th

to look at as well as practical to use. With a uniformity of size, the average comb was five by seven inches in length and it has been suggested may have come from the same talented master combmaker.

In the later 17th century as boxwood versions fell out of favour there was a fashion for engraved tortoiseshell combs from the West Indies, many of which were were influenced by Dutch craftsmanship.

or 16th century, French or Italian, decorated on both sides with animals and birds, and the centre of one side has the amorous device of a flaming heart, image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scrimshaw combs

Love token combs and hair pins, fashioned by prisoners of war or by sailors on long sea voyages fall into the same category. In this context love combs have parallels with scrimshaw created during periods of absence on whaling exhibitions. Carefully whittling away a piece of bone, ivory, shell or driftwood with the image of one’s loved one in mind was a pleasant way of occupying spare time.

Right A scrimshaw walrus

ivory comb, c. 1860

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 37

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Puzzle TIME

Put your feet up with this month’s crossword and quiz set by our resident puzzle editor 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 February 28 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

FEBRUARY QUIZ

To the nearest number, how many listings were there in total? (a) 20, (b) 40, (c) 50, (d) 60

Q1 In which decade did dropped handlebars on sporting bicycles first appear? (a) 1880s, (b) 1890s, (c) 1900s, (d) 1910s

Q10 The first Canadian stamp was issued in 1851. What was depicted on it? (a) Queen Victoria, (b) a moose, (c) a water-fall, (d) a beaver

Q2 A famous porcelain factory in Italy was founded in 1743 at a royal palace. What was it known as? (a) Castiglione, (b) Delmonte, (c) Capodimonte, (c) Regimente

Finally, here are four anagrams: toxic laws angst, circle if calf, angelic ergot, abhor corgi anguish. They can be arranged to form:

Q7 The car voted the most

beautiful ever designed

(a) The two-word name of the American painter, writer and adventurer (1796-1872) renowned for his portrayal of native Indian life. (b) The two-word name of the woman many consider to be the most influential English ceramic artist of the 20th century (1899-1972). (c) The modern term to describe a seat which is upholstered and open-sided but with arm pads and concave arm supports. (Two words.) (d) The process by which a duplicate metal sculpture is produced from an original non-metallic model.

(Three words.)

Q3 The art deco sculptors Paul Philippe and Otto Poertzel worked mostly in which material? (a) glass, (b) silver, (c) porcelain, (d) bronze Q4 Many such art deco sculptors also used a material that would nowadays be frowned upon.

Was it (a) ivory, (b) unsustainable wood, (c) pangolin scales, (d) exotic animal fur?

Q5 The “pluviette” was an early 20th-century (a) water barrow, (b) water sprinkler, (c) water feature, (d) water butt?

Q6 The Horse Chestnut, Serpent and Grape, and Osmundia Fern are all types of (a) art nouveau glass decorations, (b) garden seats, (c) late 18th-century plant pots, (d) hidden objects in a Victorian ‘Where’s Wally’ children’s game?

Q7 Which of the following has regularly been voted the most beautiful car ever designed? (a) The 1967 Maserati Ghibil, (b) the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Seville, (c) the 1957 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, (d) the early 1960s Jaguar E-type.

Q8 The first Davenport writing table was made in the late 18th century by the firm Gillows.

Why was it so called? (a) after Davenport near Manchester, (b) after the city in Iowa, (c) after the customer who requested it, (d) after Mr Gillow’s wife’s maiden name Q9 The first book about the telephone The History of Bell’s Telephone, published in 1878 in London, contained a telephone directory.

38 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Q8 The Davenport was

named after who, or what?

SOLUTION TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD: The letters in the highlighted squares could be rearranged to form the word Dadaism.

The winners, who will each receive a copy of the book, are Steve Parlanti, Eastbourne; Louise Boreham, Fife; D Eric Morgan, Scarborough.

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The Giant Stride, 1933, a linocut by _____Spowers

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DOWN CLUE

Across

1 Branched ornamental centrepiece for the table. (7) 7 Lorna _____ : A Romance of Exmoor is the 1869 novel by the English author R. D. Blackmore. (5) 9 Ancient alphabet used in Celtic and Pictish inscriptions. Used to good effect on some jewellery. (5) 10 Abbreviation used for a judgement of worth and possible cost to the bidder, or when a business was started. (3) 11 Clock escapement in which the pallets push the escape wheel slightly backwards at the end of each swing of the pendulum. (6) 12 The _____ Book. Title of a British quarterly literary periodical that was published in London from 1894 to 1897. (6) 14 Small bronze Roman coin of low value. (2) 16 The gold tincture used in heraldry. (2) 17 John _____ (1819-1900) English author, philosopher and influential art critic. (6) 20 Middle Eastern country and its crafts (e.g. essentially synonymous with Anatolian carpets).

(6) 22 Original behaviour said to have taken place in 4-Down. (3) 23 American car manufacturer that first used the Riviera name in 1949. (5) 24 The palm _____ became a symbol of the victory of Christian faith over the suffering of martyrdom. (5) 25 Description of an outwardturned or flaring rim. (7)

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ACROSS CLUE

Who is this 19th-century philosopher?

Down

What is the name of this Cornish attraction

1 Very dense, hard and usually black wood. (5) 2 _____ Louise Spowers (1890-1947). Australian artist associated with the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in London and perhaps best known for her linocuts. (5) 3 Any precious stone…and a type of lettuce. (3) 4 Paradise on Earth…and a major botanical attraction in Cornwall.

(4) 5 Members (pl.) of an ancient Germanic people who gave their name to 12th-16th century architectural style. (5) 6 _____ rings. Symbols of love and devotion. (5) 8 The ______. American-based but global tribute to the film industry. Old awards achieve high sums at auction. (6) 11 A recess or cupboard for church vessels. (Accepted spelling especially in Scotland). (5) 13 William _____ (1580-1619). English painter known for his portraits of members of James I’s court. (6) 15 Push as much padding etc. into furniture, for example. (5) 16 George _____ Welles. (1915-1985). Actor, screenwriter and influential filmmaker. His autographs now command high prices.

(5) 18 Gustav _____ (1862-1918). Austrian symbolist painter. (5) 19 The _____ Civil Servant. Title of the 1968 autobiographical work

by Quentin Crisp. (5) 21 Michael ______ (1929-1995). German writer of fantasy and children’s fiction. Perhaps best known for his epic fantasy The Neverending Story.(4) 23 Insect motif used by many e.g. La Rochère glassware. (3) Finally: Rearrange the letters in the highlighted squares to form the name of a major avant-garde development in European art in the early years of the 20th century.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 39

COLLECTING GUIDES Anglepoise lamps

Perfect POISE Since their first appearance in the 1930s, Anglepoise lamps have been beacons of good design that remain in demand with switched-on collectors today

G

ood design lasts. When the twin fundamentals of an object’s form and function are in perfect unison, the result is a product that transcends changing fashions and remains in style across each proceeding decade.

40 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Top Anglepoise Type 75 desk lamp by Margaret Howell, yellow ochre edition. All images, unless stated, courtesy of Anglepoise

Above Anglepoise founder George Carwardine (1887-1947) started the company in his garden workshop Right Anglepoise Model 1227 (1935)

On July 7, 1932, George Carwardine (1887-1947) patented his unique spring-design system for a lamp that would illuminate some of the world’s most stylish spaces and become a design classic. The Anglepoise lamp was the result of Carwardine’s departure from the bankrupt Horstmann Car Company, which allowed the automotive engineer to redeploy his talent for developing vehicle suspension systems into other areas.

Growing Ambitions Working in his garden workshop at his home in Bath, Carwardine set about exploring the capabilities of spring and leverbased mechanisms. His experimentation with various springs, levers, weights and cams eventually resulted in an innovative four-spring lamp that demonstrated an inherent flexibility of movement, combined with perfectly-balanced elements that allowed its light to be shone in any direction.

Left Anglepoise Original 1227 mini desk lamp in jet black Right Celebrated designer Sir Kenneth Grange reinvigorated Anglepoise Below Anglepoise Model 90 (1973) Below right Anglepoise Model 1208 Prototype (1932)

Standing on a heavy base that anchored the light to a surface, and with its bulb situated inside a heavy shade, the beam could be focused to any angle by instant adjustment ‘obedient to the lightest touch’, as later marketing messages conveyed. The design also claimed to reduce electrical consumption by up to 25 per cent, due to the shade reducing unnecessary glare from its low energy 25-watt bulb.

Full Beam Carwardine’s new light, the Model 1208 Prototype, was soon in strong demand but his small-scale production capabilities strained to keep up with the influx of orders. In 1934, he took the decision to license his design to Herbert Terry & Sons, commencing a successful decades-long partnership with the Worcestershire-based spring manufacturer.

The collaboration, agreed with Charles Terry, Herbert’s oldest son, saw the registration of the celebrated Anglepoise® name (after the trade marks registry at the patent office rejected Carwardine’s original name of ‘equipoise’).

Soon after saw the start of large-scale production of the Model 1208.

A year later, the company unveiled the next stage in the product’s continuing evolution, further finessed from its initial industrialstyle design, in the shape of a threespring Anglepoise® Original 1227 aimed at the domestic market.

The innate beauty, sleek functionality and effortless movement of the Original 1227, emulating the attributes of the human arm, led to its universal recognition as a British design classic that remained in production for more than 30 years.

Along with the use of three springs, rather than four, (the same mechanism available today) early production saw the lamp’s design further adjusted to allow for a 40-watt bulb in a widened shade, as well as a base made up of two tiers.

Carwardine remained a central figure in the company’s design department and was responsible for the evolution of a number of products, ranging

from lamps in hospital operating theatres, to those used by navigators onboard military aircraft. (In 1985, a WWII plane salvaged from Loch Ness still had its nagivator’s lamp in situ and, more remarkably, in working condition.)

