Antique Collecting magazine September 2020

UNDISCOVERED JAZZ AGE ARTISTS

SCI-FI FIRST EDITIONS

BEST COLUMNISTS

ANTIQUE

COLLECTING

SEPTEMBER 2020

4-PAGE TRAVEL SPECIAL

The Grand Tour this Autumn Discover the places where you can still bag an antique bargain

ANTIQUE COLLECTING VOL 55 N0.4 SEPTEMBER 2020

Plus:

GOING NATIVE:

The Finest Hour The enduring appeal of the military watch

COLLECTING NORTH AMERICAN TREASURES THE COTSWOLD SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT CAPITAL IDEA HISTORIC MAPS OF LONDON

5

CONTEMPORARY CHINESE INK PAINTERS TO WATCH

ALSO INSIDE Up-to-date auction listings

• Book offers • Inside a tribal art collection

FIRST WORD

IN THIS ISSUE

Welcome

In retrospect, coming up with a ‘four-day travel special’ in the midst of a global pandemic, must rank in terms of folly on a par with publishing the Hitler Diaries. In my (slight) defence, when Nicolas Martin started his article on the European antiques markets still taking place this autumn, after the Lille braderie cancelled, we were some days away from today’s ‘Martini’ quarantines (‘any time, any place, anywhere’). These were the heady days of post-lockdown euphoria...day trips to London, lastminute holidays to a Greek island – a couple of chums even went wine buying in France. But by the time this ink was dry it was decidedly different outlook and we were closing our doors to Europe faster than a shed owner in a hurricane. All I can say is that it seemed like a good idea at the time and, who knows, by the time you read this you may be sunning yourself on a Benidorm sun lounger. In other areas of the magazine, I am relieved to say, we are on a firmer footing.

For watch collectors tempted by the ‘Dirty Dozen’ – the 12 army-issue watches the MoD commissioned Swiss manufacturers to make in WWII – but were put off by price, Laura Smith presents a list of military timepieces which are every bit as stylish but more affordable, see page 24.

On page 32, we explore the extraordinary artistic careers of the Zinkeisen sisters, Doris and Anna. Work by the siblings, who were the Tracy Emins of the jazz age, was largely overlooked after the war, but is now commanding tremendous prices.

For furniture fans, on page 50, we look at the work of Stanley Webb Davies – an arts and crafts designer in the Cotswold style. While the star of his contemporary and fellow northerner Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson shines brightly (some might say too brightly), Davies’ work has been on the backburner. The sale of a single owner collection in Essex this month may just put him back in the limelight. Elsewhere, David Harvey looks up from his restoration studio to tell us about a magnificent piece by the 17th-century cabinetmaker Thomas Pistor – another figure who the history books inexplicably forgot.

Enjoy the issue.

Georgina

Georgina Wroe, Editor

KEEP IN TOUCH

Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, or email magazine@accartbooks. com. Visit the website at www.antique-collecting.co.uk and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AntiqueMag

Antique Collecting subscription

WILL HOBBS

shines a light on a collection of North American art, page 20

LAURA SMITH

reveals the military watches every collector should own, page 24

NOBERTO IZQUIERDO

shows us around his tribal art collection, page 28

We lov e

this Lib mahogan erty & Co ys Pearson, ettle by John estimate which has an of £4 at Sword ,000-£6,000 ers’ s Septemb ale on er 8

JOHN BLACK

highlights the furniture of Stanley Webb Davies, page 50

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: Jo Lord 01394 389950, jo.lord@accartbooks.com Subscriptions: Sue Slee 01394 389957, sue.slee@accartbooks.com

£38 for 10 issues annually, no refund is available.

ISSN: 0003-584X

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 3

Further entries are invited for our forthcoming auctions Asian Art | Modern British Art | 20th Century Design Jewellery and Handbags | Sporting Art, Wildlife & Dogs

For more information or to make an appointment for a free auction valuation contact Stansted Mountfitchet | Essex | CM24 8GE auctions@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778 42 St Andrew Street | Hertford | SG14 1JA hertford@sworder.co.uk | 01992 583508 15 Cecil Court | London | WC2N 4EZ london@sworder.co.uk | 0203 971 2500

www.sworder.co.uk

Ferdinand Preiss (1882-1943), ‘Thoughts’, £1,200-1,500

THIS MONTH

Contents VOL 55 NO 4 SEP 2020

REGULARS

32 UNDISCOVERED JAZZ AGE ARTISTS

BEST COLUMNISTS

SCI-FI FIRST EDITIONS

ANTIQUE

COLLECTING

SEPTEMBER 2020

4-PAGE TRAVEL SPECIAL

The Grand Tour this Autumn ANTIQUE COLLECTING VOL 55 N0.4 SEPTEMBER 2020

Plus:

GOING NATIVE:

COLLECTING NORTH AMERICAN TREASURES THE COTSWOLDS SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT CAPITAL IDEA HISTORIC MAPS OF LONDON

5

CONTEMPORARY CHINESE INK PAINTERS TO WATCH

ALSO INSIDE Up-to-date auction listings

•

Book offers

•

COVER

FOLLOW US @AntiqueMag

44

Editor’s Welcome: Georgina Wroe introduces the September issue

6

Antique News: All the latest from the world of antiques and fine art as well as three exhibitions to see which are not online

56 Top of the Lots: Garden statuary, art deco rings and a vesta case are among this month’s hot lots

10 Your Letters: Praise for an article on Ladybird books and a warning from a newbie online bidder

58 Subscription Offer: Save 50 per cent on an annual subscription and receive a free book worth £65

12 Around the Houses: Sofas are selling well as more and more of us look to revamp our interiors in lockdown times 20 Saleroom Spotlight: Will Hobbs shines a light on a single owner collection of North American Art going under the hammer this month

28 Why I Collect: Behind the scenes with celebrated tribal art collector Noberto Izquierdo

Inside a tribal art collection

An antique chair, Christina Wilson, Gap Interiors

3

61 Fairs calendar: Not all events have cancelled – take a look at the all the latest event dates 62 Auction calendar: Up-to-date listings from all of the UK’s leading salesrooms

FEATURES

22 Cool and Collectable: 300 years on from the South Sea Bubble, 16 Fairing Well: Nicolas Martin reveals the European antique expert Paul Fraser looks at stock fairs going ahead (if you can get market crash memorabilia there and back)

Discover the places where you can still bag an antique bargain

The Finest Hour The enduring appeal of the military watch

50 Saleroom Spotlight: John Black considers the work of the arts and crafts designer Stanley Webb Davies ahead of a sale this month

24 6

37 An Auctioneer’s Lot: Charles Hanson is enchanted by a textile fragment that crossed continents to reach his saleroom 38 Waxing Lyrical: David Harvey celebrates the underrated work of the 17th-century furniture designer Thomas Pistor 48 Book Offer: Save 30 per cent on the latest titles from our sister publisher ACC Art Books

24 The Finest Hour: Laura Smith considers the enduring appeal of military watches beyond the iconic ‘Dirty Dozen’ 32 Sister Act: Holly Johnson reveals the incredible artistic careers of Doris and Zinkeisen – the ‘it’ girls of inter war London 40 Capital Idea: Antique maps of London are both decorative and informative, writes May Geolot 44 Future Perfect: Book specialist Sammy Jay considers the market for collecting modern sci-fi 52 Ink Well: Lazarus Halstead introduces the world of contemporary Chinese ink painting – collectors’ next big thing

20

66 Marc my Words: A sideways look at the world of antiques from Antiques Roadshow specialist Marc Allum

TO SUBSCRIBE PLEASE CALL OUR SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE ON 01394 389957 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 5

NEWS All the latest

Fair do’s

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SEPTEMBER

Below Expert Lennox Cato values a treasure

ANTIQUE news A round-up of all that’s going on in the world of fine art and antiques in September

ANTIQUES NO SHOW While producers are keeping tight-lipped on dates and locations, filming is taking place this month for the next series of BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow.

For the first time in more than four decades, the series will be filmed on a closed set, with a small, invited audience to ensure public safety.

Viewers are asked to contact programme makers with details of their treasures, if selected they will be given times and locations for them to attend filming. Presenter Fiona Bruce, who will be filming her 13th series, said: “We’ve come up with a new way to safely film the show. I can’t wait to see what treasures you have hidden in your homes.”

2020 locations include Stonor Park in Oxfordshire, Newby Hall in Yorkshire, Bodnant Garden in Colwyn Bay, Kenilworth Castle near Coventry, Suffolk’s Christchurch Park and Forty Hall in Enfield. Anyone interested in taking part should go to www.bbc.co.uk/ antiquesroadshow and upload details of their objects, they may then be invited to filming.

6 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Did you know?

The Roadshow team has unearthed objects from some odd places including Winston Churchill’s hat – discovered in a dump near London – and diamond jewellery recovered after being sewn into a sofa. Donald Trump’s vanity set was found in a charity shop.

Above Kenilworth Castle near Coventry is one of the ‘closed door’ locations Right This year’s filming

will not involve crowds

With gatherings in France limited to 5,000, the giant Braderie de Lille – which usually welcomes more than two million visitors over a weekend – has been cancelled.

Due to have been staged on September 5-6, the popular brocante will no longer take place in the French town.

Prefect Michel Lalande, said: “In view of the ban on all gatherings beyond 5,000 and uncertainties at the start of the school year, we regret having to announce the cancellation of the Braderie 2020.” In 2016, the market was cancelled after the July 14 terrorist attack in Nice – the first cancellation in 70 years. For our round up of European antique markets taking place this month, turn to page 16.

Above The brocante attracts more than two million visitors to Lille

Right Precision and

Skill Wedgwood’s Production Models has an extended run, image Fiskars UK Ltd

Far left Shell-shocked

US Marine, The Battle of Hue 1968, printed 2013 © Don McCullin

Above left Homeless

Irishman, Spitalfields, London, 1970 © Don McCullin Left Local Boys in Bradford, 1972 © Don McCullin

1

Snap to it

A new show of the work of the celebrated photojournalist Don McCullin (b. 1935) opens at Tate Liverpool this month.

The exhibition, from September 16 to May 9, 2021 includes many of the London-born photographer’s war photographs from Vietnam, Northern Ireland and, more recently, Syria. It also focuses on his depictions of poverty and working-class life in London’s East End and the industrial north, as well as meditative landscapes of his beloved Somerset, where he lives.

McCullin got his first break when a newspaper published his photograph of friends from a local gang.

From the 1960s, he forged a career as one of the UK’s foremost war photographers.

With more than 250 photographs, all printed by McCullin in his own darkroom, the exhibition provides a unique opportunity to appreciate the scope and achievements of the photo journalist’s career.

3

Talent show

An exhibition celebrating a group of artists who transformed the design world of 20th-century Britain continues at a popular Chichester gallery.

The Pallant House Gallery is staging the show, which includes work by Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden and Enid Marx.

The group, who all

3

to see in

2

Wedgwood then

A unique collection of Wedgwood’s Etruria factory’s production models, dating back to the time of Josiah Wedgwood I (1730-1795), is on display at World of Wedgwood.

Precision and Skill Wedgwood’s Production Models shows the blanks used to make Wedgwood’s most sophisticated products. Drawings of the models were featured in Shape Books – the catalogues of their day which prospective customers could browse in order to select their preferred design.

The models are works of art in their own right and are the ‘unsung heroes’ of the complex Wedgwood production process. The exhibition at World of Wedgwood, based at Barlaston near Stokeon-Trent, has an extended run into the autumn having been postponed due to Covid-19.

SEPTEMBER

Left The exhibition highlights some of Wedgwood’s most sophisticated designs, image Fiskars UK Ltd Below The models featured

in Shape Books, image Fiskars UK Ltd

studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1920s, were famously described by their tutor Paul Nash as “an outbreak of talent”.

He recalled: “I can remember at least eight men and women who have made names for themselves since then in a variety of different directions.”

An Outbreak of Talent: Bawden, Marx, Ravilious, and their Contemporaries is on at the gallery until October 20.

Far left Eric Ravilious, The

Village School / New Bungalow, 1933, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (Hussey Bequest, Chichester District Council)

Left Enid Marx, Wally Dogs, 1960, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester © Estate of the Artist Right Edward Bawden, An

Old Crab and a Young, c. 1956, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester © The Estate of Edward Bawden

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 7

NEWS All the latest GREAT GREAT EXPECTATIONS

The skin tone of two of Charles Dickens’ greatgreat grandsons was used to ensure the right match for a new exhibition, which sees new photos of the author depicted in colour.

Gerald Dickens and Mark Dickens helped establish the correct colouring of their literary forebear for the exhibition Technicolour Dickens: The Living Image of Charles Dickens.

Eight historic photographs were selected from the collection of the Dickens Museum in London to be updated with more lifelike hues.

The museum then researched the details of each original portrait session, including the author’s clothes and accessories.

The museum at 48 Doughty Street, where Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, has reopened after four months of closure due to Covid-19.

One of the star exhibits is Dickens’ signature black silk grosgrain waistcoat made in 1860, which is on display for the first time in more than 100 years.

Museum curator Frankie Kubicki, said, “Dickens adored fashion and Technicolour Dickens will highlight his personal style and often daring fashion tastes.”

Belo A stereopticon

photograph of Charles Dickens,1867, Charles Dickens Museum Collection

Studio apartment A London gallery is using furniture, sculptures, ceramics, drawings and prints to recreate Pablo Picasso’s (1881-1973) somewhat disorganised Cannes studio.

Mayfair-based gallery Bastian is set to mock up the artist’s workspace at the exhibition called Atelier Picasso.

When Picasso moved to the villa La Californie in the hills above Cannes in the 1950s, he was already considered to be the greatest artist in the world.

The exhibition, from September 3 to October 31, includes photographs of the villa from Picasso’s friend André Villers, as well as a complete set of 20 Visage plates from 1963.

In 1961, with the construction of a new building concealing the sea view, Picasso decided to look for another home. He left the house in Cannes and moved to Mougins, where he spent his last years.

During the inventory of Picasso’s estate, many previously unknown works were found in the house and formed part of the original collection of the national museum which bears his name. His granddaughter, Marina Picasso, inherited Californie and finished restoration work in 1987, renaming it Pavillon de Flore.

Below Pablo Picasso (1881-

1973) Wooden Owl, 1969

Above Pablo Picasso (18811973) Carreau Visage d’homme, 1965

30 SECONDS with JOHN SNAPE, DEVON-BASED CHARTERHOUSE AUCTIONEER’S NEW SENIOR VALUER

How did you start in the business?

Straight out of university in 2002 I joined Trembath Welch auctioneers in Great Dunmow in Essex after I was recommended by my university lecturer. From there I moved to Ewbank’s Auctioneers in Surrey and then onto Charterhouse after the lockdown.

Best part of your job?

Unearthing and researching previously unloved items and achieving high prices at auction.

Best discovery, or sale?

That would have been a tribal necklace consigned from a junk shop which turned out to be a chieftain’s necklace from the Cook Islands. It went on to hammer for £100,000 – much to my and the owner’s amazement.

What lessons has lockdown taught you?

I have learnt that you can run a highly successful auction online and the market is still strong.

8 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above André Villers (19302016) La Salon de la Villa, La Californie à Cannes

Best advice to the online bidder?

Get your bids in as quickly as you can - if you leave it to the last second the gavel may have fallen.

What would be your best Dorset find?

What about a Dorset cream tea? Failing that, another early 18th-century single fusee wall clock like the one we sold on July 3. In near original condition, it was inscribed to the 9in (23cm) dial with the name of Dorset maker James Barfoot, Winbourn (Wimborne). One of the best I’ve seen in ages, it sold for £4,800, against an estimate of £600- £1,000.

Below right Dream find: an 18th-century wall clock Below John is dreaming of a Dorset cream tea by the sea

National scandal Originally scheduled for April 4, the eagerly anticipated exhibition of the works of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-c.

1656) – one of the most famous artists of the Italian baroque – is set to open next month.

The exhibition at the National Gallery will also include the original transcript of the 1612 trial in which the artist Agostino Tassi is charged with raping the 19-year-old artist.

Exhibition curator Letizia Treves, said: “It’s been a long time coming, but Artemisia will finally get her moment in the spotlight. I can’t wait to share her story.”

Artemesia will run at the gallery from October 3 to January 24.

SIGN OF THE TIMES As the UK comes out of lockdown, the V&A is reviewing submissions to one of its more unusual requests – shop signs detailing closure due to Covid-19.

The proliferation of the homemade signs in shops across the country became one of the roadmaps of the pandemic.

A museum spokesperson said: “Many were produced by hand with relatively oldschool technologies like crayon, marker, chalk, and spray paint.”

The call for signs was one of a number of initiatives to document the pandemic: the Museum of London called for domestic lockdown objects to chart the impact of the virus, while the V&A also asked for NHS rainbows to be donated.

Top The bakery was forced to close, photo Julie

Boganowicz

Above A polite notice advises of closure, photo Julie Boganowicz Below One shop poster from the recent

pandemic, photo Julie Boganowicz

BOOM TIMES ONLINE Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips generated $370m in the first half of 2020 – more than five times the same period in 2019.

Providing an MO An exhibition inspired by one of the 20th century’s most unusual experiments in sociology opens this month.

From September 12, Bolton Museum will present Mantelpiece Observations, an exhibition of newly-commissioned work by the ceramic artist Richard Slee based on an 80-year-old report by the bizarre think tank the Mass Observation (MO).

The Mass Observation was founded in 1937 by the poet Charles Madge, photographer Humphrey Spender and Tom Harrison who had recently returned from studying a tribe of cannibals in Borneo.

The intention was to apply the same anthropological tools on deprived areas of the UK, initially choosing Blackheath in London, Bolton and Blackpool.

As well as paid investigators, often

Right Artemisia

Gentileschi Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria c.161517 © The National Gallery, London

Below left Proceedings of Agostino Tassi’s trial for the rape of Artemisia Gentileschi, 1612 © Archivio di Stato di Roma

According to the recently published Hiscock report, Covid-19 could have kickstarted the art world’s long-awaited digital transformation. Just under a third of all online sales were for fine art, with jewellery and watches notching up 23 per cent.

London’s Serpentine Gallery has been using ‘Twitch’ the popular live streaming platform for gamers, who have an average age of 21, to present some of its exhibitions and performances. Other museums are promoting digital archives, videos and performances via YouTube.

Left Phillips’ Rebecca Tooby-Desmond leads the way for online sales

Richard Slee, works from Mantelpiece Observations, 2020 © Madeleine Waller

Oxbridge students, the MO recruited hundreds of volunteer observers who were asked to write about aspects of their daily lives including a list ‘in order from left to right’ of what was on their mantelpieces.

The exhibition opening on September 12 will also include 18 photographs by Humphrey Spender alongside Slee’s ceramic pieces. The exhibition runs until January 3, 2021.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 9

LETTERS Have your say

Your Letters

April pp.53-63:Layout 1

17/3/17

14:08

Page 63

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

I have been a subscriber to Antique Collecting for 46 years, with a complete collection of the magazines from 1974. The articles I particularly value are the in-depth studies of a particular subject, written by an expert in the field. A superb example of this genre is Helen Day’s article, Flyaway Success, (April issue) on the Ladybird books. As Helen indicated, the books are beautifully illustrated, and collecting them can be a rewarding but also a very affordable hobby.

The article was of particular interest to my partner’s cousin, Lynne Bradbury, who was for many years an editor of the Ladybird series, and also the writer of several of the books. Lynne had cerebral palsy, which severely impacted on her mobility and lifestyle, and this made her achievements all the more commendable. Sadly, Lynne died in June this year. Because of the article, we are in a better position to be able to advise on the disposal and retention of the parts of her estate that may be of particular interest to collectors and researchers of the Ladybird series of books.

Tony Lonton, by email

This month’s postbag reveals memories of Ladybird books and ANTIQUES CENTRES predictions of an upturn Star letter

Left Ian has joined the army of online bidders Above right Tony enjoyed

the history of Ladybird books

10 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Be part of the conversation on Twitter and Instagram @antiquemag

Rutland The

ARMS

Thank you for the August edition, another excellent read. I was particularly interested in Mark Gilding’s Bidding Online Q&A as I have recently joined the ranks of online bidders.

The article highlighted some of the costs over and above the hammer price. I think it’s also worth mentioning the cost of shipping. Just as we are now unable to attend auctions in person to bid, it is also unlikely we would collect any won lots in person.

I collect snuff boxes, which are small and relatively cheap to ship, usually less than £10 an item. However, this can be a significant additional expense, especially for low-priced lots. And check where the auction is taking place, too. I won a lot recently and hadn’t realised that the auction was in the Netherlands. A rookie mistake.

I’m happy to say that just last weekend my partner and I were able to attend our first fair (Detling in Kent) in more than five months. It was very well organised, with social distancing and hand sanitising in place, and very well attended, which was good to see. Keep up the great work.

Ian Troughton, London, by email

I am no economist but if my own buying habits are anything to go on, I fully predict a V-shaped bounce back after the lockdown. Returning to my local auction house a couple of weeks ago I was like a child in a sweetshop.

After four months away everything seemed just so buyable! Plus, after a lockdown clear out I have more space to fill. Better still, I can now indulge my passion and know I am rebooting the economy at the same time.

M Hope, by email

ANTIQUES

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  

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 

AUCTION Round up

AROUND the HOUSES With more of us enjoying home life, sofas are in high demand along with jewellery

The snap inspired Basquiat’s painting Dos Cabezas

PHILLIPS, NEW YORK A polaroid of the artist JeanMichel Basquiat (1960-1988) snapped by Andy Warhol (19281987) in 1982 sold for $75,000 at the US auction house – against an estimate of $30,000$50,000.

Basquiat used the snap as the basis for his 1982 masterpiece Dos Cabezas.

The photo marked the beginning of a friendship that would shape the course of Basquiat’s short career while providing Warhol with a heralded final chapter.

The polaroid of Basquiat was taken by the artist Andy Warhol

An 18th-century Yorkshire creamware charger celebrating the marriage of Jonathan and Betty Bastow in 1780 sold on estimate when it made £1,050 at the Kent auctioneer’s sale on August 1.

While little was known of the couple, theirs was a successful union producing six daughters and a son as documented in a hand-written label by one of Betty’s granddaughters, which was The charger pasted on the back of the dish. could have been The blue and white produced by the charger shows the bride with south Leeds maker coiffed hair and the groom in Humble, Hartley, a tricorn hat.

Greens & Co.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING

FELLOWS, BIRMINGHAM A magic kit owned by the Birmingham magician E. Ray Griffiths, aka Fabian the Magician, sold for £280 at the Midlands auction house.

Griffith, who was president of the British Magical Society in 1947, was renowned as one of the mid-20th century’s best conjurers.

The kit was made up of two magic wands, images of Fabian performing and a deck of the magician’s personal playing cards. Fellows’ specialist, Kevin Jackson, said: “Fabian performed in Birmingham and to sell his kit was a privilege.”

At another sale, described as its “best auction of antiques in years”, a carved and moulded gilt wood sofa and gilt wood elbow chair, Fabian the estimated at Magician was £100-£150, one of the UK’s sold for finest mid-century conjurers £16,588.

VECTIS, THORNABY

CANTERBURY AUCTION GALLERIES

12

The gilt wood sofa, was estimated at £100, but sold for £16,588

A walking and squeaking French pig automaton, c. 1910, by the maker Roullet et Decamps made £1,440 against a low estimate of £500 at the Teeside auction house.

The mechanical pig’s body was covered in pink kid leather and papier mâché, which housed internal bellows designed to create a squeaking sound.

Roullet & Decamps was a French toy manufacturing company operating The pig in the 19th and 20th centuries, came with glass which specialised in production of eyes and a nose, automata. mouth and inner ears painted in pink

DOMINIC WINTER, CIRENCESTER A bust of the Crimean war nurse Mary Seacole flew past its low estimate of £700 to fetch £101,000 at the Gloucestershire auctioneers.

As previewed in last month’s magazine, the terracotta bust portrayed Seacole – who having been rejected by the War Office had to self-fund her way to the Crimea in the 1850s in order to help the fighting forces.

Auctioneer Henry Meadows was “flabbergasted” at the result.

ARTCURIAL, PARIS

The bust of the nurse sold for more than 100 times its estimate

Work by the sixties jeweller Andrew Grima is increasingly popular

The Victorian articulated necklace is in the shape of a snake

CHORLEYS, PRINKNASH ABBEY PARK A 19th-century walnut chair back settee sold for £3,800 at the Gloucestershire auctioneer’s recent sale, against a low estimate of £2,500.

Both chair backs are carved with shells and foliate on the top rails, above solid vase splats.

Its moulded rails are on shell-carved The cabriole legs with claw-and-ball feet.

Victorian-era two-seater walnut sofa had clawand-ball feet

A suite of royal furniture, from the Louis XVI period, ordered by the Comte d’Artois in 1778 for his bedroom in Bagatelle, sold for more than £1m – more than three times its estimate in France.

The suite of It was made for furniture, the compte’s home including these in Château de Bagatelle by Georges Jacob (1739chairs, was made 1814) one of the two most prominent Parisian for the Comte master menuisiers. d’Artois Jacob produced carved, painted and gilded beds and other furniture for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical style associated with Louis XVI furniture.

MALLAMS, OXFORD A Victorian articulated serpent necklace, with cabochon turquoise, ruby eyes and rose-cut diamond eyebrows, sold for £2,500 at the Oxfordshire auctioneer’s online sale against an estimate of £1,200-£1,500.

A gem set panel bracelet by Andrew Grima (1921-2007) commissioned in the early 1960s by the vendor’s grandmother using gemstones from an earlier piece, sold for its top estimate of £5,000 to a telephone bidder. Designed as a series of abstract clusters of rubies and sapphires in 18ct gold fluted settings, interspersed with diamonds and emeralds, it bears the maker’s mark for Haller Jewellery Company, for whi h Grima worked as a designer.

SOTHEBY’S, LONDON The final typescript for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, in which the author Truman Capote changes the name of his protagonist from Connie Gustafson to Holly Golightly, sold for £377,000 at the London auction house’s sale on August 4 – more than Capote’s double the pre-sale estimate of £120,000-£180,000. previous Sotheby’s book specialist, Dr Gabriel Heaton, manuscripts said: “While Connie Gustafson may be more referred to Connie plausible as a child bride from Gustafson Texas, she would never have had the impact as Holly Golightly - undoubtedly one of the great names of modern comedy.”

Capote himself said: “Holly, was such a symbol of all these girls who come to New York and spin in the sun for a moment like May flies and then disappear. I wanted to rescue one girl from that anonymity and preserve her for prosperity.”

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 13

AUCTION Round up A Panthère de Cartier bracelet sold for £7,150

The half hunter ladies pocket watch also sold well

RICHARD WINTERTON AUCTIONEERS, LICHFIELD A ‘holy grail’ set of Pokémon cards sold for £25,000 to an online Chinese bidder at the Staffordshire auctioneer’s recent sale.

The complete 102-card set of the first edition Shadowless cards was bought directly from original US publishers in 1999 and was housed in plastic sleeves from which they were rarely removed.

The set, which was a 14th birthday present to the vendor in 1999, came with a binder The with the classic set included slogan ‘Gotta both versions of the iconic catch ’em all!’.

Pikachu The Pokémon Trading Card Game, based on the Nintendo franchise, was first published in October 1996

by Media Factory in Japan and by Wizards Of The Coast in the US. Each card depicts a Pokémon from the popular video game.

Did you know?

EWBANK’S, WOKING

An early 19th-century bracelet, set with foil-backed gemstones, sold for £1,950

A Panthère de Cartier bracelet by the ever-popular jewellery house sold for £7,150 at the Surrey auction house.

Its panther head was set with tsavorite garnet eyes with black lacquer spots, and it was stamped with Cartier hallmarks and a French mark indicating it was made from 18 carat gold.

An early 19th-century bracelet, set with foil-backed gemstones, including oval-cut garnets, amethysts, topaz and tourmaline, with cannetille border and fine mesh links, sold for £1,950 at the sale.

Proving the growing popularity of pocket watches, an 18 carat gold ladies’ half hunter pocket watch, hallmarked London 1901, sold for £910.

WOOLLEY AND WALLIS, SALISBURY A previously undiscovered letter, written by the newlycrowned King George VI to thank his speech doctor, sold for £76,250 at the Wiltshire auctioneers.

The letter, to the monarch’s Australian voice coach, Lionel Logue, revealed his relief at having successfully navigated the potential pitfalls of the coronation.

The In it he wrote: “You know how anxious I Australian was to get my responses right in the abbey vendor thought but my mind was finally set at ease tonight. the letter would Not a moment’s hesitation or mistake!” achieve a greater The letter was written from Windsor price in Castle on May 17, 1937, five days after the UK the coronation ceremony. The lot, which came from an Australian vendor, included a silver-gilt cigarette case bearing his royal cipher which accompanied the letter.

14 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

TENNANTS, LEYBURN Proving the enduring appeal of pieces by Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson, the North Yorkshire auction house recent sale saw a 1940s oak writing table sell for £10,000 – five times its low estimate.

Tennants’ 20th-century design specialist, Diane Sinnott, said: “Early Mouseman furniture always sells well at Tennants, but the prices seen on Saturday really were extraordinary.”

The five-piece suite, from which the table came, sold for £24,400.

High prices were also seen for furniture by other Yorkshire Critters, whose work is increasingly in demand at auction, with an oak-panelled sideboard by Don ‘Foxman’ Craven selling for £1,600 against an estimate of £600-£900.

Early ‘Mouseman’ continues to be highly sought after

ROSEBERY’S, LONDON

THE PEDESTAL, HENLEY-ON-THAMES

The settle was decorated on the back so it didn’t have to go against a wall

A rare pair of Chinese imperially-inscribed wall vases, discovered on the mantelpiece of a couple looking to downsize, sold for £324,500 at the London auction.

Chased by nine determined bidders, including one who added £80,000 in The a single bid, the pair soared vases’ west above their pre-sale estimate of London owners £20,000-£30,000. inherited them They eventually sold to a in 1950 Chinese agent in the room on behalf of a Chinese collector after 15 minutes of bidding.

The Imperial poem inscribed on each was composed by the Emperor Qianlong to express his delight in seeing a vase inside his sedan chair. Of the 300 or so Qianlong wall vases recorded in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing, only half are inscribed with poems by the emperor.

A Charles I, yew, triangular Turner’s chair, c. 1640, sold for £10,625, against a low estimate of £3,000 at the London auctioneer’s first sale at The Dairy, on the Stonor Park Estate, near Henley-on-Thames.

The chair was one of 37 pieces of early furniture from Hotham Hall in Yorkshire. An ash-panelled back bacon settle, also from Hotham, sold for £3,750, while a set of 12 Elizabethan trenchers, Trenchers once owned by the Victorian were used to serve sweetmeats and ‘father of the computer’, spices at 16thCharles Babbage (1792-1871), century banquets sold for £10,000.

LAWRENCES, CREWKERNE

KEYS, AYLSHAM

Two sofas by the renowned makers Howard and Sons sold for £6,000 and £10,600 at the Somerset auctioneer’s summer sale.

While the cream-coloured Chesterfield fetched the lower sum, it was a sofa which retained its original fabric that achieved the higher price.

Howard and Sons of Berners Street in London was the foremost upholstery maker of the 19th century. The quality of its construction is matched by the comfort of its furniture making pieces highly sought after today.

The sofa retained its original striped fabric

Did you know?

Turner’s chairs were made out of green timbers. The joints tightened when they shrank, making them very robust.

The Turner’s chair sold at The Pedestal’s first auction on the Stonor Park Estate

Three locks of Admiral Lord Nelson’s hair sold for more than £5,000 – more than double their low estimate at the Norfolk auction house.

They were part of a 100-lot collection belonging to the late historian Ron Fiske, who died in 2018.

The paper packets containing the hair were inscribed Admiral in ink, ‘The hair of Horatio Lord Nelson, given me by Nelson’s hair Horatia, 22 May 1818’ and the second, ‘he great Lord fittingly sold in Nelson hair cut off when he left off tying his hair’.

Norfolk – the Keys’ David Broom said: “Despite some recent county of his controversy about historical birth figures, interest in Nelson remains very high.”

A 19th-century porcelain cup and saucer, with Nelson’s arms, ith an estimate of £2,500£3,000 failed to sell.

The maker of the porcelain cup and saucer was likely Coalport The Chesterfield sofa was

by Howard and Sons

ANTIQUE COLLECTING

15

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Grand Tour

FAIRING WELL This year’s Grande Braderie de Lille – like countless more – might have cancelled but there are others taking place this autumn, writes Nicolas Martin (...subject to change)

1 FRANCE

Puces de la Grange Rouge FACTFILE

WHAT: Puces de la Grange Rouge WHEN: September 6, 5am-5pm WHERE: La Grange Rouge, 142 Le Vauvret, La ChapelleNaude, Burgundy, central-eastern France DISCOVER MORE: www.lagrangerouge.org

S

tretching over five hectares of meadows and orchards, with several original 17th-century buildings scattered around the premises, La Grange Rouge is a collectors’ treasure trove. Situated in centraleastern France to the south-east of Paris, between the towns of Sens and Auxerre to the north, and Maçon (just north of Lyon) to the south.

Puces de la Grange Rouge has been a regular fixture in the European calendar for many years now with many vendors returning year after year. This flea

16 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Top Not all events have closed due to Covid-19, image Shutterstock Above right The event

takes place this month in Burgundy

Right Dolls at a French dealer’s stall

market hosts an average of 600 and 800 exhibitors welcoming more than 17,000 to the one-day event.

Puces de la Grange Rouge also boasts the feeling of a real French community celebration and is a must-visit for every collector at least once.

There are plenty of typical flea market items, as well as some wonderful vintage pieces and a lot of traditional antiques spread among the bargains.

While you are there Wine enthusiasts will appreciate the chance to see the vineyards and sample such renowned wines as Chablis, Beaune, Macon and Nuits-Saint-Georges.

2 UK

The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair FACTFILE

WHAT: The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair WHEN: September 11-13 WHERE: The Marquee, Petworth Park, Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0QY DISCOVER MORE: www.petworthparkfair.com

R

ecently given the green light, the rescheduled Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair in West Sussex is set to take place over the second weekend in September in a marquee in the grounds of the National Trust’s Petworth House.

Now in its sixth year, the new-look event, organised by the Antiques Dealers Fair Limited, will include changes to the lay out, a track and trace system, social distancing and mandatory face coverings to be worn inside the marquee.

Organiser, Ingrid Nilson, said: “None of the alterations will detract from the fair retaining its reputation for being an exciting day out for interior design enthusiasts, collectors and visitors who enjoy the finer things in life.”

The fair features some 50 specialist exhibitors selling fine period furniture, clocks, jewellery, silver, oil and watercolour paintings, sculpture, glass, lighting, ceramics, 20th-century design objects, vintage watches, historical medals, garden statuary and many other decorative works of art.

Above The one-day event attracts visitors from as far afield as Japan Right The event takes place in the shadow of the Chateau de Durtal

3 FRANCE

Brocante de Durtal FACTFILE

WHAT: Durtal International Flea Market WHEN: September 13 WHERE: Place des Terrasses 15 Pays de la Loire, France DISCOVER MORE: www.ouest-arts.com

B

While you are there Pop into Petworth Antiques Market on East Street.

Open seven days a week the emporium has a fast turnover of stock ranging from vintage to period. www.petworthantiquesmarket.com, call 01798 342 073 Left Petworth House is the backdrop for the sixth Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair Below far left Flight, Barr

& Barr plate, c 1815, Imari pattern, 21cm diameter, on sale from Duveen Art & Antiques, priced £250

Below left A Chelsea

gold anchor period twohandled vase, c. 17621764, on sale from Jupiter Antiques

argain hunters from across Europe, the UK, the US and even Japan travel miles to attend this event.

Situated in the Loire valley, close to the Le Mans racetrack, the annual international brocante in the medieval village of Durtal is an Ali Baba cave for flea market enthusiasts.