Light Years Over the following decades, Anglepoise continued to be the pace-setter for modernist lighting, expanding its product line. It included the Model 75, with a different shape of shade from the Original 1227; the 1973 Model 90 was produced in a range of colours, while 1985 saw the launch of the Apex 90 – another modern interpretation of the Original 1227.

While the various lamps were produced under the auspices of Herbert Terry & Sons, during the 1970s the company was sold to Associated Spring. However, the original founder, Herbert Terry’s grandson, John Terry, acquired the lighting part of the business from Associated Spring and created the separate brand, Anglepoise which continues today.

Today the company remains a family business and is run by Herbert’s great-great grandson, Simon Terry.

‘Working in his garden workshop at his home in Bath, Carwardine set about exploring the capabilities of spring and lever-based mechanisms’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 41

COLLECTING GUIDES Anglepoise lamps

Q&A Balancing acts

With its acknowledged position as a design muse, the company has worked with some heavyweight names in British design.

In 2003, the legendary product designer, Sir Kenneth Grange, took on the mantle of design director and set about reinvigorating the brand’s product line, commenting: “The Anglepoise is a minor miracle of balance, a quality in life we do not value as we should.”

Other well-known names have collaborated with the brand in recent times, including the fashion designer Sir Paul Smith and the ‘queen of understated fashion’, Margaret Howell. For the model ‘Anglepoise + Paul Smith’, the designer took inspiration from the Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian to colour the Type 75 range.

While Howell, a long-term champion of the brand, partnered on a six-piece collection for Grange’s Type 75, including the yellow ochre edition 2012, colour-matched from an original 1970’s Anglepoise.

More recently the company partnered with the National Trust on its Original 1227 range to release a table, desk and floor lamp which will also raise funds for a Surrey modernist villa, The Homewood, in Esher, designed by the architect Patrick Gwynne.

Above Designer Margaret Howell has collaborated with Anglepoise. Image courtesy of Line Klein Below Sir Paul Smith brought colour combinations to his collaboration. Image James Mooney Bottom 'Anglepoise + Paul Smith’ Type 75 giant floor lamp

Simon Terry, managing director of Anglepoise and the great-great grandson of its founder, shines a light on the company’s enduring appeal

Q A

Why do Anglepoise lamps remain such design classics?

It’s a simple formula ... function over form. It’s ultimately a product that puts light exactly where it is needed and solves a genuine problem. It’s a design that has always stayed true to its roots, and this is what gives it its mass appeal.

Q A

How was the company revolutionary?

It became a world leader in springs and metal pressings, actively developing new techniques and technology in metal, which allowed it to invent and develop many new product categories for a growing market.

celebrate the modernist aesthetic, alongside our more heritage products.

Q A

Tell us about the upcoming book from Jonathan Glancy?

Called Spring Light, it is a celebration not only of Anglepoise as a product, but its influence and position within the wider cultural context. We didn’t want to create another boring company history book and Jonathan really made this a visually stunning book with a fun narrative. It’s the first book written about us in more than 150 years of existence, and it also gives a pleasing nod to the future.

Q A

What does the future hold for Anglepoise lamps?

Already five generations in as a business, we are ready and poised for the next. We will continue with our brand message to ‘abandon darkness’, providing a true guarantee for life, which is unique in the world for an electrical or lighting brand. Although we hope that others will follow our lead soon.

Q A

Which model do you think best exemplifies Anglepoise?

For me it’s the Type 75, designed in 2004 by Sir Kenneth Grange, the ‘father of modernism’, who became design director of Anglepoise in 2003. It’s a newer model in our collection that is, without doubt, already a design classic in its own right.

Q A

How does Anglepoise continue to influence lighting design?

Nearly every single articulated desk lamp that has followed has been inspired by, or really owes its existence to, the Anglepoise. It really invented the whole category of task lighting.

Q A

How has the company managed to stay relevant?

By sticking to ‘growing the core’ and understanding what made us great in the first place, while carefully keeping things relevant for today with subtle changes.

Q A

How important has Sir Kenneth Grange been in its recent history?

I have worked with Kenneth for 20 years now. He really has been central in bringing the companies design ethos bang up to date, and allowed us to

42 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Right Anglepoise Model 75 (1968)

COLLECTING GUIDE Otto Billström, 20th-century design specialist at Essex auctioneers, Sworders, reveals his tips on buying the design classic at auction In the current market climate, when good-quality design is fetching higher prices than ever, the humble Anglepoise lamp bucks the trend – offering a British design icon, close to a century old, at a very affordable price.

So, what should you look for in an Anglepoise? The classic model 1227, designed in 1935 and still produced to this day, continues to be immeasurably popular with good vintage examples making between £80-£120.

Due to its versatility and the vast quantities produced over the years, they have found their way into workshops, television studios and even the cockpits of WWII bombers.

Buyers can expect to pay more for the increasingly rare WWII-era lights, which saw the metal shades replaced by Bakelite due to material shortages and restrictions. Expect to pay around £300.

Two other models to look out for are the earliest models (both of which predate the 1227) namely the 1208 and 1209. Produced in large numbers, both can be found around the affordable £150-£300 mark. During the 1940s, the 1209 was also the first Anglepoise to receive an external collaborator when the French fashion house Hermès produced a limited version with a leather-clad foot.

These have since become highly-desirable collectors’ items, with auction prices today acheiving £2,000-£3,000.

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RARE FINDS

But it was in the 1930s, with the Herbert Terry & Sons product catalogues, when some of the most extraordinary Anglepoise models were created. To appeal to a wide range of professional markets, George Carwardine designed a variety of specialist lights based around the 1208 and 1209 models. These ranged from the model 1313 (designed for garage mechanics to see around and under cars) to the ceiling-suspended, fourarmed, 1288, retailed as a medical and dental unit.

Being a rare find, a 1313 in worn condition can still make between £300-£500. As only a few, if any, 1288s have survived into today’s market, collectors looking for a contemporary counterpart may look to the Dear Ingo chandelier designed by Ron Gilad for Moooi, which often fetches between £700-£1,000 at auction.

These are only some of the many models of a design, which has been reinvented and reinterpreted for more than 90 years. The universality of the Anglepoise lamp, and its various models, continues to define private and public spaces around the world.

‘ It’s ultimately a product that puts light exactly where it is needed and solves a genuine problem’ 4

5

1 Anglepoise lamp in green and black sold at Sworders for £150 in

June 2016. All images courtesy of Sworders 2 A machinist’s lamp with patinated black support on later stand,

sold for £550 at Sworders in July 2020 3 A cream Anglepoise lamp on stepped base, 90cm high, sold for

£75 at Sworders in May 2021 4 A mid-20th century Anglepoise lamp on castors, sold for £110 at

Sworders in March 2020 5 An Anglepoise desk light with a moulded, stepped stand and

two Kaiser Idell lamps, sold for £240 at Sworders in June 2017

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 43

AUCTION OF ANTIQUES & COLLECTABLES

Wednesday 2nd February 2022 at 10am Farleigh Court Golf Club, CR6 9PE Viewing available

020 8468 1010 Email: info@catherinesouthon.co.uk For Tel: all enquiries please call 0208 468 1010 or email info@catherinesouthon.co.uk

WWAd03-FREE AntiqueCollecting 216x143mm.qxp_Layout 1 10/01/2022 16:32 Page 1

ENGLISH & EUROPEAN CERAMICS & GLASS TUESDAY 26TH APRIL 2022

A fine pair of Minton pâte­sur­pâte vases

by Marc Louis Solon, c.1889 Estimate £6,000­10,000*

www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk *Visit woolleyandwallis.co.uk/buying for additional charges on final hammer price

44 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 80 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

ENQUIRIES Clare Durham +44 (0)1722 424507 cd@woolleyandwallis.co.uk

EXPERT COMMENT Charles Hanson

An Auctioneer’s Lot Charles Hanson praises the work of the Austro-British potter Lucie Rie as a trio of her pieces goes under the hammer

Unlike most other potters of the period, Rie’s works were fired only once and the glaze was applied by brush when the clay was still raw and unfired. Not only did a single firing make economic sense, it resulted in surfaces, textures and colours that appeared more vivid.

Lucie was the youngest child of Benjamin Gomperz, a Jewish doctor who was a consultant to Sigmund Freud.

She studied pottery under Michael Powolny at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule, a school of arts and crafts associated with the Wiener Werkstätte, in which she enrolled in 1922.

GROWING SUCCESS Left Lucie Rie (1902-

1995): pouring jug, 10.8cm high Below Lucie Rie in her studio in Albion Mews, reproduced with kind permission of the Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts Below right Lucie Rie

(1902-1995) green glazed flared conical bowl.

Diameter approx 16.5cm, height approx 10cm, sold for £4,000 Below far right Lucie Rie (1902-1995): cylindrical beaker, c. 1958, 11cm high

W

hile Chinese ceramics might grab the headlines, studio pottery is also sought after with pieces by important makers selling for thousands of pounds.

It’s always a pleasure to see Dame Lucie Rie’s work come up for sale, as was the case recently when three pieces by the Austrian-born potter went under the hammer, with one bowl selling for £4,000, outstripping its pre-sale guide of £2,000.

60-year career Born in Vienna in 1902, Rie fled to London in wartime and went on to change the landscape of ceramics in Britain.

Her vision and inventiveness helped elevate pottery to the world of fine arts. Her pottery has a gentle, modern, textured feel that would fit any interior. The beauty of good design is that it never dates. It lasts forever.

Rie influenced many during her 60-year career and developed inventive kiln processing.

By 1937, Rie won a silver medal at the Paris International Exhibition but war clouds were gathering. A year later, Rie fled Nazi Austria to settle in London. Around this time, she separated from her husband, Hans Rie, a businessman who she married in Vienna in 1926.