More than 450 dealers and 20,000 visitors make their way to the event – one of the last outdoor antiques fair of this scale and quality in western France, and one of the few remaining in the country.

Part of its charm is the mingling of professional dealers with locals who have just had a clear out. Be prepared for the unexpected.

While you are there The brocante is in the shadow of the Durtal chateau – one of the largest and most impressive in the Loire Valley. Over the years, the 11th-century feudal fortress played host to kings ranging from Charles IX to Henri II and is now open to B&B guests and tours, www. chateau-durtal.com

‘In order to help new visitors negotiate the fair’s 700 booths, last year French organisers introduced haggling lessons to ingratiate newbies into the art of antique-hunting like a pro’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 17

THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Grand Tour Left French country and provincial furniture is on offer Below far left Bargains galore at the popular market Below left You can still dine at the same table where Renoir once painted

4 FRANCE

Foire de Chatou, near Paris FACTFILE

WHAT: Foire de Chatou WHEN: September 25 to October 4 WHERE: Foire Nationale à la Brocante et aux Jambons, Île des impressionnistes 78400 Chatou, nr Paris DISCOVER MORE: www.foiredechatou.com

18 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

WHAT: Brussels Design Market WHEN: September 26-27 WHERE: Tour & Taxis, Avenue du Port 88, 1000, Brussels DISCOVER MORE: www.designmarket.be

N

ow in its 18th year, the Brussels Design Market is the largest vintage design market in Europe and a must-attend for many collectors across the continent.

More than 100 exhibitors from all over Europe head to the event, including dealers from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Added to which the event is located in one of the Belgian capital’s most iconic architectural heritage sites – The Sheds of the Tour & Taxis (the large warehouses and offices surrounding a former railway freight station built in 1903).

Dealers, collectors, interior designers, and design enthusiasts flock to the venue to uncover gems of authentic mid-century designer furniture, lighting and decorative objects.

It is not uncommon to unearth iconic pieces created by the biggest names in design history, including Sottsass, Le Corbusier, Eames, Jacobsen and Panton.

The site is ideally located on the tourist routes, between the Brussels old city centre and other tourist attactions such as the Atomium. The city’s museums are now open, so pop into the nearby Brussels Design Museum, www.adamuseum.be

rganised by the National Federation of Antique, Second-Hand Retailers and Art Galleries (SNCAO-GA), the Foire de Chatou is one of the most important antique fairs in France.

Situated on the Île des Impressionnistes, close to the centre of Paris, the island was named after the artists Sisley, Monet, Renoir and Degas who regularly set up their easels there.

This year marks the 100th edition of the popular event, which continues to showcase everything from classical art to modern design.

In order to help new visitors negotiate the fair’s 700 booths, last year organisers introduced haggling lessons to ingratiate newbies into the art of antiquehunting like a pro.

Formerly known as the Foire à la Brocante et aux Jambons (Flea market and ham fair), the origin of the event dates back to the Middle Ages when French butchers met at Easter to sell their wares.

The tradition is still celebrated today by the topnotch food on offer.

The nearby Fournaise Museum has a collection of artworks highlighting the golden age of painting along the banks of the Seine (www.musee-fournaise. com). You can still dine on the balcony of the Restaurant Fournaise where Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted his famous Lunch of the Boating Party in 1880, www.restaurant-fournaise.fr

FACTFILE

While you are there

O

While you are there

5 BELGIUM

Brussels Design Market

Above Studio pottery is a fair staple Above right A stylish chair is one of the pieces on offer Right Prepare to discover

some 20th-century design gems

6 UK

Festival of Antiques FACTFILE

WHAT: Festival of Antiques WHEN: October 2-3 WHERE: The East of England Showground, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE2 6XE DISCOVER MORE: www.festivalofantiques.co.uk

W

ith more than 2,000 stalls, the Peterborough Festival of Antiques is taking place this autumn following the postponement of its Easter event.

Hosted within four permanent buildings and several acres of outdoor pitches at the East of England Showground, the two-day event promises everything from bric-a-brac to genuine antiques.

Above The town’s beer is well known Right Discover the finest treasures Walloon has to offer

Take a trip to the 17th-century Elton Hall, ancestral home of the Proby family, and eight miles southwest of Peterborough. It houses a collection of English bibles, including the prayer book given to Henry VIII by his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, www.eltonhall.com

Left Visitors to a recent event Below Stalls present

a range of eclectic treasures

Below right Dealers

stretch for eight miles along the city’s streets

La Grande Réderie d’Amiens

FACTFILE

WHAT: La Grande Réderie d’Amiens WHEN: October 4 WHERE: Rue des Jacobins, Amiens, 80000 France DISCOVER MORE: www.grande-rederieamiens.com

FACTFILE

WHAT: Ciney Puces et Salon des Antiquaires WHEN: October 9-12 WHERE: Ciney Expo, Rue du Marché Couvert, 5590 Ciney DISCOVER MORE: www.cineyexpo.be

T

While you are there

7 FRANCE

8 BELGIUM

Ciney Puces et Salon des Antiquaires

he Wallloon town of Ciney in the Province of Namur, to the southeast of Brussels, hosts one of the country’s best markets.

This October, undaunted by Covid-19, it will play host to 700 exhibitors who are set to attract up to 15,000 visitors. October is the last event in the year following the postponted April and July fair.

Famous for its first day ‘déballage au cul du camion’, – literally unpacking the back of the truck – there is a carpark scrum at 2pm as bargain hunters scramble to discover what’s on offer straight out of the dealers’ 500 stock-filled trucks.

Like any fair, visitors are advised to show up early – far in advance of the doors opening at 10am.

While you are there Ciney is famous for beer and cattle, with its blonde ale with an abv of 7 per cent being one of the country’s most famous brews. The town also boasts the largest cattle market in Belgium, with 4,000 animals passing through it every week.

Each dealer sets up a stall along eight miles of streets in Amiens’ town centre.

Held in the first Sunday of the month, the Picardie town swells by up to 100,000 visitors with hotels around the region regularly selling out.

While you are there Visit the Notre-Dame Cathedral, France’s largest Gothic church, www.amiensfrance.fr

A

fter La Grande Braderie de Lille and La Braderie du Canal Saint-Martin (both cancelled), La Gande Réderie d’Amiens is the third largest fair in France.

Held twice a year in April and October in the northern French town – equidistant between Le Havre and Calais –, it boasts more than 2,000 dealers from over France – 700 of which are professional antique dealers.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 19

ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER North American art

SALEROOM SPOTLIGHT

The collection of a Midlands-born engineer who went on to become one of the leading experts in Native American culture goes under the hammer in Wiltshire this month Right A pair of Arapaho

moccasins, c.1880.

Estimated at £400-£500 at this month’s sale

A

writer, scholar and collector, Micheal Johnson, who died last year at the age of 82, was an unlikely person to become one of the world’s foremost authorities on North American art. Born on April 22, 1937, in Walsall, Michael worked for many years as a structural engineer, gaining a keen eye for detail, which he applied assiduously to his interest in Native peoples. So vast was the knowledge he acquired on this side of the Atlantic, he went on to become the editor of the US magazines American Indian Crafts and Culture and Whispering Wind.

Some 113 lots from his collection, many of which featured in the dozens of books he wrote over his career, are expected to make £75,000 when they are sold at the Salisbury auction house Woolley and Wallis.

Pieces are predominantly beadwork, dating from the late 19th to 20th century, which reflect Michael’s

interest in a wide range of cultural areas, including the North Eastern, South Eastern and the Great Lakes.

Over the years he organised numerous exhibitions and displays of Native material culture, including annual shows at the American Museum in Britain in Bath, Somerset.

His impressive published achievements include The Native Tribes of North America: A Concise Encyclopedia (1992), which was greatly expanded to become the Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America and Ojibwa: People of Forests and Prairies, (2016).

In an obituary, his colleague Richard Green, wrote: “I first met Mike in the summer of 1969, and we maintained a long-standing friendship thereafter, meeting up regularly, as collectors tend to do, to share news, admire each other’s latest beadwork finds, conduct many trades, and discuss all things relating to our mutual interest.”

NATIVE AMERICAN BEADWORK

Above right A Potawatomi bandolier (bag) from the Great Lakes, c.1910.

Estimated at £600-£800 at this month’s sale Right A pair of Plains or Ojibwa dancer’s cuffs, c.1915. Estimated at £100-£200 at this month’s sale Below left A Plateau

pictorial flat bag, c.1890.

Estimated at £500-£800 at this month’s sale. A pair of Western Sioux moccasins, c.1890.

Estimated at £600-£800

Originally, Native American beads were carved from natural materials including shells, coral, turquoise, copper and silver, wood, amber, ivory, animal bones, horns and teeth. Glass beads were not used until colonists brought them from Europe 500 years ago, but like horses, they quickly became part of American Indian culture.

Post-1900 Plains beadwork generally uses small glass beads, known as “seed” beads, which originated in Europe – most often Czechoslovakia.

The minute, doughnutshaped beads were made for export to Native Americans who translated

‘Pieces are predominantly beadwork and dating from the late 19th through to the 20th century and reflected his interest in a wide range of different cultural areas, including the North Eastern, South Eastern and the Great Lakes’ 20 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

their original decorative techniques and media, such as painting, porcupine quillwork and moosehair embroidery, into similar patterns employing beads.

Beads themselves tell a great deal about an object.

Not only is the technique with which they are applied to a skin or cloth surface an index to a piece’s origin, but also the colour quality, finish, luminescence and shape of the beads themselves offer important clues. For example, post1900 seed beads tend to be brighter, but more opaque in colour quality and not as muted as are most of the earlier shades. Post-1900 beaded pieces are not as prized by some collectors and thus more available.

AUCTION fact file WHAT: The Michael Johnson collection of North American art, part of the tribal art and antiquities sale Where: Woolley and Wallis, 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU When: September 22 Viewing: September 18, 10am-4.30pm; September 19, 10am-1pm; September 20, 10am-4pm; September 22, 9-10am and online at www. woolleyandwallis.co.uk

A guide to the colours used in Native American beadwork CHEYANNE-ARAPAHO

How did the collection come to you?

We have had the privilege of selling four other large collections of Native American Indian art and Michael was aware of our reputation for tribal art.

Our name was actually written in the front of his own catalogue of the collection, one of the reasons his family got in touch.

How important was Michael as a collector?

He was extremely important within his field of collecting, and he had been researching and writing articles and books since the 1970s. He was an assistant editor of several American magazines on American Indian crafts and culture and strove to promote an understanding of the people and cultures making these objects.

It’s difficult to pick out any specific items as they are all of a great quality. However, most collections only contain one or two bandolier bags and this includes around 15 examples, all of which are illustrated in his book Ojibwa, so they’re an unusual highlight. The vests (or waistcoats) also show an interesting comparison between the early geometric symbols of the Native Americans and the later bold, floral designs.

SIOUX

Background colours: Chalk white or light blue; occasionally yellow, Cheyenne pink and light green.

Design colours: All shades of blue, transparent navy blue, medium and dark green, white-lined red and rose.

Do you have a personal favourite piece?

I have two! The first is a panel bag which is beautifully decorated with an elk. It’s a lovely pictorial image and a fantastic design of American Indian life. The other is a beadwork valance, which is again an example of wonderful craftsmanship.

It was included in one of the earliest exhibitions of American Indian Art, Sacred Circles in 1976. It travelled between the UK and the US and inspired many of the today’s great collectors.

CROW AND PLATEAU TRIBES

Background colours: Light blue, Cheyenne pink, sometimes lavender, chalk white Design colours: Red, white, Cheyenne pink (lavender), all blues, yellow, green and occasionally purple

COMANCHE

Background colours: Chalk white, powder blue, transparent red and occasionally medium green.

Design colours: Dark reds, navy, royal and powder blue, white-lined red and light and medium green.

Where is interest likely to lie?

Above left An Arapaho

Background colours: Chalk white, light or medium blue.

Design colours: Black, transparent and opaque red, yellow, green, Cheyenne pink, blues, orange and butterscotch.

cradle cover, Northern Plains, c.1890.

Estimated at £1,000£1,500 at this month’s sale

UPPER AND WESTERN GREAT LAKES, WINNEGAGO, CHIPPEWAY (OJIBWA) FOREST POTAWATOMI, MENOMINI AND OTTAWA

Above Arts and Crafts of the Native American Tribes was one of Michael’s many books

Background colours: Chalk white, yellow, light blue, Cheyenne pink, crystal, and occasionally black, navy blue, and green.

Design colours: Virtually all colours, with floral motifs.

We asked Will Hobbs, Woolley and Wallis’ head of tribal art for his sale highlights

What are the sale highlights?

Background colour: almost exclusively chalk white Design colours: All shades of blue, mint green, Cheyenne pink, white-lined rose, corn yellow, and limited use of black and butterscotch.

BLACKFOOT

IN MY OPINION...

There are many collectors who knew Michael personally or by reputation. Collectors across Europe and America will be keen to buy, but the decorative appeal of these items is sure to draw in new buyers who are attracted by the unusual designs and strong colours.

Right A Yakima vest, c.1900. Estimated at £600-£800 at this month’s sale

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 21

MEMORABILIA Stock market crashes have a hunch. Many of the collectors I come across are (or were) bankers. Stock market crash collectables act as reminders of the volatility of their profession. These items warn “be on your guard”, “stay humble”, “don’t get greedy”. Or perhaps owning these mementoes just says: “Thank goodness it wasn’t me.”

Let’s look at the crash memorabilia you can collect:

SOUTH SEA COMPANY

For such a momentous event in financial history, items connected with the South Sea Company and its bubble do remain affordable – despite their scarcity and desirability. You can pick up stock dividends and certificates from the 1710s and 1720s for around £500£1,000 at auction. They are spine-tingling pieces of paper. Lives changed irreparably based on the figures recorded upon them.

However, for the most valuable financial disaster memorabilia we must turn to a more modern event.

Cool & Collectable

The downward fortunes of the stock exchange has always fascinated collectors

I

300 years on from the infamous South Sea Bubble, Paul Fraser reveals the boom and boom in memorabilia from stock market crashes

don’t know what this is. But my friends “ are investing. Imagine if they all get rich and I don’t...”

No – not the “fear of missing out” that fuelled Bitcoin mania of late 2017, but an event from the 18th century.

THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE

It’s 300 years since the South Sea Bubble burst spectacularly, when the promise of riches from the New World failed to materialise. It left thousands of investors – both seasoned and novice – destitute.

It plunged the British economy into chaos and prompted a huge spike in the suicide rate.

Today there’s a strong market for artefacts connected to the South Sea Company. Which isn’t a surprise. Collectors flock to stock market crash and investment disaster memorabilia. Anything in fact in which a lot of people lost a lot of money. Why? I

22 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

BERNIE MADOFF MEMORABILIA Top right pie e of ernie adoff s monogrammed luggage at the sale Top far right is la k velveteen slippers sold for , Bottom right rs adoff s shoe olle tion ent under the hammer Bottom far right is ife uth s engagement ring as valued at , ,

Bernie Madoff ran the most notorious Ponzi scheme in history. In 2009 he was sentenced to 150 years in prison after his sons shopped him to the police, quoting dad as saying it’s “all just one big lie”.

Madoff’s skills at deception were matched only by his ability to acquire garish loungewear. His monogrammed, black velveteen slippers auctioned for $6,000 in 2010 as part of a series of sales of Madoff’s possessions – designed to begin repaying the billions of dollars he’d obtained illegally.

Madoff was a collector of watches, sports memorabilia and vintage plonk. His wine cellar, including a bottle of 1964 Chateau Cheval Blanc, accrued $41,500.

The Madoff name is such that even a small lot comprising Smirnoff Vodka and Bombay gin – estimated to make $20 – sold for $300. A set of wife Ruth Madoff’s 14-carat diamond earrings went for $70,000, more than trebling their estimate.

And there’s more. Entrepreneur John Vaccaro bought up some of Madoff’s trousers and jumpers to turn into iPad covers. They’re available for $1,000.

“First I searched all the pockets to see if there were any $100 bills inside, then I found a designer who could make the cases from the cut-up clothing, which was tricky,” Vaccaro told the New York Post newspaper.

LEHMAN BROTHERS

Staying with recent events, I should also mention memorabilia connected with Lehman Brothers, the grand old institution whose demise was a portent of the 2008 market crash.

A quick search on eBay will reveal that all manner of Lehman Brothers paraphernalia is available, including company-branded caps (£15), mugs (£10), and ring binders (£1).

Among the main vendor is a gentleman called Ric Cam. “I had the opportunity to buy the leftovers after the 2008 financial collapse of the Lehman empire,” he told the Guardian newspaper.

“Everything came directly from their promotional division. There was an opportunity and a hunch that just maybe these items would sell as memorabilia.”

He’s been proved right.

Below left The Lehman Brothers HQ before its bankruptcy in 2008, David Shankbone Right Could a Bitcoin necklace be an antique of the future?

Below right Share certificates are a popular collecting area Below far right The John D Rockefeller certificate is on sale for £6,950

WALL ST CRASH NEWSPAPERS

Few days on the stock market have been as extraordinary as the horror that was Black Thursday: October 24, 1929. The first day of the crash that brought in the Great Depression.

When the US stock market opened

that morning prices immediately dropped by 11 per cent. Panic gripped Wall St. The following day’s Wall Street Journal announced the news in extraordinarily understated fashion, mentioning in small print that “stocks decline sharply on largest turnover in Stock Exchange history.” There would be more to come over the following months and years. Expect to pay upwards of £300 for an original copy of the newspaper – they are rarities.

BITCOINS – A FUTURE ANTIQUE?

Left A crowd gathers outside the Stock Exchange after the 1929 crash

‘The Madoff name is such that even a small lot comprising Smirnoff Vodka and Bombay gin – estimated to make $20 – sold for $300. A set of wife Ruth Madoff’s 14-carat diamond earrings went for $70,000, more than trebling their estimate’

Think we’ll all be shaking our heads in bemusement at “the Bitcoin bubble” 20 years from now? Then you might want to get ahead on the memorabilia game. For a currency that prides itself on being digital, there’s a lot of physical memorabilia out there. And most of it will set you back less than 0.002 of a Bitcoin – otherwise known as 20 quid. Bitcoin necklaces. Bitcoin T-shirts.

Bitcoin collectable coins…

WANT TO OWN STOCK MARKET MEMORABILIA WITHOUT THE “CRASH”?

Popular options are owning share certificates from some of the biggest names in banking.

American Express stock certificates signed by founders Wells and Fargo are among my best sellers. Or how about a Standard Oil certificate signed by no less than John D Rockefeller? I have one in stock from 1888, priced at £6,950.

Paul Fraser is the founder of Paul Fraser Collectibles, for more details go to www.paulfrasercollectibles.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 23

COLLECTING GUIDES Military watches

The FINEST HOUR

There are other military watches to collect beyond the famous ‘Dirty Dozen’. Ahead of a significant sale this month, Laura Smith reveals other sought-after timepieces

W

hat is it about military watches that collectors find so attractive? For some, it is the rugged, pared-back aesthetic, where function takes precedence over form – there are few extraneous details to a military watch; they must be hard wearing, easy to read and maintain. For others, it is the personal histories behind these watches, where have they been and what is their story? The military issue serial numbers can usually be decoded to reveal which branch of the military they were issued to, sometimes the role of the wearer (e.g. pilot, engineer, special forces operative) and also the issue date, which can identify which war the original owner is likely to have been involved in. They also played a huge role in the evolution of the civilian watch because the wristwatch we wear today is mired in conflict. Before anything else, wristwatches were military timepieces – at least for men.

24 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

ORIGIN OF THE WRISTWATCH

Above Collecting vintage watches has never been so popular

In the trenches, soldiers fashioned metal loops onto their pocket watches and mounted them on their wrists as a more convenient way of checking the time when carrying a rifle.

The look stuck, but it wasn’t until WWII that it became more widely taken up and, even then, wasn’t universal. From the 1890s until the end of his life Churchill carried his father’s gold Breguet pocket watch, nicknamed ‘The Turnip’.

But seeing heroic pilots and servicemen returning with their bomber jackets and standard issue wristwatches did wonders for the design.

The world of military watches offers an endlessly fascinating field for the collector, whether you strive for a broad collection, both historically and geographically, or choose to narrow your focus to one country, one branch of the military, a specific period or even a specific model.

Either way you will never lose the thrill of tracking down the ‘perfect’ example, or the satisfaction of holding a small piece of history in the palm of your hand (or, indeed, wearing it on your wrist).

‘The nature of aircraft both in the RAF and Luftwaffe in the first half of the 20th century meant that precision timekeeping was vital for navigation, and so the watches issued to pilots and navigators were regulated and tested to the highest chronometer standards’

COLLECTING OPTIONS At the entry level, there are GSTP (General Service Time Piece) pocket watches and ATP (Army Time Piece) wristwatches – both of which would have been in general service throughout WWII. While not uncommon on the market, given that most would have seen active service during war time, condition is critical; but with estimates starting at just £20-£60, they are an affordable entry point into military watch collecting.

At the other end of the spectrum, Dix Noonan Webb’s two-part sale of the Culling collection (the first part of which was in June and the second part of which is on September 15) included an iconic 1940s German wristwatch – the B-Uhr, which sold for £2,600 and a 1953 British RAF monopusher chronograph wristwatch

by Lemania, which fetched the same price.

This month’s auction will offer a German Luftwaffe pilot’s monopusher chronograph wristwatch by Hanhart with an estimate of £3,000-£5,000.

EARLY WWI ‘TRENCH’ WATCHES

Above This month’s sale of part II of the Culling collection of military watches includes four examples of ‘Dirty Dozen’ watches. Part I of the sale saw a Vertex, Omega and Lemania watch each realise between £800-£1,800 Below A silver cased

‘Trench’ wristwatch, by Rolex, 1914. Estimated at £150-£250, it sold for £750 in June

The Trench watch was in many ways a transitional design between the pocket watch and the wristwatch – which (at the start of WWI) was only worn by women. At the start of the conflict, they were known as “wristlets” but, within a few years, the term wristwatch became prevalent. The now common wristwatch case did not yet exist, so small pocket watch cases, most commonly made from silver, were adapted by having wire “lugs” soldered onto them. These early wristwatches became known as “officers” trench watches as they were purchased by troops themselves, and not generally issued by the government.

As the war ground on, a number of features began to emerge as standard on trench watches. Among the most useful was the use of luminous paint on dials and hands, which contained radium (which, having a half-life of 1600 years means watches still emit measurable levels of radioactivity, and potentially dangerous radium gas). Watch glass guards were also used to protect the glass from shattering on impact. Later on in the war, it became clear that white on a black background is more legible than black on a white background, and this led to military watches adopting this classic highly legible format.

THE DIRTY DOZEN For the novice collector, the ‘Dirty Dozen’, is arguably the most famous issue of military watches. In the 1940s, the British military realising the need for large numbers of reliable, accurate and hardwearing wristwatches, drew up a series of strict specifications.

12 manufacturers were commissioned to produce them: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger Le-Coultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor and Vertex.The watches were delivered in 1945, so few would have seen much action during WWII. They represented the pinnacle of the military watch aesthetic: black dials, with clear white numerals and luminous markers (for use in low light), contained within simple rugged and waterproof steel cases.

Hunting down examples of all 12 appeals to collectors, making the ‘Dirty Dozen’ legendary. The numbers produced by each manufacturer varied so, while Omega and Record produced around 25,000 pieces each and are not too difficult to source, Grana produced fewer than 1500 and are tantalisingly rare to the market. out observation balloons) during which British pilots flew with the pocket watches Mark IV.A (1914) and the Mark V (1916). Both were chronometric instruments, which the pilot fitted into the instrument panel. As a result, they had long-shank winding stems for midflight winding, earning the nickname, cockpit watch.

Every watch was fitted with a 15-jewel movement to counteract the vibration of flight.

The Mark V was available in three types: the standard 30-day, non-luminous model; a luminous version used at night and a later eight-day variant.

WWI AVIATOR’S WATCH While there were watchmaking innovations for servicemen on the ground, more were required for the air. War’s demand for precise navigation for coordinated attack meant huge advances in horology.

On April 13, 1912, the British Army’s Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed to develop a military and naval wing. RFC aviation issue watches had an underscored capital ‘A’ with a broad arrow pointing upward underneath it.

WWI missions included “balloon busting” (taking

Right An unsigned aviator’s Mark V, B.H. 6322 pocket watch, 1916-1918. Estimated at £100-£150, it sold for £260 in June

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 25

COLLECTING GUIDES Military watches WWII ‘TOMMY’ WATCHES In 1939, with war looming – and some six years before the commission of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ – the British Ministry of Defence realised it would need a large supply of watches to issue to soldiers. The ATP (Army Trade Pattern, or Army Time Piece) series of watches was the result, supplied by 17 Swiss watch makers under the brand names Buren, Cortebert, Cyma, Ebel, Enicar, Eterna, Font, Grana, Lemania, Leonidas, Moeris, Reconvillier, Record, Revue, Rotary Timor, and Unitas. (The neutral Swiss also supplied almost identical watches to Germany, in the shape of the military German DH wristwatch.)

ATP watches generally had a 15-jewel movement in a round waterproof case in stainless steel or nickel chrome, a clear white/silvered dial with railroad minutes track, luminous index spots, broad lumed baton hands and a subsidiary seconds dial.

They all have fixed bars between lugs and are generally around 31mm in case diameter – the Moeris, being 33mm was one of the largest.

Around 133,000 ATP watches were manufactured at an average price of £3. Their Swiss makers specified that, in return for being supplied to the MoD at a reduced cost, the watches had to be destroyed after the war to prevent the market being flooded by cheap watches. Clearly some escaped or were simply decommissioned rather than destroyed.

Above RAF pilot’s/ navigator’s wristwatches by (L-R) Longines, Omega and Ebel, c.

1940s. Each has an estimate of £400-£600 at this month’s sale Below An ATP

wristwatch, by Moeris, 1940s, numbered ‘2651236’ and stamped ‘ATP 61559’, has an estimate of £40-£60 at this month’s sale

WWII PILOTS’ WATCHES While the watches supplied to the British Army could be somewhat basic, those supplied to the Royal Air Force were of a much higher grade – with, again, greater accuracy required for navigation or bomb-aiming purposes.

But, while they needed precision, they did not need to be as hard wearing or waterproof, as the land forces. Cases are slimmer and in line with the budget restrictions during the war.

Most were made in an economy chrome finish with only stainless steel for the backs. The specification required cream/white dials with clear black markings, centre seconds and blued steel hands, for ease of reading.

They were supplied to the RAF by a number of manufacturers including Omega, Jaeger Le-Coultre and Longines, and are referred to by their stores’ reference number: 6B/159.

WWII GERMAN PILOTS’ WATCHES While infantrymen and sailors were outfitted with “DH” watches, standing for Deutsches Heer (German army), Luftwaffe pilots enjoyed the use of a custom-engineered

26 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Right A Luftwaffe,

B-Uhr, type B, pilot’s/ observer’s wristwatch,

by Wempe, 1940s.

Estimated at £1,800£2,400, it sold for £2,600 in June

timepiece known as the Beobachtungs-uhren, or observation watch, commonly referred to as a “B-Uhr”.

Designed in 1935 by the Reichs Luftfahrtministerium (Reich Ministry of Aviation), the iconic watch was created to meet the highest specifications.

The timepieces were highly regulated to chronometeric standards and were provided to Luftwaffe navigators for a specific mission, after which they were returned. A signal from the control tower would allow the navigator to set his watch precisely in time with the Deutsche Seewarte, the German Naval Observatory, and hacking seconds allowed the utmost precision in time-setting.

Five manufacturers supplied the B-Uhr: A. Lange & Sohne, Wempe, Laco and Stowa. The fifth maker was the Swiss International Watch Company (IWC).

The IWC B-Uhr is the rarest and most highly prized, as the maker only produced 1,000 which were shipped to IWC’s Berlin agent, Siegfried Heindorf, in 1940. Due to the heavy losses sustained by the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, it is assumed that very few IWC B-Uhr survived.

The clear dial layout was designed to give aircrew

greater visibility and included the distinguishing upwards-orientation triangle or arrow at the 12 o’clock position.

Inside, the movement was surrounded by an iron core, protecting it from the magnetic fields present in early aeroplane cockpits. They were also large – for clear visibility – and intended to be worn over the top of the flight jacket with an oversized ‘onion’ crown which could be operated with gloves on.

The compass was carried or attached to the rescue vest

WWII GERMAN ‘DECK’ WATCH In 1939, the watch manufacturer Stowa, based in south-west German city of Pforzheim, began production of the marine beobachtungsuhr (marine observation watches). One of the principal features of a good observation watch is its clear readability; therefore, the dial was made completely luminescent.

Watches provided to Kriegsmarine personnel serving on U-Boats often featured fully-lumed white phosphorus-coated dials with black, non-lumed numerals and state “K.M.” on the dial.

Generally a deck watch was used as a secondary timepiece, to be wound and synchronised daily with the ship’s official clock. Its primary requirement was consistency of timekeeping hour-to-hour, day-to-day, over months and years. It was of less concern that it might be a few seconds fast or slow each day, than that the rate remained constant.

LUFTWAFFE PILOTS’ COMPASS As well as watches, servicemen required other devices, including compasses. One such was manufactured by Kadlec Instrumentenfabrik Prag – an instruments manufacturer located in the former Czechoslovakia.

Kadlec produced two versions of an AK39 compass designed for German pilots in WWII: a simple black one and a white one with sighting aids.

The liquid inside is pure petroleum (kerosene) which could be exchanged or refilled.

Rifle-type sighting aids allowed the wearer to take a bearing on the ground if the aeroplane was downed.

The abbreviation AK stands for armband-kompass

Right A Luftwaffe pilot’s wrist mounted compass,

by Kadlec, 1940s, it has an estimate of £30-£50 in this month’s sale Bottom right A side shot shows the depth of the compass Bottom left The watch’s

reverse features the Wehrmacht issue marks of an eagle over swastika, along with ‘MI’ and ‘II.K1’ the mark classifying the official rating of the movement

Below A German

Kreigsmarine (German navy) observation/ deck watch, by Stowa, early 1940s, with a completely luminous dial. Estimated at £300£400 it sold for £480 (hammer) in June

(wrist compass) and the figure 39 probably designates the year of design, 1939.

The compasses were designed to be worn on the right wrist, or lower arm, over the flight jacket, or attached to a rescue vest.

Laura Smith is a specialist at the Mayfair auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb which holds part II of the sale of the Culling collection of military watches on September 15. Lots include timepieces from the German, American and British military, ranging from WWI pocket watches to 1990s quartz models. For more details go to www.dnw.co.uk

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 27

BUILDING A COLLECTION Tribal Art

Why I collect...

Noberto Izquierdo is the president of this month’s Parcours des Mondes and an ardent collector of tribal art

Describe your collection

Baoulé statue from the Ivory Coast, wood © Vinvent Girier Dufournier

My first contact with tribal art was during a trip to New Caledonia, 10 years ago. Before leaving the island, I visited a gallery in the capital Noumea, and I became infatuated with art from Papua New Guinea, even though I didn’t know at the time that most it was “airport art”, created for tourists. But it all started from there. My first acquisition was a huge sculpture for the equivalent of €200. It still sits in my living room and I don’t think I will part with it. Today, I have about 30 pieces from Oceania, Africa and Latin America.

My interest was strengthened when I became acquainted with the first private collection I really admired – that of Marcia and John Friede (as documented in the book New Guinea Art Masterpieces of the Jolika Collection). The collection made me want to know more about Oceanic art and inspired me to collect.

What do you look for in a piece?

For a long time my acquisitions were based on the emotion the pieces gave me. I accumulated them with

28 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

no orderly sense of making a collection.

With time, and advice from experts and dealers, I understood that a good acquisition is the result of not only emotions, but also of patience and reason. My way of looking at collections has changed – I now see a collection as a work of art in its own right.

What’s the furthest you have gone for an acquisition?

One of my most notable acquisitions were twin pieces, part of the La Korrigane collection to Oceania, amassed

by Charles and Régine Van den Broek in 1934-1936.

As they could not stay at home, I donated them to a museum which was able to keep them together. As a result both museum visitors and I are able to admire them at will.

Far left Dan mask.

© Vincent Girier Dufournier, courtesy Galerie Eric Hertault

Right Cavalier,

Sénoufo, Ivory Coast, wood © Vincent Girier Dufournier, courtesy Galerie Eric Hertault

Below Noberto’s

collection on display at his home

How do you display your collection? How important is decorative appeal?

I display the pieces at home where I am able to move them around to prevent my eye from getting used to them. This way they are able to nourish my perpetual wonder at their beauty.

How can we attract the next generation of tribal art collectors?

The world of tribal art has an image of being the soul preserve of specialists and the very wealthy. I think we have to overcome this view to show that it is accessible to everyone – regardless of wealth or expertise.

The big auction houses, like Christie’s or Sotheby’s, understand this more and more, which is evident in their presentation of increasingly mixed sales and exhibitions – in particular Sotheby’s annual ‘Now’ sale.

The initiative of the French tribal dealer Didier Claes has also been important in attracting young collectors to the genre.

‘I do my best to encourage my nineyear-old son to share my passion. He accompanies me to exhibitions and museums as often as possible and has even started to buy his own pieces’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 29

BUILDING A COLLECTION Tribal Art

‘With time and the advice of experts and dealers, I understood that a good acquisition is the result of not only emotions, but also of patience and reason’

What advice would you give to the new tribal art collector?

Buy with your eyes and not with your wallet. A collector has to buy a piece he or she likes and should not be motivated by its origin or price.

Communication on social networks is also a key tool in broadening the demographic scope of tribal art lovers.

It is increasingly used by museums and dealers.

Personally, I do my best to encourage my nine-yearold son to share my passion. He accompanies me to exhibitions and museums as often as possible and has even started to buy his own pieces.

What has been your biggest lesson learnt as a collector?

Without any doubt, my mistakes: buying pieces that turned out to be fake.

A collector has to be patient, be surrounded by good advisors to educate him or herself, and by observing good pieces and reading a lot.

30 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Ogoni mask,

Nigeria, acquired from the Charles Wesley Hourdé gallery Above right An example of a Hopi Pueblo Kachina doll, 19th century, wood, pigment, cotton, wool, hide, feathers, horsehair, image courtesy of Brooklyn Museum (not in collection)

What have you got your sights on now?

So far this year I have bought mainly African pieces.

But I have recently started to become interested in preColumbian art. Another target will certainly be beautiful Katchina figures, also known as Kachina dolls, which were made by native American Hopi from southwest America. Along with the dealer Julien Flak, I have started to research the dolls, which are thought to be a way of instructing young girls before marriage.

Parcours des Mondes takes place at Saint-Germaindes-Prés, Paris, from September 8-13. The event brings together over 40 art dealers: 36 specialising in tribal art, three in Asian Art and four in archaeological artefacts. For more details go to www.parcours-des-mondes.com

Jewellery & Watches: 16 September Silver & Fine Art: 17 September Antiques, Clocks & Furniture: 18 September Wines & Spirits: 2 October Decorative Arts: 8 October Contemporary Art: 8 October

COLLECTING GUIDES The Zinkeisen sisters Anna Zinkeisen (19011976) The Blue Persian Urn, 1921, sold for £5,500 in March, image courtesy of Great Western Auctions

Sister ACT

Work by the Scottish-born sisters Anna and Doris Zinkeisen – the ‘it’ girls of the 1920s, is achieving great prices at auction, Holly Johnson considers their incredible careers

G

lamorous go-getters, the Zinkeisen sisters Anna (1901-1976) and Doris (1898-1991) were the Bright Young Things of the art world during the hedonistic days of the jazz age. They were the darlings of café society painting themselves and each other to great acclaim, as well as capturing friends and lovers on canvas.

But their frivolous lifestyles belied the fact both women were hardworking artists producing an incredible body of work. Anna’s striking self-portrait

32 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above right Anna

Zinkeisen (1901-1976) St Mary’s First Aid Post by Candlelight, 1941, image Wikimedia Commons

Right Anna Zinkeisen (1901-1976), Orchids in a White Vase, had an estimate of £600-£800 at Bonhams’ sale on August 11

from 1944, now in the National Portrait Gallery, shows a confident, working woman and was probably painted in a disused operating theatre at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, where she worked as a volunteer casualty nurse during WWII – a far cry from the frivolity of previous years.