After the war, to make ends meet, she made ceramic buttons and jewellery for couture fashion outlets. Some of these are now displayed at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia in Norwich.

In 1946, Rie hired Hans Coper, a fellow Viennese refugee, with no experience in ceramics, to help her fire the buttons. Though Coper was interested in learning sculpture, she sent him to a potter named Heber Mathews, who taught him how to make pots on the wheel. Rie and Coper exhibited together in 1948. Coper became a partner in Rie’s studio, where he remained until 1958. Their friendship lasted until Coper’s death in 1981.

Bernard Leach Rie was also a friend of Bernard Leach, a leading figure in British studio pottery. She was impressed by his views, especially concerning the ‘completeness’ of a pot. But despite his influence, her brightly-coloured, delicate, modernist pottery stands apart from Leach’s subdued, rustic, oriental work. She stopped making pottery in 1990 after suffering the first of a series of strokes and died in 1995, aged 93. Such was her impact, her studio was moved and reconstructed in London’s V&A. Charles Hanson is the owner of Derbyshire-based auctioneers Hansons as well as a well-known TV personality. Hansons’ next sale is on February 5 at its Oxfordshire saleroom, for more details go to www. hansonsauctioneers.com. To learn more about Rie’s work in a very special collection turn to page 28.

‘Unlike most other potters of the period, Rie’s works were fired only once and the glaze was applied by brush when the clay was still raw and unfired. Not only did a single firing make economic sense, it resulted in surfaces, textures and colours that appeared more vivid’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 45

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR John Makepeace

Seats of Learning Work by the renowned furniture maker John Makepeace goes on show this month. 45 years since he started his celebrated School for Craftsmen in Wood, Holly Johnson pays tribute to one of the 20th-century’s finest designers

46 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

I

n the pantheon of 20th-century furniture design, the first half of the century is usually given over to art deco and the Modernists, with the limelight in the second half generally falling on the Scandinavians and Italians. In the UK, names such as Ernest Race and Robin Day joined the commercial makers of Ercol and G-Plan and came to public attention.

But, in the seventies, when British furniture making was in the doldrums, there was a lesser-reported rise in neoModernism and craft cabinetmaking led by the designer John Makepeace.

The origins of ‘craft revival’ as this movement became known can be traced back to the arts and crafts revolution a century earlier headed by John Ruskin and William Morris, which espoused craftsmanship over mass production. Like arts and crafts, the movement was strong in America with designers such as Wendell Castle (1932-2018). In the UK, the craft revival developed into more figurative forms in which functionalism was not lost. While many designers were linked to the movement, one stood out in particular – John Makepeace. This month the Sarah Myerscough Gallery will present work

by Makepeace at the international craft fair Collect at Somerset House in London.

Solihull born

Opposite page Forum

table and chairs, John Makepeace was commissioned to make a table and chair set as the centrepiece of an informal meeting area for a company. He chose yew, bog oak and cast aluminium, with the chairs finished in leather for added comfort Below Mulberry 3, a

wooden dining room set of mulberry table and chairs by John Makepeace made from mulberry, robinia and bronze Below right An elm

and burr elm desk and matching chair, designed

by John Makepeace, and made by Mark Coray in the Makepeace Workshops, with round column supports and inset leather to the top and to the seat, 1985, on sale for £12,000 from Holly Johnson Antiques

Born in Solihull in 1939, Makepeace quickly acquired his sense of artistry from an early age, with wood soon at its centre. He signed up for carpentry lessons at the age of six and often called in at the cricket bat factory near his home in the West Midlands. He first saw fine furniture being made when he was 11 and, from there, he decided to visit the great cabinet makers in Copenhagen as a teenager, including the work of Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobson.

He said: “I appreciated its humanity and their special cabinetmaking skills.”

The Master Carpenter’s Chair Designed by John Makepeace and built

by Clive Baines, the chair was created for the Master of the City Livery Company to alleviate the discomfort of traditional “thrones” devised with little regard for the human anatomy.

Instead, Makepeace designed the chair to reflect the proportions of the body. He also followed the larger brief to express the distinguished history, values and purpose of the Company.

It has three legs, the leg to the rear runs directly up the back to provide lumbar support.

Vertical layers wrap around the back and support the company shield in burnished white gold.

On each side of the back, multiple layers sweep forward to form the arms. Finally it is made of bog oak, which had been conserved beneath the English Fens since storms destroyed forests in the Bronze Age, in 3,000 BC. That trip ignited a passion that would see Makepeace through a long period of apprenticeship. After several rejections, in 1957 he persuaded Keith Poole, a Dorset cabinetmaker, to take him on and train him. After enrolling on an Edinburgh-based correspondence course that covered design history he taught craft and drawing in a secondary modern school in Birmingham.

First workshop He went on to set up his own workshop, organising an exhibition of the work of a dozen designer craftsmen at the Herbert Gallery in Coventry in 1962, showing the importance he attached to promoting craft cabinetmakers’ work. His attitude was also at odds with other makers of the day, including Edward Barnsley

‘Makepeace first saw fine furniture being made when he was 11 and, from there, he decided to visit the great cabinet makers in Copenhagen as a teenager, including the work of Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobson’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 47

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR John Makepeace

(1900-1987) at the Cotswolds School, whose deep rooted affection for the past tended to dismiss any interest in changing attitudes to the design of handmade furniture.

He said: “At the start I was moved by Williams Morris’s philosophy. Intuitively, as a designer of individual objects I could relate more readily to art nouveau rather than the industrial aesthetic promulgated by the Bauhaus.

“Rather than designing to express machines, the driving forces are now a blend of humanity and technology. I want to make objects that engage us through their form, structure and materials.”

Above This set of four

wooden chairs, known as Myrtle thrones was created by Makepeace, from a single root of burr myrtle Right Makepeace

bought Parnham House in 1976 Below Sycamore oak table named Undulate

by Makepeace

Early talent Having set up a workshop at Farnborough Barn, near Banbury, in his very early 20s his designs were already being sold in Heal’s, Liberty and Harrods, and he received early commissions from Keble College, Oxford, to furnish 120 rooms with bespoke beds, chairs and wardrobes.

In the seventies, he co-founded the Craft Council, the national agency to promote British designer-makers and, in 1972, Makepeace went to America where he met the sculptor Wendell Castle, whose versatile output ranged from pop art designs to traditional cabinetmaking, with pieces including a games table in walnut and rosewood with an inlaid chequerboard. Castle’s pieces bridged sculpture and furniture. He and Makepeace discussed setting up schools for craftsmen, an idea which had always intrigued Makepeace. In 1975, he was commissioned to make a dining table to celebrate Liberty’s centenary.

For the artist, however, creating pieces was not enough.

Alongside being a now professional furniture designer, Makepeace was also keenly aware of the need for an integrated education for furniture designers and makers going into the business.

Parnham College The desire to introduce commerce into design led, in turn, to the acquisition in 1976 of the 80-room, Parnham House in Beaminster, Dorset, a Grade I, 16th-century mansion. A year later, alongside his own furniture studios, Makepeace set up the School for Craftsmen in Wood in 1977, bringing

48 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

together teachers, artists, designers and craftsmen with a creative curriculum with commerce at its centre.

The college spread its influence among numerous workshops in Britain, with Makepeace’s entrepreneurial attitude changing the rather retiring way in which cabinetmakers had preceded in the past.

The college had a number of successful students including David Linley, now Lord Snowden, who is known for his one-off bespoke pieces of craftmanship. Another successful partnership forged at the college was that of Sean Sutcliffe and Terence Conran, who went on to establish Benchmark in the mid-eighties. A further alumni was Konstantin Grcic (b.1965), the acclaimed Germanborn industrial designer who also studied cabinet making at Parnham before attending the Royal College of Art.

Individual approach The individual approach of craft revival furniture means it is not for the economically minded. Most pieces were tailor made, designed to reflect the client’s needs, location and character of the space. Natural features within chosen wood influenced his design, leading Makepeace to hand select trees from indigenous wooded areas, with his bigger designs often being worked from larger timber varieties such as elm and oak, while woods such as yew and mulberry lent themselves to smaller forms.

Curator Dame Rosalind Savill said: “The sublime effect of exquisitely chosen materials, perfectly crafted to serve and enhance the human body and soul, makes John Makepeace’s work overwhelmingly desirable.”

There was a clear definition of function, which defined three broad categories of furniture: Chairs, which are concerned with supporting people.

The human form makes their design quite unique in that posture is all important. Cabinets, are made for protection and containment, whether of articles and knowledge, or of work for display. Finally, tables are designed for ceremonial or work purposes.

Above Chairs and table

created by Makepeace for Liberty to celebrate its centenary. The set is made from limed oak and the seats are finished with leather Right Makepeace’s ripple

ash, holly wood, oak and Lebanon cedar cabinet is the fourth in his Flow series Below left Millennium

Chair, designed by Makepeace and made from English holly and leather was made to celebrate the start of the 21st century

Awarded OBE Parnham was sold in 2001 and the school moved to Hooke Park and amalgamated with the Architectural Association. Makepeace went onto to purchase Farrs, a historic house in Beaminster, with his wife, Jennie. It is here that he keeps his design practice and gallery, as well as an impressive range of indigenous trees seasoning for future commissions.

John was awarded an OBE in 1988 for services to furniture design and, in 2004, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Furniture Society.

In 2010, he received a special commendation from the Prince Philip Designers’ Prize, which celebrates ways in which designers improve daily life.