Together their work ranged from society portraits to theatre costumes and London Underground posters and, in the case of war artist Doris, even captured the horror of the liberation of Belsen.

Amazingly, for such high-profile artists these once fashionable siblings are now largely forgotten by the art world. However, there are signs this is set to change.

A portrait by Anna Zinkeisen drew a fervent competition when it appeared at Great Western Auctions in Glasgow in March. The 61cm x 51cm (2ft x 1ft 6in) signed oil on canvas, dated 1921, and called The Blue Persian Urn possibly had Doris as the sitter.

It sold for £5,500, against a low estimate of £400. In May, Sotheby’s sale of the collection of London dealer Daniel Katz saw a portrait of Mrs Sanders Watney by Doris Zinkeisen sell for £25,000, more than 10 times its low estimate.

EARLY LIVES Doris and Anna were born in Scotland, four years apart, in 1898 and 1901 respectively. From an early age they were united through their love of art. In

1909, the family moved to Middlesex, where both sisters attended Harrow School of Art, before winning scholarships to the Royal Academy Schools. It was a hotbed of talent and genius, and Doris and Anna soon became part of a small, select circle of talented female artists. Controversy was never far away. In 1921, with other female art students, they submitted work to the Royal Academy’s annual exhibition in London. Complaints soon followed in the conservative press criticising the promotion of young women in preference to “more mature painters”. The Sunday Express took up the women’s cause interviewing the sisters and depicted them as hard-working, talented artists whose only crime was the fact that they were women.

The story was headlined “Who are these flappers of the Academy schools?”, which neatly describes how the public viewed these young upstarts.

WORKING LIFE After graduation, the sisters shared a studio in London together, launching their careers side-by-side. It

WAR YEARS

Below left First class

diners in the Queen Mary’s Verandah Grill with the backdrop of the Zinkeisen murals, image courtesy of the Queen Mary Historic Trust

Above Doris Zinkeisen (1898-1991) Human Laundry, Belsen, 1945 Left The sisters’ murals today on the Queen Mary docked in Long Beach, image Chris Launi, courtesy of the Queen Mary Historic Trust

‘New work and high-profile commissions came tumbling in and Doris was quickly lured into London’s theatre world where her playful, slightly outrageous nature could be let loose designing sets and costumes for straight plays, musicals and her favourite - risqué revues’

Both sisters volunteered as St John Ambulance Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses (VADs) in both world wars, working in hospitals around London. During WWII they nursed during the day and painted by night, their work reflecting their first-hand experience of the horror of conflict in the capital.

Doris was commissioned as a war artist by the War Artists Advisory Committee, with one of her roles to record the liberation of Europe and the emancipation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She stayed in the camp until it was burnt down on May 21, 1945. She described the horrendous experiences in her letters to her husband, “The shock of Belsen was never to be forgotten. First of all was the ghastly smell of typhus.

The simply ghastly sight of skeleton bodies just flung out of the huts.” This harrowing experience haunted Doris throughout her life, she suffered from recurring nightmares from her time at Bergen-Belsen.

soon became clear that neither Doris nor Anna were privileged dilettantes just playing at being artists.

Doris, in particular, was keen to get into theatre design and set about tracking down London impresario Sir Nigel Playfair. He wrote in his book The Story of the Lyric Hammersmith: “Doris Zinkeisen… came to see me unannounced with a portfolio of drawings under her arm… I was able to see at once that she had a great talent for stage decoration.” Sir Nigel dispatched her to Liverpool to supervise all the scenery for the Liverpool Repertory Company where she made an immediate impression on the young John Gielgud.

He wrote in his memoirs: “Playfair had just discovered at Liverpool Doris Zinkeisen. Miss Zinkeisen was very good looking and wore exotic clothes. She was at that time engaged to James ANTIQUE COLLECTING 33

COLLECTING GUIDES The Zinkeisen sisters Doris Zinkeisen (18981991) Portrait of Mrs Sanders Watney, 1937, signed and dated. Sold for £25,000 in May, against an estimate of £2,400-£3,500, image courtesy of Sotheby’s

Anna also established herself as a commercial artist, designing advertising posters and still life pieces. She worked on a variety of illustrations for books and magazine covers as well as designing posters. Both women were commissioned

by Frank Pick, the forward-thinking head of promotion for the London Underground, to create posters for the network. More than just advertising transport, the campaign helped foster a civic identity for the city of London.

AFTER THE WAR

Whale, a tall young man with side whiskers and suede shoes. These two made a striking pair at the dances that Playfair used to invite the company…”

New work and soon high-profile commissions came tumbling in and Doris was quickly lured into London’s theatre world where her playful, slightly outrageous nature could be let loose designing sets and costumes for straight plays, musicals and her favourite – risqué revues on the London stage.

As well as designs for Noel Coward’s This Year of Grace at the London Pavilion, she designed costumes for Laurence Olivier’s, infamous production of Shakespeare’s Richard III. Doris’ self-portrait, exhibited in 1929, showcases her remarkable talent, the bright, bold colour palette of her fashionable clothing is contrasted with her muted backdrop and skin tone. She incorporates an old master’s trick, of an unsmiling gaze and disappearing hand, indicating an artist capturing themselves in the act of painting.

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS While Doris immersed herself in the theatrical world, Anna painted society figures, members of the medical profession and produced designs for Wedgwood which landed her a prestigious prize at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

34 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above right Harold Cazneaux (18781953) portrait of Doris Zinkeisen, 1929, for The Home magazine Below Doris Zinkeisen

(1898-1991) The Driving Match between Lady Lade and Mrs Hodges, c. 1960, on sale for £8,000, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques

After WWII, both sisters relocated from London to the comparative serenity of Suffolk – Doris set up home in Badingham, just outside the castle town of Framlingham, and Anna in Burgh, near Woodbridge.

Both continued their careers, including their commercial work which saw them branching out into surrealist, stylised areas of art for advertising and painting portraits for ICI, but they never recaptured the publicity that fuelled their frenetic inter-war work.

After the war Doris’ style irrevocably changed, but she did continue to work in theatre and costume design and frequently exhibited her work.

In 1953, she designed the cover of a special edition of Everybody’s Magazine to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Doris also notably designed the scenery and costumes for Noël Coward’s musical, After

‘Doris’ self-portrait, exhibited in 1929, showcases her remarkable talent, the bright, bold colour palette of her fashionable clothing is contrasted with her muted backdrop and skin tone’

Left Doris Zinkeisen (1898-1991) Portrait of Miss Edith Weaver holding an olive branch, sold for £10,000 in May against an estimate of £2,000£3,000, image courtesy of Sotheby’s Right In 1949 Anna

Zinkeisen was asked to paint the ceilings of The Morning Room of the Russell-Cotes Museum, image ourtes of ussell otes useum

Below left Doris Zinkeisen (1898-1991) Lady riding in woodland with foxhounds, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques Below right Anna’s

trompe l’oeil paintings feature classical and mythical creatures, image ourtes of ussell otes useum

the Ball. Anna continued her society commissions, as well as developing her skills as a flower painter. She died in 1976, aged 75, outlived by Doris who died at the age of 92 in 1991.

Holly Johnson Antiques, based in Knutsford in Cheshire, has a number of works by both sisters for sale, go to www.hollyjohnsonantiques.com

OFF THE WALL Both women were talented muralists, with Anna’s skills in particular called on for commissions throughout the length of her career.

In 1935, John Brown and Company Shipbuilders of Clydebank enrolled both sisters to paint murals in the Verandah Grill, a restaurant and night-club on the ocean liner the RMS Queen Mary. The murals, on the theme of entertainment, depicted circus and theatre scenes and can still be seen on the ship, now permanently moored in Long Beach, California.

Writing in Vogue in 1936, Cecil Beaton described the Verandah Grill as “By far the prettiest room on any ship – becomingly lit, gay in colour and obviously so successful that it would be crowded if twice its present size ”. The largest mural was damaged during WWII by gunnery officers tacking charts to the poster board covering the mural. After the war, Doris Zinkeisen restored the mural.

In 1949, Anna Zinkeisen was commissioned to paint a mural on the roof of the war-damaged Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in Bournemouth. The grade II listed building was commissioned in 1897 by Merton Russell-Cotes as a present for his wife who, in 1907, donated it and its contents to the town.

After a German parachute bomb destroyed the ceiling of The Morning Room, Anna adorned it with frescoes steeped in the Greek classical world, with Muses and Aurora riding in on her chariot. Her trompe l’oeil painting of classical mythical creatures, Venus and Pegasus floating against a pale blue sky, can still be seen there today.

The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays 10am-5pm.

To book tickets go to www.russellcotes.com

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 35

ac ad Hansons.indd 1

30/07/2020 04:17:32 PM

EXPERT COMMENT Antique needlework

An Auctioneer’s Lot It was a case of a stitch in time, when a delicate needlework brought a savage period of history into sharp focus, says auctioneer Charles Hanson Left Charles Hanson with a fragment of a 1640s purse. It sold for £2,800 against an estimate of £40-£60 Above right Hundreds of thousands on Heldenplatz in Vienna on March 15, 1938 Below right The

needlework survived one of the 20th-century’s worst conflicts

W

hen a tiny fragment from an unfinished 17th-century needlework sold for £2,800 at a recent sale, I was reminded of its tortuous past and the power of antiques to bring history to life.

Despite its understated beauty, the part-coloured English sampler – which may have come from a 1640s purse – arrived at our door after a blood-stained history and having crossed two continents.

While it was consigned, from a private collection from a property in Worcestershire, it had travelled many miles to reach our Derbyshire saleroom.

The delicate fragment, depicting flowers, leaves and a bird, was once owned by the Austrian collector Emma Henriette Schiff von Suvero. Emma was born in 1873 to a well-to-do family in Vienna. She married into the Jewish banking family of Schiff von Suvero. After WW I, the Austrian government decreed that the aristocratic ‘von’ was to be dropped and so Emma and her husband, Paul, became simply Schiff-Suvero.

Suveros passed to a nephew – Erwin Reitzes Marienwert. These were not auspicious times.

The Austrian Anschluss or annexation by Germany had occurred in March 1938 and all Jewish property had to be registered with the local authorities and was subjected to heavy taxes.

Property was also banned from export. Among the items once belonging to Emma and Paul were 180 spectacular textiles, including a number of early English samplers. The nephew, having left Austria for Switzerland for health reasons in May 1938, was unable to export his aunt’s collection. Hoping for the best for its safekeeping he sold it to the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna for RM15,400, where it was stored for the duration of the war. It wasn’t until 2003, following the restitution of the collection by the Austrian government, that it returned to the family. The collection was later sold at Christie’s.

BOOM IN SAMPLERS Samplers from centuries ago are highly collectable in today’s market. Embroidery and needlework were important skills that flowered into an art form during the 16th and 17th centuries. At a time when all textiles were made and decorated by hand, needlework skills were necessary at all levels of society. High praise was given to young women who excelled in embroidery, and in period dramas it is common to see a lady of the house practising the skill. Every object would have been lovingly made, swallowing up countless hours of concentration. It’s good to know their makers’ endeavours are appreciated so warmly by collectors today.

Hansons’ next antiques and collectors sale is at its Derby saleroom from September 17-21. For more details go to www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk

AUSTRIAN ANSCHLUSS A son, Edgar, was born around 1903, but aged 25 died in 1928, four years after his father. Emma herself died in January 1939 and the estate of the Schiff-

‘The Austrian Anschluss or annexation by Germany had occurred in March 1938 and all Jewish property had to be registered with local authorities and was subjected to heavy taxes’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 37

EXPERT COMMENT David Harvey

Waxing lyrical David Harvey turns detective to reveal an escritoire by a little-known, though highly-skilled, 17th-century cabinetmaker

W

hen antique dealers get together to chat about furniture two famous Thomases steal the limelight: Thomas Chippendale (1718–1779) and Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806). Both have furniture styles named after them and both published their designs – which helped establish their fame. Before that there was a greater emphasis on making furniture, rather than publishing designs, which means relatively little is known of the earlier cabinetmakers of this time.

One name few may have heard of is Thomas Pistor. Some 25 years ago I was exhibiting a kingwood escritoire at the BADA fair when the furniture historian and author Adam Bowett approached me for photographs of it to use in his forthcoming book on

38 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above The restored kingwood escritoire

by Thomas Pistor may have had royal connections Top right The escritoire before restoration had an unappealing yellow hue Above right The Thomas Pistor escritoire that sparked David’s interest in the maker

English furniture. At the time he suggested that my piece was probably by Thomas Pistor. As evidence he cited an article from an August 1950 edition of Country Life showing the home of Sir Basil Ionides at Buxted Park. The article showed a photograph of the drawing room housing a conforming parquetry inlaid kingwood escritoire bearing the makers label for Mr. Thomas Pistor of Ludgate Hill, London.

THOMAS WHO? An article by Adriana Turpin on Thomas Pistor and his son, also Thomas, was published in the Journal of the Furniture History Society Furniture History in 2000. She rightly states that Pistor’s work, though less documented, is on a par with the royal cabinetmakers,

John Gumley (1670-1728) and Gerrit Jensen (16671715). Indeed, all three (including Pistor) worked for Colonel James Grahme (1650-1730) who was a highranking courtier to James II and commissioned a great deal of furniture.

Having acquired the escritoire from a friend in Northumberland, I sold it to couple who, five years ago, allowed me to re-acquire it. In the intervening period I carried out further research on this relatively unknown maker and bought a couple more pieces by him. Once you have seen a masterpiece by this extraordinary maker, you soon acquire an eye to spot other examples of his work. There are pretenders, but few other makers have the same elan.

So it was that five years ago I wrote an article on the three Pistor pieces I then had in stock and it was published in this magazine in April 2015.

Right Meticulous work

revealed the wood’s true beauty

Below A daisy-shaped

brass retaining washer on the inside of the internal door lock

Below left The escritoire was identified by the furniture historian Adam Bowett citing an article in Country Life

ANOTHER PISTOR Fast forward to 2020 and imagine my surprise when I saw a tired, dusty, faded image of another kingwood escritoire which seemed to have all the Pistor trademarks. Beyond the discolouration, that had turned the polish to a rather horrid greeny yellow, there were obvious signs of grandeur.

As my conservation department had shut down temporarily, I was in daily touch with an old school friend who undertook the conservation work. Each trip to his premises revealed a new and thrilling element.

Slowly and meticulously we removed the old (not original) varnish, completing any remedial cabinetwork as it became apparent.

The interior is a little darker (having been less exposed to daylight) and includes an array of secret compartments and drawers, the most hidden of which are finished in rosewood. One little quirk I noticed was the daisy shaped-brass retaining washer on the inside of the internal door lock. I am always enchanted by these unique characteristics.

RESTORED TO GRANDEUR Once the Victorian polish had been removed, a great deal of the original striking purple, red, yellow and black of the kingwood resurfaced.

Princes wood (as kingwood was known at the time) was the most expensive timber available and then only available in tiny quantities.

Dalbergia Cearensis comes from a small tree endemic to Brazil – hence its scarcity. It is also very hard and blunts the sharpest of tools very quickly.

The escritoire would have been inspired by continental examples during the Carolean period, usually made in oak. By the William and Mary period the finest pieces were executed in burr walnut. This large kingwood example, so perfectly executed, with oyster-veneered parquetry roundels and interspersed hearts, makes it surely one of the rarest and finest examples on record. As such, it could only have been made for one of the finest families in the country.

WEALTHY OWNER

‘Once you have seen a masterpiece by this extraordinary maker, you soon acquire an eye to spot other examples of his work. There are pretenders, but few other makers have the same elan’

But who? Someone wealthy, possibly a member of the court hoping for a royal visit which, in those days, could last for weeks – depending on the lavishness of the host and the quality of the surroundings. A piece like this in the royal visitors’ rooms would have garnered the highest praise, demonstrating a knowledge of high London fashion and court style. It was made to impress as it still does to this day.

Owning a piece like this is an emotional experience.

Even as a dealer, the intense pleasure I get from just being able to look at it, never mind sit and work at it, is worth all the time and effort put into its research and restoration.

W R Harvey & Co (Antiques) Ltd, is based in Witney. Visit www.wrharvey.com for details.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 39

COLLECTING GUIDES London maps

Capital Idea

Maps are both decorative and lend a wonderful historic insight – none more so than those of London, writes May Geolot

M

aps offer the perfect way to gaze upon London from a bird’s eye perspective.

Although the Thames has barely changed, the city has rapidly evolved and developed, from the Tudors to the Windsors. The maps differ in scale, style and scope, but they all share the common desire to render the chaotic city intelligible, in order that even a stranger could navigate London’s labyrinthine streets – a wish that is repeated in many of Victorian city plans’ titles. For the budding collector with an affinity for the city there is vast array spanning four centuries available. They can be subdivided into specific styles, types and themes ranging from grand 18th-century town plans to those of the London Tube.

SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON The first place to start when looking at maps of London is the first printed map of the city: Braun and Hogenberg’s magnificent plan was first published in their seminal town book Civitates Orbis Terrarum, 1572. London is depicted in birds-eye view from the south looking north. Above the plan is the title in Latin flanked by the royal and the City of London’s arms.

In the foreground are four figures in traditional Tudor

40 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above A 24-sheet 1970 reproduction of John Rocque’s 18th-century maps of London makes an attractive wall decoration, image courtesy of the interior designer Ben Pentreath Right Braun and Hogenberg’s plan is the first extant map of the city

dress, together with two cartouches with text. The text on the left hand side is a paean to London, which is said to be “famed amongst many peoples for its commerce, adorned with houses and churches, distinguished by fortifications, famed for men of all arts and sciences, and lastly for its wealth in all things”. The text to the right deals with the Hanseatic League, which is praised for its global trade and its “tranquility and peace in public affairs”, and names their trading hall in London, known as the Stillard.