For more information on Holly Johnson Antiques’ stock, which includes many pieces by John Makepeace, visit www. hollyjohnsonantiques.com. Sarah Myerscough Gallery will present work by John Makepeace from February 25-27 at Collect: International Fair for Contemporary Craft and Design at Somerset House, London.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 49

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR John Makepeace

Q&A In an exclusive interview with Antique Collecting, John Makepeace shares the secrets of his craft

Q A

Describe the moment when you first fell in love with wood?

This was not sudden, but it developed from an early age. Wood in the years after 1945 was hard to come by. My parents needed some repairs to the house near Birmingham which we had abandoned during the war, and the carpenter’s small off-cuts were my first treasures at six or seven years old. At 12, my mother took me on a visit to the furniture maker, Hugh Burkett, very much in the Gimson tradition.

I was spell-bound by the quality and the English walnut he used.

Q A

Were you proud of what you acheived at Parnham?

The 25 years at Parnham made an extraordinary chapter. They remind me of Goethe’s saying, “Until there is commitment there can be no achievement.”

It was astonishing how quickly it took off. Within weeks of its being announced, there was an enormous response from applicants for places in the college.

A historic house, with my furniture workshops separate from the college and open to the public, with exhibitions of contemporary art and design in the house was natural fit.

We had a reunion in 2017, 40 years on from the start of the college. In a limited edition book, Beyond Parnham, a hundred students wrote passionately about their time there.

Q A

Were you conscious of being part of the ‘craft revival’ movement of the seventies – what were its principles?

Some of the best work was shown at exhibitions by the Society of Designer Craftsman which evolved from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society started by William Morris, among others and the Crafts Centre in Hay Hill, London. The commitment to individual design and craftsmanship appealed to me, perhaps a reaction to the car industry and desire for a really engaging career.

What would be your ‘Desert Island’ woods – and why?

I care deeply about Britain’s need to look after our woodlands better; we import 80 per cent of the timber we use, and a similar proportion of the hardwoods we grow is only fit for firewood. As one of our few renewable indigenous resources, we urgently need to address this gap in our culture.

As we use relatively little timber in the course of a year, I believe it is really important to use those woods which are not available in the quantities required for larger scale production, and can therefore not find a market and too readily would go to waste. Particular favourites are mulberry and holly.

Q A

Q A

Q A

You talk a lot about ‘humanity’ in your furniture, what do you mean?

In the 20th century, Bauhaus sought a language to express the new machine age. Now that machines can do virtually anything, my interest is in design that corresponds to people’s needs and desires.

The human form is not rectilinear and we draw great pleasure from objects which meet both our physical and psychological needs well. A chair that supports and embraces us whilst encouraging good posture, a table that engages us in form, structure and detail.

A cabinet enables us to protect objects we value; furniture that complements our humanity. In using a material as beautiful as timber, I like the idea that objects we make reveal themselves gradually, similar to the way we experience nature.

50 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

For what would you would most like to be remembered?

Design has evolved in response to many different stimuli including changes in material availability, social aspirations and technology. Curiously, the structure of furniture has changed relatively little over several hundred years.

One of my interests is in using materials more effectively. Material science teaches us that each material has some good and some less good properties. Wood, for example, performs badly at junctions and so it makes sense to use complementary materials to achieve higher performance in use.

QA

Do you collect anything?

We are keen collectors of contemporary ceramics

Above Wooden cabinet, titled ‘Wings’ due to the

shape of the doors, made by Makepeace out of a single tree of ripple sycamore

by individual makers, and have also commissioned silversmiths (beakers and goblets) and blacksmiths (gates).

Q A

If you hadn’t been a designer, what might you have been?

I would love several more careers.

Architecture, forestry, garden design and even investment management.

Q A

Describe the furniture you have at home The house is almost completely furnished with items from my own workshop. The main exception is a wonderful olive wood ‘oyster’ marquetry cabinet on chest made in about 1695.

Q A

How involved in the design process are you today?

Very. My clients are scattered, with some in UK, others in China, USA and, perhaps surprisingly, Africa, too. My design approach to each commission is very specific to the client’s particular situation. There has been a recent series of dining rooms which I particularly enjoy as they present a variety of challenges.

Tables, chairs and cabinets each present different issues, having a distinct scope for improvement and greater relevance to changing needs. Sharing wonderful food and wine with friends and family calls for exceptional furniture to complete a magical experience.

For more details on John Makepeace’s commissions and designs go to www.johnmakepeacefurniture.com

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Year of the Tiger

F

ebruary 1 sees the start of one of the biggest shindigs on earth when 20 percent of the global population start a 15-day holiday to celebrate the Chinese new year. The first day of the lunar calendar begins when a new moon appears between January 21 and February 20. It kicks off celebrations in China as well as China’s neighbouring cultures, including Korea, the Têt of Vietnam, and the Losar of Tibet.

Tiger characteristics

Did you know?

Tiger years are: 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 and 2022.

Main Zodiac figure of a porcelain tiger Qing dynasty (1644–1911), image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Right HRH Elizabeth II was born in the Year of the Tiger

Tiger feat

With February 1 heralding the start of the Chinese Year of the Tiger, Antique Collecting considers the significance of the mighty creature in Asian art

The Chinese calendar also rotates in 60-year cycles represented by an animal year, and the five element years of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. 2022 is the Year of the Water Tiger. Ancient Chinese myth also believed five tigers in total held the balance of cosmic forces in place preventing chaos from collapsing the universe.

They are: the white tiger (ruler of autumn and metal); the black tiger (ruler of winter and water); the blue tiger (ruler of spring and earth elements); the red tiger (ruler of summer and fire) and the yellow tiger, which is the supreme ruler of all tigers and symbolic of the sun.

‘During the late Zhou and Han (206 BC–AD 220) dynasties, rulers delegated military command to officers by issuing them a tiger-shaped fu, or tally, made in bronze. As they were also regarded as the king of all wild animals tigers were also used on military banners to illustrate bravery and swiftness’

Year of the Tiger The traditional East Asian lunar calendar consists of a repeating 12-year cycle, with each year corresponding to one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.

The sequence in order is: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Each is believed to embody certain traits manifested in the personalities of people born in that year.

The association of these creatures with the Chinese calendar began in the third century BC. and was firmly established by the first century AD. This year’s animal – the tiger – is a creature characterised as brave, heroic and resolute.

Elizabeth II, born in 1926, is one of the world’s most famous leaders born in the year of tiger.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 51

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Year of the Tiger

Military might Tigers have been celebrated by different cultures and religions throughout the world. In China they are seen as symbols of power and authority, with the first seen on ritual vessels of the Shang (c. 1600–1046 BC) and Zhou (1046–256 BC) dynasties.

During the late Zhou and Han (206 BC–AD 220) dynasties, rulers delegated military command to officers by issuing them a tiger-shaped fu, or tally, made in bronze. As they were also regarded as the king of all wild animals, tigers were also used on military banners to illustrate bravery and swiftness.

During the Ming dynasty, either the tiger or leopard represented the fourth military rank. The Qing continued the Ming system from 1644 to 1652. Then from 1652 until 1664, the leopard was assigned the fourth rank and the tiger the third. From 1664, to the end of the dynasty, the emblems were reversed: the leopard signifying the third rank and the tiger established as the fourth-rank emblem.

52 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Crouching Tiger,

pudding stone, Han Dynasty, provenance Mr Chen Zhiming Collection Above right Underglaze

blue and enamelled, Kangxi Period, provenance Mr Shen Wei Collection Right Family of tigers,

17th century, ink on paper

Left A Chinese gilt bronze

belt hook, Han Dynasty, in the form of a tiger inlaid with hardstones including carnelian and turquoise, 23.5cm long, sold for £600 in 2015, image courtesy of Tennants

Three of this year’s collectables commemorating the year of the tiger.

Right A Year of the Tiger

Dragons and tigers The visual pairing of tigers and dragons has a long history in East Asia, dating from The Book of Changes, thought to have been written during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC). In it, clouds trail behind a dragon, while the wind follows the tiger. According to the book, the two creatures are commonly associated with Daoism: the tiger being an emblem of dignity, ferocity, sternness, courage and powerful yin energy, while the dragon denotes yang.

The pairing of a tiger and a dragon was also considered well balanced because they represent counterparts – with tigers coming from the real world and dragons inhabiting the imaginary. In Terese Tse Bartholomew’s 2006 book, The Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, the author states the pairing was firmly enshrined in Daoism. She writes: “The tiger teams with the dragon to represent the yin and yang guardians, protecting palaces as well as tombs.”

The idea of tigers as a symbol of protection continues into the domestic and can be seen represented on clothing, or in the home to ward off harm. In some areas of China and Asia, the tiger is also regarded as the God of Wealth. Consequently, Tsai Shen Yeh, the Chinese God of Wealth is often depicted sitting on a tiger. The image symbolises humans’ ability to harness a tiger’s power.

2022 quarter-ounce gold proof coin from a limitededition of 388, struck in 999.9 fine gold and finished to proof standard, priced £670 Below right The Royal

Mail has also launched a lunar new year generic sheet celebrating the auspicious year. Priced £18.20 the labels feature cut-outs representing the five elements of metal, water, wood, fire and earth Bottom right The Swiss

watchmaker Vacheron Constantin’s 2022 Year of the Tiger watch is handsfree leaving the entire dial centre to showcase an engraved tiger, priced £102,000 Below The shogun Katõ Kiyomasa (1562-1611) hunting tigers in Korea during the Imjin war.

Tiger hunting was a common pastime for the samurai during the war

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 53

ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Lots in February

TOP of the LOTS

A mummified cat which may have belonged to Dick Whittington and an ancient Egyptian headrest are among the lots going under the hammer this month A 4,000-year-old ancient Egyptian wooden headrest with an oval pillow supported by a pair of human hands has an estimate of £6,000-£8,000 at Catherine Southon’s sale on February 2.