The royal barge can be seen gliding along the Thames alongside numerous ferrymen and sailing vessels. On the south bank of the river is the new district of Southwark, with its theatres, and bull and bear baiting pits. To the left is Westminster, connected to the City by a single road - with Westminster Abbey clearly visible. To the north of Westminster, cows are depicted grazing in open fields.

Although published in 1572, the plan is clearly based upon information gathered some years earlier. St Paul’s is shown with its spire, which was destroyed in 1561; the cross in St Botolph’s Churchyard is shown, although it was destroyed in 1559; and York Place, so named in 1557, is given its old name ‘Suffolke Place’.

The view was most probably derived from a 15-sheet city plan, of which only three plates have survived.

The original plan was most likely commissioned by the Hanseatic League, at sometime around 1550, hence the praise heaped upon the League in the text on the plan.

Fan maps

Above Richard Bennett’s fan map from 1760 Left Rocque’s 24 and 16-sheet maps surveying London and the country 10 miles beyond the city Below right Bauerkeller’s

embossed map dates to 1841

JOHN ROCQUE One of the most famous cartographers of 18th-century London was John Rocque; a French Huguenot who settled in England, where he published over 100 maps, plans and road books between 1734 and his death in 1762.

Rocque’s business of surveying and map publishing occupied various premises in London. At first he was at The Canister and Sugar Loaf in Great Windmill Street, Soho, an area popular with French emigrants. He later moved to Hyde Park Road, a section of Piccadilly, then a centre for dealers in garden statuary and fountains. He described himself as living next door to the Duke of Grafton’s Head, the statuary yard occupied by John Cheere, before taking up larger premises on The Strand.

Maps of London are not confined to the traditional format of an engraved sheet of paper – there are fascinating instances of maps of the city in unusual forms, including a folding fan and with embossed details.

Folding fans have their origins in Japan and were brought to Europe with the increased trade in the 15th and 16th centuries when they were highly prized for the delicate designs of the sticks and guards in ivory, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell. The livery charter for the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers was established in 1709, and the art form became immensely popular, particularly with the incorporation of printed designs for the leaves, making them more widely available.

Examples of fans with printed maps of London include one version featuring wood and bone sticks with a map of the city by Richard Bennett from 1760.

Rocque’s town plans were surveyed by trigonometrical observations from towers and other tall buildings and by checking the results with instrumental measurements of angles and distances taken on the ground. He published two iconic plans of London in 1743, one on 24 sheets depicting the builtup area of London and another on 16 sheets surveying London covering an area from Hampton Court in the west to Woolwich in the east, and from Harrow-onthe-Hill in the north to beyond Bromley in the south – 247 square miles in all.

The monumentality and accuracy of Rocque’s work would not be superseded until the end of the eighteenth century when Richard Horwood produced his plan, which was not only the largest plan published in Georgian Britain, but also the first and last time that every single house would be surveyed on one map.

EMBOSSED MAPS George Michael Bauerkeller introduced an interesting twist to the traditional map when he published his plan of London in 1841 that combined coloured lithography and embossing. The plan shows each locality in a different colour and features built up areas raised in white, similar to the technique of Braille. The map extends from Islington in the north

‘One of the most famous cartographers of 18th-century London was John Rocque; a French Huguenot who settled in England, where he published over 100 maps, plans and road books between 1734 and his death in 1762’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 41

COLLECTING GUIDES London maps to Kennington in the south and from Kensington High Street in the west to the West India Docks, with an inset of Greenwich at a smaller scale.

In an advertisement in The Sporting Magazine advertiser Ackermann announces its publication: “The Buildings are raised, and, with the Railroads, Parks, Squares, &c. appear very prominent. The Parishes are also distinguished in delicate tints., and the entire arrangement is so remarkably conspicuous that, whether for the Visitor or the Office, its utility will be generally acknowledged.”

Bauerkeller went on to published around 35 embossed maps of cities around the world, including Mexico City, Vienna and Paris.

BOROUGH OF CHELSEA At the turn of the 20th century, Edward Stanford (1827-1904), a highlysuccessful publisher known for his accurate maps of London, produced an unusual map of the parish and historical borough of Chelsea. A thick black line denotes the outline of the “Union, Parly. & Met. Boro. Bdy.”. Chelsea was made a borough in the London Government Act of 1899, which divided the city into 28 metropolitan boroughs and the city of Westminster. Previously, local government had been overseen by the parish of St Luke’s Chelsea, which is also labelled on the map.

Did you know?

In 1922, Stanford’s produced the world’s smallest maps for a series of atlases for Queen Mary’s doll’s house Above right Beck’s map of the Tube was created in 1933 Left Edward Stanford’s map of Chelsea Right A 1928 ‘riverless’

Tube map created by the draughtsman Frederick H. Stingemore

Left The maps were

colour-coded to show the greatest areas of the capital’s deprivation

POVERTY MAPS Charles Booth’s London poverty maps provide an exciting collecting niche On April 17, 1886, aided by a small number of volunteers, the social reformer Charles Booth (18401916) set off on foot in the East End of London to conduct preliminary enquiries into the living conditions and occupations of its local inhabitants.

42 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

THE TUBE The London Tube map is an icon of the city. Its neat colouring and linear depiction belies the complexity of the underground web of tunnels – a perfect example of distilling order of out chaos. This map was the work of the engineer Harry Beck, who designed it at the age of 29 in 1933.

Beck’s work was an updated version of plans designed and drawn by Frederick H. Stingemore, a draughtsman working for the London Underground.

The plan went through 11 editions between 1925 and 1932. The first editions hoped to simplify the network by compressing the outlying lines in comparison to the intricate and congested central area.

Although distorted, the plan still follows the general geographical layout; however, all ground detail has been omitted, including the River Thames.

This evidently led to some confusion, as from the third edition the river was reinstated.

Every street, court and block of buildings was to be examined and analysed with the first poverty map covering Hoxton, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Mile End Road and Limehouse. The colouring of the map depicts, by street: “The Lowest Class. Vicious, semi-criminal” (black); “Very Poor, casual. Chronic Want” (blue); “Poor. 18s to 21s a week for a moderate family” (light blue); “Mixed. Some comfortable, others poor” (purple); “Fairly Comfortable. Good ordinary earnings” (pink); “Well-to-do. Middle class” (red); “Upper-middle and Upper classes. Wealthy” (Booth’s highest class) (yellow), which did not appear on the first map.

Booth was not only concerned about impoverishment but also looked into its alleviation. In 1899, he published Old Age Pensions and the Aged Poor: A Proposal which set out his thoughts on state pension prevision. It would, however, take another nine years for his ideas to reach the statute book, when the Liberal Party passed the Old Age Pensions Act, in 1908. Even then Booth’s recommendations were not fully adopted, with pensions set to be means tested rather than universal, which didn’t come into effect until 1946.

The London School of Economics (LSE) retains the archive of Booth’s original research and interview notebooks, numbering over 450 in total.

BEYOND the DECORATIVE How do you know if a map is worth pennies or thousands?

Most maps and prints printed prior to 1870 were printed without colour, using black ink. However, many publishers added colour (typically watercolour, but occasionally gouache) shortly after printing and before the maps or prints were bound or mounted on linen for sale. The term ‘original colour’ is often used to describe colour added by the publisher from a known palette at the time of publication; while ‘contemporary colour’ describes colour added at, or around, the time of publication by a colourist other than publisher, typically using a palette different from that usually associated with the publication. ‘Modern colour’ refers to colour added within the last 30 years.

Identifying value Value is a function of the desirability of subject matter, historical importance, condition, beauty, age, size and rarity. While there is no set formula, each of these factors plays a role in valuation.

Printed material, almost by definition, was produced in some quantity. In all but a few instances, any given printed item will have been offered for sale more than once over the years, meaning that there is the ability to evaluate prior sales as an indicator of value. In most

Above Determining age may require detective work

instances, there are recent sales and current offerings which a dealer or collector can look to in order to provide guidance on valuation.

Chart your own path For a new collector it is a good idea to focus on what interests you. Whether your theme is regional, historical, genealogical, or an artist or author, finding a theme that you like will help you to focus on creating a unique collection. One of the exciting parts of collecting antique maps and atlases is that there are discoveries being made every year, with new maps being appreciated for the first time.

Many collectors are conducting their own pioneering studies within their collecting themes. The number of specialist map collecting books has grown exponentially in the past 20 years and will continue to do so. Finding an unrecorded map or identifying previously unrecorded or under-appreciated information on a map is one of the great joys of collecting. Some of the smallest and seemingly nondescript maps yield some of the most significant discoveries. There is a vast amount of scholarship yet unwritten and fascinating thematic studies yet to be conducted.

May Geolot is a specialist at London-based Daniel Crouch Rare Books which stocks a number of original London maps, including some mentioned in this article. Prices range from £350 for Stingemore’s map of the London Tube to £10,000 for Stanford’s map of Chelsea. For more details go to www.crouchrarebooks.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 43

COLLECTING GUIDES Modern sci-fi books

Future Perfect With our lockdown reading taking an increasingly dystopian turn, there has never been a better time to start collecting sci-fi books, says specialist Sammy Jay

Historic sci-fi literature pre-empts today’s futurism, image Shutterstock

O

ne of the inclusions in our recent catalogue was a rare first edition in original boards of Mary Shelley’s novel The Last Man, which is set at the end of the 21st century among the last survivors of a global pandemic.

It is just one example of a work of fiction that seems to be veering eerily closer to fact. Or take E. M. Forster’s short story The Machine Stops, originally written in 1909 and published in a 1928 collection entitled The Eternal Moment. The book imagines a future world in which humans are confined each to their own rooms, but able to communicate with each other across the globe through electronic screens.

The tale’s two protagonists, Vashti and her son, Kuno, live in the southern and northern hemispheres. Kuno wants his mother to visit, who isn’t keen.

“But I can see you!” she exclaimed.

“What more do you want?”

“I want to see you not through the Machine,” said Kuno. “I want to speak to you not through the wearisome Machine.”

“Oh, hush!” said his mother, vaguely shocked.

“You mustn’t say anything against the Machine.”

CANNY INVESTMENT Collecting rare and valuable editions of the books that inspired your sci-fi passion is not only enjoyable, it is a canny investment if you want to get in on the action.

First editions and author-inscribed copies of the books that inspired countless films and TV series have repeatedly proven their collectable status, with their value often growing significantly in relation to their cult popularity – and in anticipation of the launches of new adaptations hitting cinemas and TV screens.

44 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Below E. M. Forster’s

short story The Machine Stops was published in The Eternal Moment, 1928, first edition, on sale from Peter Harrington for £1,500

The Lord of the Rings series saw book prices triple and sometimes quadruple in the years leading up to the release of the film trilogy. A signed first edition of Dune now retails confidently in five figures, while a copy of The Hobbit in really superb condition will be reaching towards six.

Look out for the new film adaptation due later this year of Frank Herbert’s Dune, starring Timothée Chalamet, following David Lynch’s bizarre cult classic from the ‘80s. A deluxe signed limited edition of George R.R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, the basis for the Game of Thrones series, is currently being offered for sale by Peter Harrington for £27,500.

One of only 52 lettered sets, signed by the author and illustrators, with an original drawing in each volume, a quirk of the book’s publishing history means unbroken sets such as this one – with the same lettering and with the first two titles represented in their original Meisha Merlin versions – are rare indeed and highly desirable to collectors.

Below The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien, first editions, first impressions, on sale from Peter Harrington priced at £27,500

ORIGINS OF THE GENRE

BACK TO THE FUTURE Science fiction as an established genre began to gain some prominence in the 1920s with the publishing of plays such as R.U.R by Czech writer Karel Capek in 1921. The acronym stands for Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum’s Universal Robots) and the play enjoyed theatrical and publishing success in both Britain and America. It also introduced the word “robot” into the English language, predating the invention of any actual electronic automata by decades.

Only a little later in the decade, the epic silent film Metropolis brought the robot to the big screen.

Released in 1927, it remains the most expensive silent film ever made. The novelisation of the screenplay, written by German director Fritz Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou in 1924, remains highly desirable as does any memorabilia associated with the film.

Famously, an original Metropolis poster, one of a handful known to survive, sold for a record $690,000 at an auction in November 2005.

Above left The Hobbit

by JRR Tolkien, first edition, illustrated by Alan Lee, signed by him, “to Lukas, with best wishes, Alan Lee”, on sale from Peter Harrington for £1,750

But follow back the theme of artificial intelligence in literature and you find earlier precedents. The symbolist novel L’Eve Future by Villiers de l’Isle Adam, published in 1886, features a Thomas Edisonlike figure creating an ideal mechanical woman, the “androide” – the origin, again, of our word “android”.

Earlier in the century, of course, stands Mary Shelley’s debut novel Frankenstein, which not only marks the invention of the science-fiction novel, but pre-empts many of the ethical problems we are starting to consider with artificial intelligence. Of course, these themes have an even more ancient precedent: the myth of Pygmalion in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, or even the creation of Adam and Eve in The Book of Genesis.

That is one of the extraordinary qualities of science fiction: at its best it simultaneously pre-empts future issues while addressing deep-rooted human concerns.

Above Frank Herbert’s Dune is returning to the big screen later this year Right George RR Martin’s book sparked HBO’s Game of Thrones TV series Below left The novel

Metropolis, 1924, by Thea von Harbou, first edition, on sale from Peter Harrington for £8,750

‘A highly personal collection based on a niche – but well-defined – subgenre can grow in value over the years and may be even more rewarding than focusing on first editions by the most well-known authors’

THE GOLDEN AGE The real golden age of sci-fi, however, at least in terms of output and popularity, was in the highly creative decades following WWII. Many associate collecting the genre with the pulps and comics of the 1950s with their stylised and lurid cover artworks. The ‘60s brought the the real Space Race and, with it, the publication of some of the biggest genre-defining classics, such as Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965) – which is considered the science fiction novel of the 20th century. Then came 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the novelisation of a screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke – which went on to become Kubrick’s 1968 film of the same name, and one of the most famous sci-fi films of all time.

When sci-fi crept out of the world of comics and books onto TV and cinema screens the genre really established its name. You can see it in the ANTIQUE COLLECTING 45

COLLECTING GUIDES Modern sci fi books enduring popularity of the Tolkien and Star Wars film franchises, but also in the more recent unprecedented success of HBO’s Game of Thrones TV series.

Many other classics have gone on to inspire cult film and TV classics. Think of sci-fi stalwart Philip K. Dick whose words were behind the films Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (in 1990 and again in 2012), Minority Report (2002), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and The Adjustment Bureau (2011). The Man in the High Castle (1962), too, was made into a multi-season television series by Amazon in 2015.

CRYSTAL BALL If only collectors could predict the future in the same way as their sci-fi heroes. If one follows previous trends (significantly the Baby Boomers’ nostalgia for the classics of their youth) and you can foresee the sci-fi authors likely to command interest in the future. One exciting author to watch might be American science fiction and fantasy writer Nora K. Jemisin, whose Broken Earth trilogy between 2015-2017 became the first to win the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel with each book in three sequential years. This also, incidentally, opens up another interesting area of collecting – that of women, or BAME authors, or indeed other increasingly topical genres such as climate fiction. Carol F. Kessler’s Daring to Dream; Utopian Fiction

by United States Women Before 1950, is a good reference, as is Rebecca M. Marrall’s Women of Color in Speculative Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography of Authors.

Right I am Legend by

Richard Matheson, first hardback edition, first printing, signed by the author on the title page, on sale from Peter Harrington for £2,250

Below left The American sci-fi author Nora K. Jemisin, image credit Laura Hanifin Bottom left Jemisin’s

Broken Earth trilogy, first hardcover editions, first printings, signed, limited issues (number 287 of 400 copies) on sale from Peter Harrington for £1,250.

BE A CURATOR When building a collection of modern science fiction, it pays to have a vision. With so many avenues to pursue, first and foremost pay your respects to the major works. This could be a landing stage for other genres, such as apocalyptic fiction like Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. It first appeared in paperback in 1954, was a highly influential novel in the ‘Last Man’ genre, telling the story of the sole survivor of an apocalyptic pandemic that turns humans into vampires. It was the inspiration for at least three films.

Equally, you might prefer intergalactic sci-fi (such as the books of Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov) or cybernetic works including William Gibson’s unmissable Neuromancer. Or you might chose to stick with the wholly terrestrial, though nonetheless outlandish, works such as H. G. Wells’s groundbreaking The Time Machine.

Think about the story you want to tell, whether it’s about the books or yourself. A highly personal collection based on a niche – but well-defined – subgenre can grow in value over the years and may be even more rewarding than focusing on first editions by the most well-known authors.

Above all, collect what you love. There’s no other genre in literature which, arguably, has more proponents that refer to themselves as true fans rather than mere collectors.

LOOK OUT FOR Do judge a book by its cover. 20th-century books should be in excellent condition and, with some exceptions, have their original dust jackets. Dust jacket artwork itself is a separate and well-established collectable category within the world of sci-fi.

Author’s signatures, or even full presentation inscriptions can immensely add to value – it’s a good

46 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

idea to look for longer inscriptions – which are less easy to fake – than just signatures.

The best thing, of course, is a book meaningfully inscribed to someone interesting. We are currently offering for sale a copy of H. G. Wells’s The First Men in the Moon, inscribed to a friend who had been a fellow student at the School of Science in London where they had studied together under T. H. Huxley. It is an apt reminder of the hard scientific background to one of the great imaginers of science fiction.

Work with trustworthy dealers affiliated with trade organisations like ILAB, the ABAA and ABA, which confers guarantees when it comes to authenticity.

Sammy Jay is a literature specialist at the London rare book dealer Peter Harrington. Its latest catalogue Other Worlds features a number of the titles mentioned. For more details go to www.peterharrington.com

Below left Frank

Herbert’s Dune, first edition, first printing, dedicated “To Brian Bailey – Frank Herbert” on sale from Peter Harrington for £12,500

Bottom A signed limited edition of George R.R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, the basis for the Game of Thrones series, is on sale for £27,500

Discover more Academic reassessment transformed collecting sci-fi fiction in the late 1960s and ‘70s with the publication of works such as H. Bruce Franklin’s Future Perfect: American Science Fiction of the Nineteenth Century (1966), and various bibliographies by I.F. Clarke, Thomas D. Clareson, George Locke, Stuart Teitler, L.W. Currey and Darko Suvin. Many long-forgotten gems got a new lease on life and reference works are a great resource for the new, or established, collector.