She said: “In the afterlife such headrests were buried with the deceased and probably also had a religious and magical purpose as well as a utilitarian function.“ Originally thought to be tribal, in-house research showed it dated from the 6th Dynasty, 2360-2195BC. Above The ancient Egyptian headrest has a low estimate of £6,000

A gold art nouveau brooch in the shape of a dragonfly has an estimate of €600 at the Munich auctioneer Hermann Historica’s online sale from January 31 to February 4.

The wings are set with four opals, with the insect’s body containing a multitude of diamonds. Dragonflies were a popular subject matter for art nouveau jewellers, in part inspired by Japanese art at a time when the eastern country was opening up to the rest of the world. In Japan dragonflies represent autumn and summer, also symbolising power, agility and victory.

A British quad poster promoting the 1965 Bond film Thunderball has an estimate of £8,000- £12,000 at Ewbank’s 007 sale on February 11.

The illustrations on the left were created by the American artist Frank McCarthy (1924-2002), with those on the right by the US illustrator Robert McGinnis (b. 1926). The poster was designed to be cut into four pieces. Very few examples (complete or otherwise) of the poster, which measures 30 x 40in, have survived.

Above The poster is a rare survivor from the famous 007 franchise

A portrait of Marie-Antoinette by the renowned portraitist Élisabeth Louise Vigée-le Brun (1755-1842) has an estimate of €40,000-€60,000 at Artcurial’s old masters sale in Paris on February 15. Aged 19, Vigée-Le Brun attended the Académie de St Luc, at a time when very few women were admitted. Patronised by the French court, she painted 30 portraits of the French queen. A portrait of the Count of Vaudreuil (1740 -1817) is also up for sale, part of the same single owner collection of 100 portaits.

Below The dragonfly’s thorax is made up of diamonds

Above left Vigée-le Brun was one of the great portrait artists of her day Above right Élisabeth Louise Vigée-le Brun (1755-1842) portrait of the

Count of Vaudreuil with an estimate of €50,000-€70,000

54 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

A medieval mummified cat, which might have belonged to Dick Whittington, is one of the more unusual lots in a sale more unusual than most.

Essex auctioneer Sworders’ annual out of the ordinary sale on February 15 includes its usual inventory of the downright bizarre. The sale in Stansted Mountfitchet is headed by the dead cat, which came to light in 1949 during an unsuccessful attempt to find the tomb of the real Dick Whittington (1353-1423) – the three times mayor of London buried at the church of St Michael Paternoster Royal.

While the cat may have belonged to the pantomime favourite, naturally mummified cats were a common feature of medieval buildings, thought to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck to the inhabitants.

1

Dead as a dodo

Among the other highlights are the femur and phalanx of a dodo – the flightless Mauritian bird that died out in the late 1680s. The bones on offer were part of a larger group discovered in 1885 on the Indian island by schoolmaster George Clarke who hired local servants to wade through a swamp and feel for further bones with their feet.

For lovers of the even more macabre, a 14-page handwritten book of poetry written by Charles Bronson, the criminal often referred to as the “most violent prisoner in Britain”, has an estimate of £200£400 in the same sale.

The 15 x 11cm pamphlet, dated 1997, includes verses such as: “Come Into My Brain... But Don’t Turn on the Light.”

Bronson made a name for himself as an outsider artist and in 2014, while incarcerated, Bronson changed his name to Charles Salvador, after Salvador Dalí, one of his favourite artists.

2

3

Other highlights

A Vichy government French WWII propaganda poster depicting the British wartime leader Winston Churchill as an octopus extending his influence over Africa is expected to make between £4,000 and £6,000 at the same sale.

Meanwhile, a late 17th-century Flemish locket reliquary, purporting to contain the relics, bones, and fragments of various saints, has an estimate of £1,200-£1,500. The locket’s inside contains two miniature portraits, one of St Augustine and the other of Mary Magdalene carrying the cross of Christ.

A wooden fairground motorcycle dating from the 1940s and measuring 1.26m long and 91cm high has an estimate of £350-£450.

1 The mummified cat and rat in a case measuring 44 x 64cm has an estimate of £2,000-£3,000 in this month’s sale 2 Charles Bronson’s handwritten book of poetry is expected to make £400 3 The WWII propaganda poster was printed by the Vichy government in France in 1941 4 The 17th-century Flemish locket reliquary has an estimate of £1,200-£1,500 5 A 7.5cm leg bone and 4cm toe bone from a dodo have an estimate of £3,000-£4,000 at the same sale 6 The wooden motorbike, with an estimate of £350-£450, has the registration number OUR12

4 5

6

‘The sale is headed by the dead cat, which came to light in 1949 during an unsuccessful attempt to find the tomb of the real Dick Whittington’

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 55

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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 New Bond St., W1 020 7447 7447 www.bonhams.com Fine & Rare Wines, Feb 24 Bonhams Knightsbridge, SW7 020 7393 3900 www.bonhams.com 19th and 20th-Century Vintage Posters (Online) Ends Feb 3 Knightsbridge Jewels, Feb 9 The Connoisseur’s Library Sale, Feb 16 Watches and Wristwatches, Feb 22 In the Small of Your Hand, Small is Beautiful, Feb 23 Chiswick Auctions 1 Colville Rd, Chiswick, W3 8BL, 020 8992 4442 www.chiswickauctions.co.uk Fine Rugs & Carpets, Feb 9 Urban & Contemporary Art, Feb 24 Silver & Objects of Vertu, Feb 25 Christie’s King St., London, SW1 020 7839 9060 www.christies.com The Collector (Online) Ends Feb 10 First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art (Online), from Feb 23 Dix Noonan Webb 16 Bolton St, Piccadilly, W1J 8BQ 020 7016 1700 www.dnw.co.uk Coins Tokens and Historical Medals, Feb 1-2 Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, Feb 23 British, Irish and World Banknotes, Feb 24 Forum Auctions 220 Queenstown Road, London SW8 4LP, 020 7871 2640 www.forumauctions.co.uk Books and Works on Paper (Online) Feb 10 Maps and Atlases, Feb 24 Hansons Auctioneers The Normansfield Theatre, 2A Langdon Park, Teddington TW11 9PS, 0207 018 9300 www.hansonsauctioneers.com Antiques, Fine Art & Collectables, Feb 26

60 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Lyon & Turnbull 22 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AF, 0207 930 9115 www.lyonandturnbull.com None listed, see Edinburgh sales Olympia Auction 25 Blythe Road, London, W14 OPD, 020 7806 5541 www.olympiaauctions.com None listed in February Roseberys Knights Hill, SE27 020 8761 2522 www.roseberys.co.uk Modern & Contemporary British & Irish Art, Feb 15 Sotheby’s New Bond St., W1 020 7293 5000 www.sothebys.com Fine Jewels – London, Feb 3-10 A Single Owner Collection, Feb 11 TimeLine Auctions www.timelineauctions.com The Mayfair Hotel, Stratton Street, London, 0207 129 1494 W1J 8LT Ancient Art, Antiquities & Coins, Feb 22-25 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 Coins & Stamps (Timed Online), ends Feb 6 Selected Antiques, Feb 9, 20 Monthly Jewellery & Silver, Feb 16 Photography (Timed Online) ends Feb 23 Music (Timed Online) Ends Feb 27 Bellmans Newpound, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, RH14 0AZ 01403 700858 www.bellmans.co.uk Wines & Spirits, Feb 14 Interiors, inc Asian Ceramics & Works of Art, Feb 22-24 The Friday 500, Feb 25

Burstow & Hewett The Auction Gallery, Lower Lake, Battle, East Sussex,TN33 0AT, 01424 772 374 www.burstowandhewett.co.uk Collectables, Feb 9 Furniture Feb 10 Antiques, Feb 23 Fine Art, Feb 24 The Canterbury Auction Galleries 40 Station Road West, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 8AN, 01227 763337 canterburyauctiongalleries.com General Antiques, Feb 5-6 Catherine Southon Auctioneers Farleigh Court Golf Club, Old Farleigh Road, Selsdon Surrey CR6 9PE, 0208 468 1010 www.catherinesouthon.co.uk Antiques and Collectables, Feb 2 Cheffins Clifton House, Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA 01223 213343, www.cheffins.co.uk The Interiors Sale, Feb 1 The Art and Design Sale, Feb 24 Durrants Auctions The Old School House, Peddars Lane, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 9UE, 01502 713490 www.durrantsauctions.com Toys, Games and Trains, Feb 4 Antiques and Interiors with Silver and Jewellery, Feb 18 Antique and Mid Century Furniture, Feb 25 Ewbank’s London Rd, Send, Woking, Surrey, 01483 223 101 www.ewbankauctions.co.uk Antiques & Collectors, Including Silver, Feb 2 James Bond 007, Feb 11 Excalibur Auctions Limited Unit 16 Abbots Business Park Primrose Hill Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8FR 020 3633 0913 wwwexcaliburauctions.com Movie, TV & Music Posters & Memorabilia, Feb 12 John Nicholson’s Longfield, Midhurst Road, Fernhurst, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 3HA,

01428 653727 www.johnnicholsons.com Fine Painting, Feb 1 Lacy Scott & Knight 10 Risbygate St, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3AA, 01284 748 623 www.lskauctioncentre.co.uk Home and Interiors, Feb 12 Toys and Models, Feb 18 Lockdales Auctioneers, Martlesham Heath, Martlesham, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP5 3RF 01473 627110 www.locakdales.com The Fine Sale, Feb 16-17 Parker Fine Art Auctions Hawthorn House, East Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7SX 01252 203020 parkerfineartauctions.com Decorative Paintings (Timed Online) ends Feb 3 Fine Art, Feb 10 Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, CM24 8GE 01279 817778 www.sworder.co.uk Modern and Contemporary Art (Timed Auction), Feb 4-13 Homes and Interiors (Live Online), Feb 8 Jewellery, Feb 9 Out of the Ordinary, Feb 15 Toovey’s Antique & Fine Art Auctioneers Spring Gardens Washington West Sussex RH20 3BS, 01903 891955 www.tooveys.com Paper Collectables, Feb 2 Medals, Militaria & Weapons, Feb 15 Fine Art, Collectors Items, Works of Art & Light Fittings, Needleworks, Textiles & Clothing, Rugs & Carpets, Feb 17 Wristwatches, Pocket watches, Clocks, Barometers, Cameras & Scientific Instruments, Feb 24 T.W. Gaze Diss Auction Rooms, Roydon Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 4LN, Norfolk 01379 650306. www.twgaze.com Antiques & Interiors, Feb 4, 11, 18, 25 Blyth Barn Furniture Auction, Feb 8, 15, 22

SOUTH WEST: Inc. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire Auction Antiques The Antique Village, The Old Whiteways Cider Factory, Hele, Devon, EX5 4PW O1392 719 826 www.auctionantiques.co.uk None listed for February Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood St. Edmund’s Court, Okehampton Street, Exeter EX4 1DU O1392 41310 www.bhandl.co.uk One Day 20th Century and Contemporary, Feb 15 British Bespoke Auctions The Old Boys School, Gretton Rd, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, GL54 5EE 01242 603005 www.bespokeauctions.co.uk None listed for February Chippenham Auction Rooms Unit H, The Old Laundry. Ivy Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire.

SN15 1SB, 01249 444544 chippenhamauctionrooms.co.uk Toys, Vinyl, Pop Memorabilia, Posters, Postcards, Coins, Stamps, & Other Collectables, Feb 3 Enamel Signs, Shop Display, Fairground, Petroliana, Arcade Games and other Early Advertising, Feb 5

Dore & Rees Auction Salerooms, Vicarage Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1PU, 01373 462 257 wwwdoreandrees.com Classic Cars, Feb 12 Dreweatts Donnington Priory Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE 01635 553 553 www.dreweatts.com Fine Art (Timed Online), Feb 15-25 Science Exploration, Photography and Ephemera (Live Online), Feb 16 Interiors Day I, (Live Online) Feb 22 Interiors Day II, (Live Online) Feb 23 Fine and Rare Spirits, (Live Online) Feb 24 Duke’s Brewery Square, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1GA 01305 265080 www.dukes-auctions.com Interiors, Feb 24 East Bristol Auctions Unit 1, Hanham Business Park, Memorial Road, Hanham, BS15 3JE 0117 967 1000 www.eastbristol.co.uk Antique & Vintage Jewellery, Watch, Gold, Silver & Gemstones Auction, Feb 2

Gardiner Houlgate 9 Leafield Way, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9SW 01225 812912 www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk Chorley’s Prinknash Abbey Park, The Watch Auction, Feb 23 Gloucestershire, GL4 8EU Fine Clocks, Feb 24 01452 344499, www.chorleys.com Miscellaneous Clocks & Horology, None listed for February Feb 25 David Lay Auctions Penzance Auction House , Alverton, Penzance, Cornwall 01736 361414 www.davidlay.co.uk Cornish Art & Fine Art Sale, Feb 10-11 Dawsons Kings Grove Estate, Maidenhead, Berkshire | SL6 4DP 01628 944100 www.dawsonsauctions.co.uk Fine Art & Antique, Feb 17 Jewellery, Silver & Watches, Feb 24 Dominic Winter Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 5UQ 01285 860006 www.dominicwinter.co.uk Books (Online) Feb 24

Hansons Auctioneers 49 Parsons Street, Banbury, Oxford, OX16 5NB, 01295 817777 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Fine Art Antiques and Collectors Auction, Feb 5 Killens Mendip Auction Rooms, Rookery Farm, Roemead Road, Binegar, Somerset BA3 4UL, 01749 840770 wwwmendipauctionrooms.com General, Feb 8, 22 Antiques, Feb 12 Kinghams 10-12 Cotswold Business Village, London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucester, GL56 0JQ, 01608 695695 www.kinghamsauctioneers.com Jewellery, Watches & Designer Goods, Feb 18

Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd. Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 8AB, 01460 703041 www.lawrences. co.uk Carpets, Textiles, Collectables, Books, Ceramics, Feb 1 Silver, Jewellery & Paintings, Feb 2 Metals, Clocks, Furniture & Furnishings, Feb 3 Mallams Oxford Bocardo House, St Michael’s St, Oxford.

01865 241358 www.mallams.co.uk Two-Day Oxford Library Sale, Day One, Feb 23-24 Mallams Cheltenham, 26 Grosvenor St, Cheltenham.

Gloucestershire, 01242 235 712 www.mallams.co.uk None listed for February Mallams Abingdon Dunmore Court, Wootten Road, Abingdon, OX13 6BH 01235 462840 www. mallams.co.uk Homes and Interiors, Feb 14 Moore Allen & Innocent Burford Road Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5RH 01285 646050 www.mooreallen.co.uk Two Day Sale of Vintage and Antique Furniture to include Jewellery, China, Glass, Silver (Online), Feb 9-10 Vintage and Antique Furniture with Home Interiors (Timed), Feb 11-16 Philip Serrell Barnards Green Rd, Malvern, Worcs. WR14 3LW, 01684 892314 www.serrell.com Interiors, Feb 3, 24 Stroud Auctions Bath Rd, Trading Est, Bath Rd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 3QF 01453 873 800 www.stroudauctions.co.uk Guns, Weapons, Medals, Militaria, Taxidermy, Sporting, Cameras, Scientific Instruments, Weights & Scales, Ceramics and Glass, Feb 9 The Pedestal The Dairy, Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 6HF, United Kingdom.

01491 522733 www.thepedestal.com None listed for February Special Auction Services Plenty Close, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5RL 01635 580 595

wwwspecialauctionservices.com Antiques and Collectables, Feb 1 Collectors, Feb 8 Camera, Feb 15 Toys, Feb 22 Woolley & Wallis, 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, 01722 424500 www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk Fine Porcelain and Pottery, Feb 9 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 None listed for February Batemans Ryhall Rd, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XF 01780 766 466 www.batemans.com Fine Art, Antiques & Specialist Collectors, Feb 5 Jewellery & Watches, Silver & Gold, Coins & Banknotes, Feb 18 Golding Young & Mawer The Bourne Auction Rooms, Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9LE 01778 422686 www.goldingyoung.com Bourne Collective Sale, Feb 2 Bourne Collective Sale Part Two, Feb 3 Golding Young & Mawer The Grantham Auction Rooms, Old Wharf Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 7AA, 01476 565118 www.goldingyoung.com Grantham Collective Sale, Feb 9 Grantham Collective Sale Part Two, Feb 10 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, Feb 16 Lincoln Collective Sale Part Two, Feb 17 Hansons Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS 01283 733988 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Antique & Collectors Auction, Feb 17 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.

Decorative Art Auction, Feb 23 General Toy & Camera Auction, Feb 24 Medals & Militaria, Feb 25 Mellors & Kirk The Auction House, Gregory Street, Nottingham NG7 2NL 0115 979 0000 www.mellorsandkirk.com None listed for February WEST MIDLANDS: Inc. Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire Bigwood Auctioneers Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 7AW 01789 269415 www.bigwoodauctioneers.com Furnishings & Collectables, Feb 4, 11 Selected Antiques & Interiors, Feb 25 Cuttlestones Ltd Wolverhampton Auction Rooms, No 1 Clarence Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 4JL, 01902 421985 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Antiques & Interiors Sale, Feb 16 Cuttlestones Ltd Pinfold Lane, Penkridge Staffordshire ST19 5AP, 01785 714905 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Antiques & Interiors, Feb 9, 23 Fellows Augusta House, 19 Augusta Street, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6JA 0121 212 2131 www.fellows.co.uk Pawnbrokers Jewellery and Watches, Feb 3, 17 Antiques, Silver and Collecables, Feb 7 Jewellery, Feb 8, 22 Jewellery and Costume Jewellery, Feb 15 Watches and Watch Accessories, Feb 21 The Gemstone Sale, Feb 28

62 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Fieldings Mill Race Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 1JN 01384 444140 www.fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk The February Sale, Including Back to the Future, Feb 17-18 Halls Bowmen Way, Battlefield, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 3DR 01743 450700 www.hallsgb.com/fine-art Militaria (Timed) Ends Feb 1 Hansons Auctioneers Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST18 0XN, 0208 9797954 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Country Pursuits Auction: Including Kevin Gittoes Collection, Feb 8 Fine Art & Antiques Auction: Including Toys & Nostalgia, Feb 12 Potteries Auctions Unit 4A, Aspect Court, Silverdale Enterprise Park, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6SS, 01782 638100 www.potteriesauctions.com Auction of 20th Century British Pottery, Collectors’ Items, Household Items, Antique & Quality Furniture, Feb 7.