Recommended reading includes the work of bibliographer E. F. Bleiler. His The Guide to Supernatural Fiction and two-part Science-Fiction bibliographies are copious classics, with thoughtful notes on each title ready to pique interest at every turn.

Frank N. Magill’s Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature, a multi-volume collection of essays on more than 500 titles, is similarly rich and engaging.

Another more recent, idiosyncratic book which was particularly valuable in charting my own course and one I thoroughly commend is A Conversation Larger than the Universe: Readings in Science Fiction and the Fantastic 1762-2017 (Henry Wessells, 2018), which takes the reader on an inspiring stroll through the author’s own highly personal collection.

‘That is one of the extraordinary qualities of science fiction: at its best it simultaneously pre-empts future issues while addressing deep-rooted human concerns’

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 47

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David Hockney ISBN 9781907533235 RRP £14.95 Special offer price £9.72

An exploration of the vivid watercolour and ink sketches that Hockney made in his home county, Yorkshire.

AN ITALIAN JOURNEY Anne Desmet RA ISBN 9781910350546 RRP £9.95 Special offer price £6.47

An unique opportunity to explore Italy, from the Apennines to the Veneto, through the eyes of a meticulous and precise artist.

A SHETLAND NOTEBOOK Norman Ackroyd ISBN 9781907533891 RRP £16.95 Special offer price £11.02

Norman Ackroyd is hugely popular for his atmospheric images of the British Isles. This book is a collection of 39 of his beautiful watercolours of Shetland.

For more details, or to order a copy, call 01394 389950 or email: georgina.street@accartbooks.com

48 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

OLIVER’S BRITAIN

Photographs by Oliver Hellowell, foreward by Iolo Williams ISBN 9781788840897 RRP £17.99 Special offer price £11.70 This new book from Oliver Hellowell shows Britain at its most breath-taking, with ancient castles, flower-filled forests and much more.

OLIVER’S BIRDS

Photography by Oliver Hellowell, Forewords by Iolo Williams and Ken Jenkins ISBN 9781788840101 RRP £17.99 Special offer price £11.70

This best-selling title that featured on The One Show includes breath-taking shots of birds from Oliver Hellowell, a young photographer with Down’s Syndrome.

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 49

ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Stanley Webb Davies

SALEROOM SPOTLIGHT

An impressive single owner collection of furniture by the arts and rafts designer Stanley Webb Davies (1894-1978) goes under the hammer in Essex this month

W

hile the name Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson is well known to collectors, that of fellow northerner and contemporary Stanley Webb Davies is less familiar. Just as Thompson famously signed his pieces with a small mouse, Davies used a rectangular monogram containing his initials, the date of manufacture and initials of the craftsman who made the piece. As influential as Thompson, Davies was responsible for taking the traditions of the Arts and Crafts Movement into the 20th century.

Below A walnut lounge chair,

designed by Stanley Webb Davies, craftsman Bob Willett, estimated at £1,500£2,000 at this month’s sale

Above An oak sideboard, 1933, designed by Stanley Webb Davies, craftsmen Bob Willett and Ernest John Oldcorn, estimated at £4,000-£6,000 in this month’s sale

This month’s arts and crafts and art deco sale at the auction house Sworders’ includes more than 30 pieces by the Windermere craftsman – representing possibly the largest-ever sale of Davies’ work. From table lamps and trays to bedroom furniture, most of the pieces were made in the 1930s for a gentleman in Yorkshire.

Sworders’ John Black, said: “Stanley Webb Davies pieces are pretty rare to the market. He was resolute in never producing exactly the same design twice. Most pieces are signed and dated with the names of the workshop craftsman who made it.”

Estimates at the live online sale on September 8 will range from £4,000-£6,000 for an oak sideboard of cupboards and drawers dated 1936 to £100-£150 for small furnishings such as a tea tray and a book rack.

THE CRAFTSMAN Stanley Webb Davies was born in Darwen, Lancashire, to a Quaker, mill-owning family. Having graduated from Oxford, he went into the family mill business, but decided to pursue his obvious talent for woodworking with an apprenticeship under the acclaimed Cotswold School designer Arthur Romney Green in Hampshire whose work, in turn, embraced the traditional practices associated with the work of Ernest Gimson and the Barnsley brothers. After a few years on the south coast,

Above right A walnut

and upholstered stool, dated 1934, designed

by Stanley Webb Davies, estimated at £300-£500 at this month’s sale

Right A pair of oak three-light table lamps, mounted on hexagonal plinths and carved bases, with original shades, designed by Stanley Webb Davies, estimated at £600-£800 at this month’s sale

‘Above his front door Stanley carved a panel bearing the words ‘Goodwill subdues violence as water quenches fire’, words taken from a stained glass window at the family home in Darwen’ 50 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Davies decided, in 1922, to set up on his own. With the help of his father he bought a piece of scrubland in Windermere on which he built his workshop, now called Craft Cottage. In the same year he married Emily Alice Thomas, the daughter of a well-known Sheffield surgeon, and together they planned their new home.

Emily’s love for creatures was reflected in the name that they chose ‘Gatesbield’ meaning a shelter for small animals. The house was designed and built to the highest standards. Above the front door a carved panel bears the words ‘Goodwill subdues violence as water quenches fire’, taken from a stained glass window at the family home in Darwen. Carvings above the outside lower windows showing sea horses, fish, owls, pheasants and rabbits are Emily’s work.

TRADEMARK STYLE Davies’ handmade pieces in indigenous timbers were a direct backlash against the mechanisation and automation of the 19th and 20th centuries. Like William Morris and other arts and crafts artisans, he abhorred mass produ tion, instead demanding each piece of furniture be made by hand.

His aim was to produce simple, elegant functional furniture which reflected the beauty of the wood and the skill of the craftsman. In common with others from the Cotswold School, his antique chests and cabinets show a range of chamfering and jointing techniques, with exposed dovetails, dowels, wedged or doublewedged tenons and inset ebony details. Trademarks of Davies antique dining tables and sideboards include exposed pegged joints, alternating thumb nail chisels and rounded tops.

AUCTION fact file WHAT: Part of the arts and crafts and art deco sale Where: Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, CM24 8GE Type of sale: Live online When: September 8 Viewing: By appointment and online at www.sworder.co.uk

We asked Sworders’ director John Black for his sale highlights How important is this month’s Stanley WebbDavies collection?

For this amount of furniture to come to the open market for the first time since the 1930s is very exciting. Stanley Webb-Davies has begun to be collected with the same energy as the wellknown Cotswold and Yorkshire makers such as Ernest Gimson, the B rnsley brothers and Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson.

What makes his designs so remarkable?

The simplicity of the designs makes them elegant but what has struck me is the attention to details for the user. The ingenious designs include mirrors that slide out from wardrobe doors to lights that spin for directive lighting. Everything has been thought through for the user.

Have you got a personal sale highlight among the Davies collection?

An oak hanging cover cupboard, fitted with a clock to the front, with a pierced front.

The construction is both simple and timeless. It has an estimate of £1,500-£2,000 at this month’s sale.

Far left A standard

lamp, 1936, designed

by Stanley Webb Davies, craftsman Richard Cloudsdale, with original stitched parchment shade, mounted with a jam lid, estimated at £800£1,200 at this month’s sale

Contributing to the debate on British industry in the 1940s he wrote to the Guardian newspaper describing “probably the chief evil of our present industrial age – the tyranny of the machine.” It was, he felt, “more important that industry should turn out excellent men and women than a flood of cheap and useful goods.”

IN MY OPINION...

Left A walnut bedside cabinet, 1935, designed by Stanley Webb Davies, craftsman Bob Willett, with an integral revolving lamp, estimated at £1,000£1,500 at this month’s sale Right The clock is by the architect and designer C.F.A. Voysey Above right The

What about in the rest of the sale?

We have several pieces by the architect and designer Charles Francis Annesley (C.F.A.) Voysey (1857-1941) in the sale, including a pair of oak armchairs with leather and studded drop-in seats which has an estimate of £20,000-£30,000. Voysey’s telltale construction detail is very much evident in the large dovetails joining the splat to the frame and hearts carved into the splats.

The sale also includes a rare architectural clock, very much in the arts and crafts tradition by Voysey, dated to 1902. Voysey was fascinated by clocks and designed many different types, ranging from domestic clocks, like this one, to large examples intended for offices and public buildings. This oak version, has a domed top with a wooden pinnacle and the dial is inlaid with the pewter letters Tempus Fugit’. It has an estimate of £12,000-£15,000.

timeless design struck a chord with John

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 51

COLLECTING GUIDE Contemporary Chinese ink painting

Ink Well

Looking for an under-theradar collecting obsession? Try contemporary Chinese ink paintings, says Lazarus Halstead on the eve of the UK’s first single owner collection sale

I

f you think contemporary Chinese ink sounds worryingly modern, think again. It is an art form based firmly in traditional methods, marrying the ancient and modern.

The medium refers to ink, typically applied to Chinese ‘xuan’ paper, sometimes with the addition of colour. To make sense of the scale of its importance, imagine Chinese ink painting following a parallel trajectory to oil painting in the West, and you have some idea.

For centuries, ink has been considered both a marker of Chinese identity and a repository of Chinese culture – where representational and abstract painting, calligraphy and poetry intersect.

The world is waking up to the medium. In 2002, the British Museum held one of the first Western exhibitions devoted to the medium and more recently shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

52 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Above Wucius Wong (b.

1936). Expression in Calligraphy #29, c.

1998, ink and colour on paper, 64.5cm x 112cm, has an estimate of £8,000-£12,000 at this month’s sale Right Li Jin (b 1958) Enjoy the Cool, 2009, ink and colour on paper, 44.9cm x 44.5cm, has an estimate of £1,500£2,000 at this month’s sale

and the city’s Guggenheim Museum have brought the art form to the fore. In 2015, a dedicated ink fair was launched in Hong Kong. For the collector it provides tantalising opportunities. Prices are yet to achieve the same as 20th-century Chinese art and contemporary Chinese art.

This month sees the sale of the Nanyue Pavilion collection, which was formed over 30 years by a Singaporean collector partly based in London. It includes works acquired from leading dealers in the field as well as directly from artists. While price points remain reasonable (the sale includes works starting at £500), values are poised to increase. Now is the time to enter this exciting and dynamic collecting area.

ANCIENT AND MODERN Deceptively contemporary in appearance, most of today’s leading ink artists trained in traditional techniques and are well versed in the intricacies of Chinese art and classical Chinese paintings.

As a result, their work has a timeless quality, stemming from 5,000 years of Chinese culture. As such, it appeals to the connoisseur of traditional styles who might otherwise be unimpressed by contemporary art.

At the same time the contemporary, expressive aspect of the ink movement, coupled with the distinctive individual styles of its artists, lends it a broad-based appeal beyond traditional Chinese art collectors.

5 Chinese ink artists to watch: Qin Feng (b. 1961)

Place of birth: Xinjiang Autonomous Region Signature style: Inspired by abstract expressionism, Qin Feng is one of the foremost representatives of China’s avant-garde movement. His work is characterised by bold, expressive calligraphic strokes.

Qiu Deshu (b. 1948)

Place of birth: Shanghai Signature style: Qiu co-founded the Grass Painting Society, one of China’s first experimental art societies, in 1979. While Qui’s work has evolved since the ‘70s, the Nanyue Pavilion collection includes one of the artist’s early paintings.

WHAT IS CHINESE CONTEMPORARY INK? The contemporary ink movement came out of a unique moment of transition in Chinese society and Chinese art, and was founded by a generation of artists who had been impacted by the Cultural Revolution.

There had been significant migration out of China around 1945 and then again in the 1980s, of which the contemporary ink artists were a part. The effect of the diaspora deeply informed their artistic practice. It found form in Stars Art Group, a movement of contemporary Chinese avant-garde active in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

While the Stars rejected Chinese traditional art, ink painting recognised its debt to Chinese traditions, as well as Japan in the 1920s and Europe in the 1930s.

So ink artists were in a special position of being heirs to a great tradition, but with a huge impetus to create something new for a rapidly changing society.

Above Wang Dongling (b. 1945). Free Flight into Transcendence, 2004, ink on paper, 365cm x 145cm, has an estimate of £15,000£20,000

INTERNATIONAL STYLE

Below right Li Xubai (b.

The development of contemporary ink has been enriched by a number of artists who have relocated internationally following migrations around 1949, coinciding with the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and following the economic opening up of the country from the late 1970s onwards.

Wang Dongling (b. 1945)

Top right Qin Feng (b.1961) Civilization Landscape Series 0017, 2012, ink on paper, 125cm x 200cm, has an estimate of £18,000-£22,000 at this month’s sale

1940) Splash Colour Landscape on Banner Scroll No. 2, 2015, ink and colour on paper, 43cm x 65cm, has an estimate of £3,000£5,000

Place of birth: Rudong, Jiangsu Signature style: Dongling trained in classical calligraphy before becoming involved in China’s avant-garde movement in the mid-1980s. His Chaos Script series is widely considered to be a breakthrough in contemporary Chinese calligraphy.

Li Jin (b. 1958)

Place of birth: Tianjin Signature style: Li Jin is considered one of the leading artists of the New Literati Movement. He developed his playful, humour-filled style in the early 1990s based on food, lust and the everyday.

Li Xubai (b. 1940)

Place of birth: Fuzhou Signature style: Li taught himself western painting techniques before settling on a classical Chinese style.

He uses negative space to convey snow, rivers, clouds and mists, while a glowing light contrasts the darker tones of mountains and vegetation.

‘Writing is China’s highest form of artistic expression as well as its most fundamental means of communication. Valued for both its semantic content and aesthetic significance, the written word conveys personal as well as public meaning’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 53

COLLECTING GUIDE Contemporary Chinese ink painting Left Qiu Deshu (b.

1948) Landscape I & AOC, mixed media on paper, 150 x 60cm, has an estimate of £4,000£6,000 at this month’s sale Right Lee Chun-yi (b.

1965) Painting in Poetry, Poetry in Painting, 2012, ink on paper, 152.4 x 68.6 cm, has an estimate of £12,000-£15,000 at this month’s sale

Two artists influenced by both events are Wucius Wong (b. 1936) and Chun-yi Lee (b. 1965), both of whose work is part of the Nanyue Pavilion collection.

Wong is considered a leading figure of the Hong Kong new ink movement. He moved to Hong Kong from Guangzhou in 1946 and studied under Lui Shou Kwan (1919-1975), one of the most prominent ink painters of the 20th century.

Wong worked as a scholar producing dynamic paintings that fused Chinese classical paintings with Chinese and Western literature and Western graphic design.

An Odyssey in Ink: the Nanyue Pavilion Collection of Contemporary Chinese Paintings is on September 29 at Chiswick Auctions, London. It includes works exhibited in international ink exhibitions of the last 20 years. For more details go to www.chiswickauctions.com

3 ASPECTS of INK

THE LANDSCAPE For more than a thousand years, landscape imagery has been used to convey values and moral standards, both of individuals and of society as a whole.

Today, as China is being transformed by modernisation, artists continue to mine the symbolic potential of landscape imagery to comment on the changing face of the country and to explore the “mind landscape” of the individual.

Ink paintings can include diverse ways in which contemporary artists have drawn inspiration from earlier compositions and themes.

54 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Chun-yi Lee (b. 1965) exemplifies the story of the Chinese diaspora of the 20th century. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, his family moved to Hong Kong when he was five years old. He pursued his graduate studies in the United States before returning to Taiwan to teach and embark on an artistic career.

Lee’s formative years spent in Hong Kong saw him study art under Liu Kuo-sung (b. 1932) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Kuo-sung was one of the founders of the Fifth Moon Group – a group of Chinese artists who pioneered the modern art movement in post-war Taiwan between the mid-1950s and the 1970s.

Lee’s work channels abstract expressionism with Chinese calligraphy, combining the shapes and colours of Western abstract art.

He applies ink to paper with a square cork, using thousands of impressions to build up the final image, incorporating Chinese calligraphic character into each square.

ABSTRACTION

THE WRITTEN WORD Writing is China’s highest form of artistic expression as well as its most fundamental means of communication. Valued for both its semantic content and aesthetic significance, the written word conveys personal as well as public meaning. Given the inherent power of this universal medium, the written word – particularly brush-written calligraphy – has been a rich terrain for artistic exploration in China.

Chinese ink artists often find ways to subvert the semantic and aesthetic functions of language.

TAIWANESE MASTER

Below Wang Tiande (b.

1960) Digital-No09sa31, Chinese ink on paper with burn marks, 2009, has an estimate of £5000-£8000 at this month’s sale

Abstraction is at the heart of Chinese painting and calligraphy. Because the brush mark has always been recognised as a record of the artist’s hand, in addition to performing a descriptive or semantic role, both painting and calligraphy have been valued for their abstract expressive potential.

Contemporary Chinese artists selectively adopt Western notions of nonfigurative art to augment and expand their expressive goals.

An aquamanile, 13th/14th century, including the material analysis

NEXT AUCTION:

From castles and palaces - selected art and works of art from antiquity to the 20th century

Sept. 25, 2020

An elegant pair of finely worked early Hellenistic gold bracelets, 4th-3rd century BC

LIVE AUCTION

A Late Byzantine reliquary pendant, 2nd half of the 14th - early 15th century

www.hermann-historica.com Hermann Historica GmbH ❘ Bretonischer Ring 3 ❘ 85630 Grasbrunn ❘ Germany ❘ contact@hermann-historica.com

AntiqueColl_1/2p_4c_A87.indd 1

31.07.20 18:46

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 55

ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Lots in September

TOP of the LOTS

Company E, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, at Fort Lincoln in 1864.

The troops were part of the defending forces of Washington, D.C.

Recently-discovered garden statuary, an art deco ring and a vesta case are among this month’s highlights An art deco diamond and ruby ring has an estimate of £3,000£5,000 at the London auctioneer Roseberys’ sale of jewellery and watches on September 22.