Century British Pottery, Jewellery, Watches, bric-a-brac, Works of Art, Collectors Items, Household Items, Antique & Quality Furniture, Feb 11-12 Trevanion The Joyce Building, Station Rd, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 1RD, 01928 800 202 www.trevanion.com Fine Art and Antiques, Feb 16 NORTH: Inc. Cheshire, Co. Durham, Cumbria, Humberside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Sheffield, Yorkshire Adam Partridge Withyfold Drive, Macclesfield, Cheshire, 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Two Day Auction of Sporting & Militaria with Furniture & Interiors, Feb 17-18

Adam Partridge The Liverpool Saleroom, 18 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 OBP 01625 431788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Wines & Spirits, Rock & Pop and Textiles & Vintage Clothing with Antiques & Collectors’ Items, Feb 2 Anderson and Garland Crispin Court, Newbiggin Lane, Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 1BF, 0191 4321911 www.andersonandgarland.com The Comic Auction, Feb 2-3 Homes and Interiors, Feb 8, 22 The Music Auction, Feb 17 The Pictures Auction (Timed), Ends Feb 20 Ashley Waller Auctioneers Four Oaks, Lower Withington, Cheshire, SK11 9DU, 01477 571988 www.ashleywaller.co.uk General Antiques, Feb 2-3 Capes Dunn The Auction Galleries, 40 Station Road, Heaton Mersey, SK4 3QT 0161 273 1911 www.capesdunn.com Interiors, Vintage, & Modern Furniture & Effects, Feb 7, 21 Specialist Sale, Feb 8 Collectable Books, Maps, Prints & Affordable Art, Feb 22 David Duggleby Auctioneers The Gallery Saleroom, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1XN, 01723 507 111 www.davidduggleby.com Country Pursuits, Sporting Guns, Taxidermy and Militaria, Feb 4 Duggleby Stephenson of York The Saleroom, Murton, York YO19 5GF, 01904 393 300 www.dugglebystephenson.com Collectors Clearance (York) Feb 2 Country Pursuits, Sporting Guns, Taxidermy & Militaria, Feb 4 Jewellery, Watches, Silver & Coins, Feb 17 Decorative Antiques & Collectors Sale, Feb 18 Collectors & Clearance Sale, Feb 18 Affordable Art, Feb 19

The Furnishings Sale, Furniture, Interiors & Clocks, Feb 19 Elstob & Elstob Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1AJ, 01677 333003 www.elstobandelstob.co.uk Fine Art and Antiques, Feb 11 H&H Auction Rooms The Auction Centre, Rosehill Industrial Estate, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 2RS, 01228406320 www.hhauctionrooms.co.uk None listed for February Maxwells of Wilmslow The Auction Rooms, Levens Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 5DL, 0161 439 5182 www.maxwells-auctioneers.com Antiques, Vintage & Collectables, Feb 14-17 Mitchells Antiques and Fine Art 47 Station Road, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9PZ 01900 827 800 www.mitchellsantiques.co.uk Home and Garden, Feb 3, 17, 24 Vintage and Antique Toys, Feb 10 Sheffield Auction Gallery Windsor Road, Heeley, Sheffield, S8 8UB, 0114 281 6161 www.sheffieldauctiongallery.com Silver, Jewellery and Watches, Feb 3, 17 Stamps, Feb 3 Antiques and Collectables, Feb 4, 18 Football Programmes and Sporting Memorabilia, Feb 17 Omega Auctions Ltd Sankey Valley Industrial Estate, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside WA12 8DN, 01925 873040 www.omegaauctions.co.uk Music Memorabilia, Feb 8 Rare and Collectable Vinyl Records, Feb 9 Tennants Auctioneers The Auction Centre, Harmby Road, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 5SG 01969 623780 www.tennants.co.uk

Scientific & Musical Instruments, Cameras & Tools, Feb 2 Antiques and Interiors, Feb 12, 25 Costume, Accessories & Textiles, Feb 12 Coins and Banknotes, Feb 16 Modern & Contemporary Art, Feb 26 20th-Century Design, Feb 26 Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, Marconi Road, Burgh Road Industrial Estate, Carlisle, CA2 7NA, 01228 535 288 www.thompsonroddick.com Silver, Jewellery, Oriental & Asian, Pottery & Porcelain, Miscellanea, Furniture and Decorative Arts, Fine Art, Textiles & Costume, Feb 22 Vectis Auctions Ltd Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton on Tees, TS17 9JZ www.vectis.co.uk 01642 750616 Specialist Diecast, Feb 16 Specialist Diecast and Tinplate, Feb 17 General Toys, Feb 22 Military, Civilian Figures, Equipment and Accessories, Feb 23 Dolls and Teddy Bears, Feb 24 Model Trains, Feb 25 Matchbox, Feb 28 Wilkinson’s Auctioneers The Old Salesroom, 28 Netherhall Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 2PW, 01302 814 884 wilkinsons-auctioneers.co.uk Single Owner Collection, Feb 28 Wilson55 Victoria Gallery, Market St, Nantwich, Cheshire.

01270 623 878 www.wilson55.com Firearms, Shotguns, Airguns, Arms and Militaria, Feb 10 Modern Interiors and Collectables, Feb 24 SCOTLAND Bonhams Queen St, Edinburgh.

0131 225 2266 www.bonhams.com None listed for February Lyon & Turnbull Broughton Place, Edinburgh.

0131 557 8844 www.lyonandturnbull.com Paintings, Works on Paper, Feb 9 Lalique Scent Bottles (Online), Feb 15

Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings & Works of Art, Feb 16 McTears Auctioneers 31 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow, G51 4GB, 0141 810 2880 www.mctears.co.uk The Antiques & Interiors Auction, Feb 11, 25 Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, 118 Carnethie Street, Rosewell, Edinburgh, EH24 9AL, 0131 440 2448 www.thompsonroddick.com None listed for February Thomson Roddick The Auction Centre, Irongray Road, Dumfries, DG2 0JE 01387 721635 www.thompsonroddick.com Home Furnishings, Feb 1, 15 WALES Anthemion Auctions, 15 Norwich Road, Cardiff, CF23 9AB. 029 2047 2444 www.anthemionauction.com None listed for February Jones & Llewelyn Unit B, Beechwood Trading Estate, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 7HR, 01558 823 430 www.jonesandllewelyn.com General Sale, Feb 5, 19 Rogers Jones & Co 17 Llandough Trading Estate, Penarth, Cardiff, CF11 8RR, 02920 708125 www.rogersjones.co.uk Fine Art and Interiors, Feb 4

LOWESTOFT PORCELAIN AUCTION ZOË SPRAKE

Wednesday 19th October 2022, 7pm Entries are invited for this sale

Rogers Jones & Co Colwyn Bay Saleroom, 33 Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, LL29 7RU, 01492 532176 www.rogersjones.co.uk None listed for February IRELAND Adam’s 26 St Stephens Green Dublin, D02 X66, 00 353-1-6760261 www.adams.ie At Home Sale, Feb 22 Whyte’s 38 Molesworth St. Dublin, D02 KF80, 00 353-1-676 2888, www.whytes.ie None listed for February

Sold October 2021 for £7637.50

Hotel Victoria, Lowestoft, NR33 0BZ Guest auctioneer: Elizabeth Talbot of TW Gaze website: email: telephone:

www.lowestoftchina.co.uk lowestoftchina@gmail.com 01986 892736 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 63

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, Feb 27 Etc Fairs 01707 872 140 www.etcfairs.com Bloomsbury Book Fair, Booker & Turner Suite at Holiday Inn, Coram Street, London, WC1N 1HT, 5 Feb Bloomsbury Ephemera Fair, Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way, WC1H 0DG, 13 Feb Sunbury Antiques 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Sunbury Antiques Market, Kempton Park Race Course, Staines Road East, Sunbury-onThames, Middlesex TW16 5AQ, 9, 23 Feb SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: including Beds, Cambs, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex.

Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5LQ, 15 Feb Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fair www.dovehousefine antiquesfairs.com 07952689717 Dorking Halls, Reigate Road, Dorking, Surrey, 20 Feb Sunbury Antiques 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Antiques Market, Sandown Park Racecourse, Portsmouth Road, Esher, KT20 9AJ, 13 Feb Marcel Fairs 07887648255 www.marcelfairs.co.uk Antique & Collectors Fair, Sarratt Village Hall, The Green, WD3 6AS, 13 Feb Antique & Vintage Fair, Eagle Farm Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 8JH, 20 Feb Melford Antiques Fair 07837 497617 www.melfordantiquesfair.co.uk Long Melford Antiques & Vintage Fair, The Old School, Hall Street, Long Melford, CO10 9DX, 26-27 Feb SOUTH WEST: including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire.

Arun Fairs 07563 589725 www.antiques-atlas.com Emsworth Antiques and Collectors Fair, North Street, Emsworth, PO10 7DD, 13 Feb Rustington Antiques & Collectables Fair, The Woodland Centre, Woodlands Avenue, Rustington, West Sussex, BN16 3HB, 6 Feb

AFC Fairs 07887 753956 www.antiquefairscornwall.co.uk Pensilva Antique & Collectors Fair, Millennium House, Princess Road, Pensilva, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 5NF, 27 Feb

Aztec Antique & Collector Fairs 01702 549623 www.aztecevents.co.uk Norfolk Showground, Dereham Road, Norwich, NR5 0TT, 5-6 Feb

Benson Antiques and Collectors Fair 01235 815633, Benson Parish Hall, Sunnyside, Benson, Nr Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 6LZ, 20 Feb

Continuity Fairs 01584 873634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Epsom Racecourse Antiques and Collectibles Fair, Epsom Racecourse, Epsom Downs,

Continuity Fairs 01584 873634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk West point Exeter, Clyst St Mary, Exeter, EX5 1DJ, 12-13 Feb

64 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

EAST MIDLANDS including Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland.

Arthur Swallow Fairs 01298 27493 www.asfairs.com Vintage Flea Market, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln, LN2 2NA, 13 Feb Instagram Decorative Home & Salvage Show @asfairs, 26 Feb Guildhall Antiques Fairs 07583 410862 www.guildhallantiquefairs.co.uk Brockington, Enderby, Leicester LE19 4AQ, 6 Feb IACF 01636 702326 www.iacf.co.uk Newark International Antiques & Collectors Fair, Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY, 3-4 Feb Runway at Newark, Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY, 21 Feb

WEST MIDLANDS including Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire B2B Events 07774 147197 or 07771 725302 www.b2bevents.info Malvern Flea and Collectors’ Fair, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcs., WR13 6NW, 13 Feb Coin and Medal Fairs Ltd. 01694 731781 www.coinfairs.co.uk The Midland Coin Fair, National Motorcycle Museum, Bickenhill, Birmingham, B92 0EJ, 13 Feb SCOTLAND B2B Events 01636 676531 www.b2bevents.info Edinburgh Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair, Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, EH28 8NB, 19-20 Feb

Malvern Flea & Collectors Market

Three Counties Showground, Worcestershire, WR13 6NW.

Sunday 13th February Entrance: 7.30am-3.30pm - £5

Edinburgh Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair LED

Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, EH28 8NB.

CANCEL

Sat 19th - Sun 20th Feb Sat: Early 8.15am - £6 Sat: Entry 10am-4.30pm - £5 Sun: 10am-3.30pm - £4 Royal Highland Centre - £5 visitor car parking charge.

Please check www.b2bevents.info in case these dates have changed or been cancelled

Tel: 01636 676531 • www.b2bevents.info

LENNOX CATO ANTIQUES & WORKS OF ART EST: 1978

•WANTED• ~ WANTED ~

for epic East Yorkshire Georgian townhouse restoration.

For East Yorkshire town house renovation.

Labelled/ stamped branded furniture from Georgian to Victorian, eg Thomas Butler, Morgan & Sanders, J Alderman, Ross of Dublin (pictured), Gregory Kane, Wilkinson of Ludgate Hill, Robert James of Bristol, James Winter, W Priest, Samuel Pratt and many others. Tables all types, chairs, bookcases, , Davenport. mirrors etc. Campaign shower.

Georgian chamber horseIVexercise chair (pictured) Signed and unusual furniture. Georgian, Regency, William . Sofa / Pembroke / side tables, library furniture / bookcases. Also Victorian campaign chests, armchairs etc.

Ross of Dublin, Morgan & Sanders, Williams & Gibton, James Winter, Hill & Millard Unusual to William IV architectural features andGeorgian many others. eg doors, door frames, over door pediments. 18th century

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

Rectangular Georgian fanlight.

Sash windows x 4 identical. Georgian reclaimed. Approx 58” high x 36” wide.

Four identical reclaimed Georgian wooden sash windows Wide reclaimed floorboards.

Approx 100 m2. with boxes, 60 highwall x 37orwide.

Early decorative oil / gas / electric light fiapprox ttings. Ceiling, table.

Early gasoliers. Colza lamps. Gimble lamp.

1 The Square, Church Street, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 5BD 01732 865 988 cato@lennoxcato.com

www.lennoxcato.com

•WANTED• •WANTED•

Roland Ward, VanMarble Ingen fire taxidermy.

Human skull. surrounds fromskull.

1750Hippopotamus to 1850ish. White or coloured.

Stuffed crocodile / alligator.

Bullseyes, William IV styles etc. Brass Regency reeded fire

insert and Victorian griffin grate (pictured)

Quirky architectural features. Regency columns, corbels, marble and stone pieces, over door pediments, folding/rolling multi part Georgian room dividing doors.

Human skull, stuffed crocodile/ alligator.

Victorian canopy shower bath. Decorated toilets etc Unitas, Simplicitas, Deluge etc.

Grand tour souvenirs.

Decorated basins x 3.

vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk ororteltel07958 vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk 07958333442 333442

The centres are open 7 days a week 10am - 5pm

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.

Over 6000 items to view!

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www.hemswell-antiques.com Tel: +44 1427 668389 Email: enquiries@hemswell-antiques.com Hemswell Antique Centres, Caenby Corner Estate, Hemswell Cliff Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 5TJ

Longines, Tudors Tudors and and Zeniths, Zeniths,pre-1970. pre-1970.Even Evenbasic basicsteel steelmodels modelsininnice nicecondition. condition.

Longines, All the the quirky quirky oddities oddities like like Harwoods, Harwoods,Autorists, Autorists,Wig WigWag, Wag,Rolls Rollsetc, etc,and andWorld WorldWar WarI I All hunterand andsemi-hunter semi-hunterwristwatches. wristwatches. hunter Early, pre-war pre-war ladies’ ladies’ watches watchesalso alsowanted wantedby byRolex, Rolex,Jaeger JaegerLeCoultre LeCoultreetc. etc.Prefer Prefer Early, 1920s/30s deco decostyles, styles,but butearly earlydoughnuts doughnutsalso alsoconsidered. considered.

1920s/30s

Yorkshire based, based, but but often oftenin inLondon Londonand andcan caneasily easilycollect collectnationwide. nationwide.

Yorkshire

vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.ukor ortel tel07958 07958333442 333442 vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk

PM Antiques & Collectables are a modern and innovative antiques retailer based in Surrey.

Specialising in a wide array of collector’s items, including contemporary art, entertainment and memorabilia, vintage toys, decorative ceramics, watches and automobilia.

We Buy & Sell pm-antiques.co.uk Contact us: phil@pm-antiques.co.uk 01932 640113

ADVERTISE TODAY PLEASE CALL CHARLOTTE KETTELL ON 01394 389969 or email: PMAntiques2015 PM_Antiques Charlotte.Kettell@accartbooks.com ANTIQUE 65 Antique collectingCOLLECTING 65

LAST WORD Marc Allum committee are the usual problems of any society, with the burden often falling to the same stalwarts.

I belong to several clubs, mainly of the combustion engine variety (but not exclusively), I’m also an honorary member of others and can quite happily say that the experience and help those clubs and their events have given me over the years is absolutely invaluable.

Opening doors

Marc My Words Marc embraces his “inner anorak” in 2022, advising us all to join a club – the more obscure the better

H

aving come past the second Friday in January (known as Quitters’ Day for the number of people who abandon their New Year’s resolution) I am reminded of the determination we have to improve our lives with each coming year.

January 1 often heralds the best intentions to push forward with increased vigour to improve one’s self and to take a stiff broom to the hum-drum predictability of everyday life.

To be honest, joining a gym is not my idea of fulfilment so I am happy to discount that resolution straight away. However, there is something we can do to improve both our mental capacity and social opportunities and that is, join a club.

Stamp of approval I do lots of lecturing and I often talk to clubs and societies. Some of the clubs are quite niche, attracting members who collect in a very particular field such as postcards.

Known as deltiologists, postcard collectors are attracted by several different facets of history, the image for instance, or the artist who may have created it, the subject or locality, the message on the back, or even the postage stamp. In fact postcards were the first

66 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Whether visiting a stately home or sat in a 1929 Bentley, clubs have opened doors for me. Keeping up with the club magazines and newsletters can be fairly time consuming but it’s also good fun to write the odd article or be pictured in the ‘regional section’ with your latest acquisition.

So whether you’re a helixophile (lover of cork screws), tegestologist (someone who collects beermats), cagophilist (key collector) or a phillumenist (someone who collects matchboxes) there’s club or society for you somewhere in the world. Be brave, be sociable and join it!

Marc Allum is an author, lecturer and specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

For more details go to www.marcallum.co.uk.

Are you a member of a club? Let us know, email magazine@accartbooks.com

thing I ever collected as a boy and I still buy them. They are also very affordable, although an apparent spike in interest has considerably pushed up the value of some.

Fellow anoraks Now, I can already imagine what many of you are thinking, perhaps this is all a bit ‘anorak’.

The common misconception is that members of clubs – and collectors in general – are not ‘your kind of people’ and that pawing over stamps and coins discussing the ins and outs of perforations and proofs is a little bit, how shall I put it, dull?

However, I can attest to having had some of the most interesting evenings I have ever spent with societies and clubs. It’s true that some societies may attract an older membership but it has always been a battle in the world of antiques to interest younger people. Keeping the membership fresh and persuading people to step up to posts on the

Above left Marc’s clubs allow him to experience all manner of jaunts Above Joining a club can be good for your little

grey cells and help you meet new pals

‘The common misconception is that members of clubs – and collectors in general – are not ‘your kind of people’ and that pawing over stamps and coins discussing the ins and outs of perforations and proofs is a little bit, how shall I put it, dull?’

Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers

Upcoming Spring Auctions

Modern & Contemporary British & Irish Art

Modern & Contemporary Prints & Multiples

Tuesday 15 February

Tuesday 8 & Wednesday 9 March

Tuesday 15 March

Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, Scottish 1931–2021- Clivia, Orchids and Arun Lily, 1981; watercolour on paper Estimate £8,000-£12,000

Banksy, British b.1974-Rude Copper, 2002; screenprint in colours on wove

An amethyst and diamond parure,

by Asprey

Estimate £20,000-£30,000*

Estimate £8,000-£12,000*

Old Master & 19th Century Pictures

Fine & Decorative

Antiquities, Islamic & Indian Art

Tuesday 22 March

Wednesday 23 March

Friday 1 April

Louis Bosworth Hurt, British 1856-1929- A Passing Shower, Glencoe; oil on canvas Estimate £6,000-£8,000*

‘Poplar Trees’, an earthenware Fairyland lustre bowl designed by Daisy MakeigJones for Wedgwood Estimate £1,000-£2,000*

An illustrated page from the Majma’ alTawarikh of Hafiz-i Abru, Timurid Herat circa 1425, with later illustration Estimate £1,000-£1,500*

Jewellery & Watches

www.roseberys.co.uk 70/76 Knights Hill, London SE27 0JD | +44 (0) 20 8761 2522 | info@roseberys.co.uk *Plus Buyer’s Premium +VAT (30% inclusive of VAT)

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Period Oak, Country Furniture & the Effects of Twyssenden Manor Sunday 27th February 2022 commencing at 11am.

VIEWING DATES Thursday 24th and Friday 25th February 2022 10-4pm Sale day from 9-11am Or by appointment.

Wilkinsons Auctioneers Ltd The Old Saleroom, 28 Netherhall Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 2PW 01302 814884 www.wilkinsons-auctioneers.co.uk