Art deco jewellery was more linear and streamlined than the previous Edwardian area. Large gemstones were rejected in favour of small, brilliant-cut diamonds. Designers emphasised geometry in their designs, contrasts in colour were also accentuated.

Above The ring has all the hallmarks of the art deco period

A 1936 poster by Ottomar Anton (1895-1976) advertising a two-day crossing of the Atlantic by the German zeppelin Reederei has an estimate of £3,000-£5,000 at Tennants’ militaria sale on September 4.

Anton was known for his graphic designs, especially travel posters, in the 1930s which later illustrated German wartime propaganda. After the Hindenburg disaster, the fortunes of the Deustsche Zeppelin-Reederei declined until, at the start of WWII, Above The lithographic poster was printed by Mühlmeister & the remaining zeppelins were Johler, Hamburg scrapped.

A design for a coffee pot by Josef Hoffman (1879-1956) for the Wiener Werkstätte has an estimate of £500-£700 at Olympia Auctions’ sale of British and continental pictures and prints in London on September 22.

The blue and black ink design is initialled l.r. and numbered verso 68.

It is similar to examples of designs in the Art Institute of Chicago and Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna which holds the world’s largest collection of Hoffman’s sketches.

Left Josef Hoffman founded the

Wiener Werkstätte cooperative of artists in Vienna in 1903

56 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

A Butler medal awarded during the American Civil War in 1864, which for the first time recognised the service of African American troops who fought voluntarily for the Union, has an estimate of £8,000-£12,000 at Woolley and Wallis’ sale on September 23.

Traditionally known as the Colored Troops medal, it is now more commonly known as the Butler medal, named after General Benjamin F. Butler, who commissioned the gong to honour African American troops in his command for gallantry during the Battle of Newmarket Heights on September 29, 1864.

Many were former slaves fighting for one of the Union’s principal war aims – to abolish slavery.

Above Both sides of the Butler medal, which sadly does not list its recipient

A vesta case made to celebrate the coronation of Edward VII has an estimate of £300-£400 at Catherine Southon’s sale on September 9.

Made by the Birmingham silversmith John Millward Banks, and stamped Chester, 1901, the front is enamelled with a royal crown between ER and the king of hearts above the date June 26th 1902.

Vesta cases came into use during the 1830s and, due to the exploding popularity of smoking, were produced extensively between 1890 and 1920.

The small portable boxes were designed to keep short matches dry. Silver cases were gilded inside to avoid corrosion by the match heads, while a strike side allowed the match to be lit.

Generally made to be carried in a pocket, some were small enough to be suspended from an Albert chain (named after Queen Victoria’ husband Prince Albert) to anchor it to a waistcoat.

Above The vesta case was stamped with the maker’s mark JMB

Some 70 pieces of garden furniture is set to go under the hammer this month when Summers Place Auctions in West Sussex sells the Perry Garden collection.

The lifetime collection was largely amassed in the 1920s and includes many pieces of Victorian Cotswolds statuary acquired from the celebrated Owlpen Manor sale in 1924.

The Perry Garden Collection was started in the 1920s when a Mr Perry (whose Christian name is unknown) opened a garage near the Cotswolds village of Dodington.

His vision was to create a ‘go-to’ destination garden at a time when the motorcar was becoming popular.

Scouting for pieces, Perry attended many country house sales arund the country at a time when large estates were falling into disrepair at the end of WWI. One of the first auctions was at historic Owlpen Manor – the Tudor manor, which was renovated in the arts and crafts style.

Garden of delights

Perry soon created an outdoor space of sunken gardens full of stunning statues, urns and benches which, over the years, evolved into an important and unique collection.

Treasures included a pair of arts and crafts carved Cotswold stone seats, which have an estimate of £12,000£18,000 at the sale on September 29.

Over the years, Mr Perry continued to purchase garden statuary, with the final piece being an extraordinary Cotswold stone lion gargoyle, which was bought from The Rocks – a country house near Corsham, which was demolished in 1952. With its mouth drilled for water, it is estimated to sell for £20,000-£30,000 this month.

In the fifties, the garage and café appear to have ceased trading. The gardens fell into disrepair and the whole site was fenced off.

Late last year, the present owners decided to clear the site and during the clearing, an Aladdin’s cave of stunning objects came to light.

Included are some important over life-size terracotta figures on pedestals of the classical deities, Hebe, Diana and Flora by the celebrated Victorian maker, J.M. Blashfield.

Unusually they are signed Blashfield by hand in the clay, suggesting that they were individual commissions.

Summers Place Auction’s director, James Ryland, said: “It’s been many years since a privately-formed collection like this has come to the market. All the pieces were acquired in what is generally accepted to be the golden era of collecting between the world wars.”

For more details go to www.summersplaceauctions.com

1 3

2 5

4

1 The steps at Owlpen Manor in the Cotswolds from where many Perry pieces were acquired 2 One of the pair of arts and craft

carved Cotswold stone seats, 176cm wide and 192cm wide, which has an estimate of £12,000-£18,000 3 A Cotswold stone lion gargoyle, which was bought from The Rocks. With its mouth drilled for water, it has an estimate of £20,000-£30,000. 4 A pair of matching carved Cotswold stone corner seats, 136cm wide, has an estimate of £12,000-£18,000, plus a selection of statues, urns and staddle stones, each carrying various estimates 5 Statues include a marble figure of Hebe, c. 1830, after Antonio Canova (1757-1822) which has an estimate or £20,000-£30,000.

The original was created for Chatsworth, where it still stands today 6 One of a pair of Victorian 18th-century recumbent lions clutching the bones of their prey between their paws, 80cm high by 100cm long, in Cotswold stone, has an estimate of £50,000

6

ANTIQUE COLLECTING 57

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ANTIQUE COLLECTING 5

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Gloucester Antiques Centre 1/4_Layout 1 13/11/2019 12:30 Page 1

THE NEW GLOUCESTER ANTIQUES CENTRE We have found a new home In the heart of the city of Gloucester in a beautiful 16th century building in historic Westgate Street Mid levelVISIT stock, rather than topSEE end ultra valuableWONDERFUL Rolex sports models.

COME AND OUR Omega Seamasters and pre-1980s in general.

ARRAY OF ANTIQUES ANDOmegas COLLECTABLES

We have silver, jewellery, oriental collectibles, ceramics, Breitling art, glass, toys, postcards, railwayana, Top Times, Daytoras and 806 Navitimers. stamps, coins and much more.

IWC and Jaeger LeCoultres, all styles. Always looking for Reversos. American market filled and 14k pieces possibly, at the right price.

Pre-1960s Rolex models, with a focus in pre-war tanks, tonneaus etc. Gold or silver/ steel.

Also World War I Rolex 13 lignes etc. Princes. Early Oysters, up to 1970-ish.

Enjoy browsing on two floors of the original Mercers Guild hall, All the quirky stuff like Harwoods, Autorists, Wig Wag, Rolls,Omega Marines etc, and World (expanding into and two floorswristwatches. of the adjacent War Isoon hunter, Borgel semi-hunter Maverdine Chambers) Early, pre-war ladies' watches also wanted by Rolex, Jaeger LeCoultre etc.

Wedeco arestyles, openbut7early days a week Prefer 1920s/30s doughnuts also considered.

Monday-Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 11-5.

Looking for reliable new suppliers who can feed nice stock on a long term, Longines and Zeniths, pre-1970. Even basic steel models in nice condition.

regular basis. Cash payment and happy to buy collections or single items.

THE NEW GLOUCESTER ANTIQUES CENTRE LTD, 26 WESTGATE STREET, GLOUCESTER, GL1 2NG Also old watch boxes, pre 1960s wanted. Both ladies and gents. Retailer or brand signed.

TEL 01452 529716

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK 60 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 62 62

THE THENEW NEWGLOUCESTER GLOUCESTER ANTIQUES CENTRE ANTIQUES CENTRE We have found a new home We have found a new home In the heart of the city of Gloucester In the heart of the city of Gloucester in a beautiful 16th century building in a beautiful 16th century building in historic Westgate Street in historic Westgate Street

COME VISIT AND SEE OUR WONDERFUL COME AND SEE WONDERFUL ARRAY OFVISIT ANTIQUES ANDOUR COLLECTABLES ARRAY OF ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES We have silver, jewellery, oriental collectibles, We have oriental collectibles, ceramics, art,silver, glass,jewellery, toys, postcards, railwayana, ceramics, art, glass, toys, postcards, stamps, coins and much more. railwayana, stamps, coins and much more.

58 Davies Mayfair, Enjoy browsing Street, on two floors of the Enjoy browsing on two floors of the original Mercers Guild hall, (Opposite Bond Street Tube) original Guild (expanding soon into Mercers two floors of thehall, adjacent (expanding soon intoChambers) two floors London W1K 5LPof the adjacent Maverdine Maverdine Chambers) We are open 7 days a week We- are open days a week Monday-Saturday 10-5, 7and Sunday Monday Friday 10am -11-5.

6pm Monday-Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 11-5.

Saturday 11am - 5pm

THE NEW GLOUCESTER ANTIQUES CENTRE LTD, THE NEW GLOUCESTER ANTIQUES GL1 26 WESTGATE STREET, GLOUCESTER, 2NG LTD, 020 7629 7034 CENTRE 26 WESTGATE STREET, GLOUCESTER, GL1 2NG

TEL 01452 529716 graysantiques.com TEL 529716 FOLLOW US01452 ON FACEBOOK

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK ANTIQUE COLLECTING 65

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 Harvey (Mgt Services) Ltd 020 7616 9327 www.decorativefair.com Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair, Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London, England UK, SW11 4NJ, 29 Sept to 4 Oct SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: including Beds, Cambs, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex.

Antique Dealers Fair Ltd 01797 252030. www.adfl.co.uk The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair, The Marquee, Petworth House and Park, Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0QY, 11-13 Sept B2B Events 07774 147197 or 07771 725302 www.b2bevents.info Outdoor Antiques Market at Detling, Kent County Showground, Detling, Nr Maidstone ME14 3JF, 12-13 Sept Continuity Fairs 01584 873 634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Epsom Racecourse Antiques And Collectables Fair, Epsom Racecourse, Epsom Downs Epsom, Surrey KT18 5LQ United Kingdom 15 Sept

SOUTH WEST: including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire.

IACF 01636 702326 www.iacf.co.uk Shepton Mallet Antiques and Collectors’ Fair, Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 6QN, 18-20 Sept

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

Guildhall Fairs 01766 831800 www.guildhallantiquefairs.co.uk Antiques, Vintage & Decorative Show, Rutland Showground, LE15 6US, Sept 12 IACF 01636 702326 www.iacf.co.uk Runway Monday at Newark Antiques and Collectors’ Fair, Runway Newark, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY, 28 Sept WEST MIDLANDS

including Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire

IACF 01636 702326. www.iacf.co.uk South of England Showground, Ardingly, Nr Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6TL, 8-9 Sept

B2B Events 07774 147197 or 07771 725302 www.b2bevents.info Malvern Flea and Collectors’ Fair, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, WR13 6NW, 20 Sept

Surrey Antiques Ltd 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Sunbury Antiques Market, Kempton Park Race Course, Staines Road East, Sunbury-onThames, Middlesex TW16 5AQ, 8, 29 Sept

Continuity Fairs 01584 873 634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk The International Bingley Hall Antiques, Home & Vintage Fair, Staffordshire County Showground Stafford, ST18 0BD, 26-27 Sept

NORTH

including Cheshire, Co Durham, Cumbria, Humberside, Lancashire, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Yorkshire.

Arthur Swallow Fairs 01298 27493, www.asfairs.com The Decorative Home and Salvage Show, Ripley Castle, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 3AY, 11-13 Sept V & A Fairs, 01244 659887 www.vandafairs.com Nantwich Town Square Antiques Market, Nantwich Town Centre, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5DH, 12 Sept Southport Antiques and Collectors Fair, Dunes Leissure Centre, The Esplanade, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 1RX, 20 Sep

SCOTLAND B2B Events 07886 501931 www.b2bevents.info Edinburgh Antiques, Vintage and Collectors, Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, EH28 8NB, 5-6 Sept WALES Continuity Fairs 01584 873 634 www.continuityfairs.co.uk Builth Wells Antiques and Collectors Fair, Carmarthen, 1 Sept INTERNATIONAL Parcours Des Mondes +33 142 60 70 10 www.parcoursdesmondes.com International Non Western Art Fair, Central Paris, 8-13 Sept

Malvern Flea & Collectors Fair

Three Counties Showground, Worcestershire, WR13 6NW.

31st Aug Sunday 20th Sept

Holiday Monday

7.30am - 3.30pm - £5

Edinburgh Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, EH28 8NB.

5th - 6th September

Sat: Early 8.15am - £6 Sat: Entry 10am-4.30pm - £5 Sun: 10am-3.30pm - £4 Royal Highland Centre £5 vehicle car parking charge.

Detling Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair

The Kent County Showground, Detling, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 3JF.

12th - 13th September

Sat: Early Entry: 8.30am - £6 Sat: Entry: 10am-4.30pm - £5 Sun: 10.30am - 3.30pm - £4 PLEASE CHECK that this event will go ahead as a two day fair

Tel: 01636 676531 www.b2bevents.info 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.

LONDON: Inc. Greater London Bonhams, New Bond St., W1 020 7447 7447 www.bonhams.com London Jewels, Sept 23 Fine and Rare Wines, Sept 24 19th-Century and British Impressionist Art, Sept 30 Bonhams, Knightsbridge, SW7 020 7393 3900 www.bonhams.com Watches and Wristwatches, Sept 8 Knightsbridge Jewels, Sept 9 Modern British and Irish Art, Sept 16 Antique Arms and Armour, Sept 23 Fine Glass and British Ceramics, Sept 29 Entertainment Memorabilia, Sept 30 Chiswick Auctions, 1 Colville Rd, Chiswick, W3 8BL 020 8992 4442 www.chiswickauctions.co.uk Asian Art, Sept 28 Fine Works of Art & Clocks, Sept 29 Interiors, Homes & Antiques, Sept 30 Christie’s, King St., London, SW1 020 7839 9060 www.christies.com Modern British Art, Sept 29 Dix Noonan Webb, 16 Bolton St, Piccadilly, W1J 8BQ 020 7016 1700. www.dnw.co.uk The Chislehurst Collection, Sept 9 A Private Collection of Hammered Coins Sept 9 Jewellery, Watches, Antiquities and Objects of Vertus, including part II of the Culling Collection of Military Watches Sept 15 The Collection of Scottish Coins formed by Michael Gietzelt, Sept 16 British, Ancient & World Coins, Sept 16 Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, Sept 17 Forum Auctions 220 Queenstown Road, London SW8 4LP. 020 7871 2640 www.forumauctions.co.uk

62 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Modern Literature, Private Press & Illustrated Books (online), Sept 3 Books and Works on Paper (online), Sept 17 Editions and Works on Paper, Sept 23 Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper, Sept 25 Select Modern & Contemporary Editions and Works on Paper (online), Sept 29 Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX, 020 7318 4010 www.phillips.com Evening and Day Editions, Sept 10 Nordic Design (online), Sept 17 Photographs, Sept 25 New Now, Sept 30 Roseberys, Knights Hill, SE27 020 8761 2522 www.roseberys.co.uk Jewellery and Watches, Sept 22 Old Master, 18th and 19th Century Art, Sept 23 Sotheby’s, New Bond St., W1 020 7293 5000 www.sothebys.com Silver, Gold Boxes and Ceramics (online), Aug 29-Sept 9 Ornellaia Vendemmia d’Artista 2017 | Tomás Saraceno (online), Sept 1-9 Irish Art, including Property from the Collection of Sir Michael Smurfit, Sept 9 Fine Jewels (online), Sept 7-11 The Beatles (online), Sept 8-15 Handbags and Accesssories (online), Sept 15-23 Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, Sept 29 SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: Inc. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex Beeston Auctions, Unit 12, Paynes Business Park, Dereham Road, Beeston, Norfolk, PE32 2NQ. 01328 598080 www.beestonauctions.co.uk Militaria and Medals, Sept 9 Antiques, Collectables & Interiors, Sept 10

Bishop and Miller, 19 Charles Industrial Estate, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5AH 01449 673088 www.bishopandmillerauctions. co.uk Mr Bishop’s Interiors, Sept 8, Jewellery and Watches, Sept 17 Advertising and Decorative Art, Sept 18 20th Century Collectable Ceramics Sept 20 Bellmans Newpound, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, RH14 0AZ 01403 700858 www.bellmans.co.uk Science Books from the Collection of Peter and Margarethe Braune.

Part I. Sept 15 Interiors, including Silver (online), Sept 15-17 Friday Sale (timed online) Sept 18 Burtson & Hewett The Auction Gallery, Lower Lake, Battle, East Sussex,TN33 0AT 01424 772 374 www.burstowandhewett.co.uk Antiques, Sept 16 Fine Art, Sept 23 Clarke and Simpson Campsea Ashe, Nr. Wickham Market, Suffolk, IP13 0PS 01728 746323 www.clarkeandsimpson.co.uk Art Deco, Design and Retro, Sept 5 The Monday Sale, Sept 7, 14, 21, 28 Ewbank’s, London Rd, Send, Woking, Surrey 01483 223 101 www.ewbankauctions.co.uk Jewellery and Watches, Sept 16 Silver and Fine Art, Sept 17 Antiques, Clocks and Furniture, Sept 18 Coins (online timed), Sept 25 John Nicolson’s Longfield, Midhurst Road Fernhurst, Haslemere Surrey, GU27 3HA 01428 653727 www.johnnicholsons.com Islamic and Oriental, Sept 2 Fine Antiques, Sept 3

Lacy Scott & Knight, 10 Risbygate St, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3AA 01284 748 623 www.lskauctioncentre.co.uk Home and Interiors, Sept 5, 26 20th Century Art and Design, Sept 11 Music and Film Memorabilia, Sept 11 Fine Art and Antiques, Sept 12 Reeman Dansie No. 8 Wyncolls Road Severalls Business Park, Colchester, CO4 9HU 01206 754754 www.reemandansie.com Pictures & Collectables, Sept 6 Rowley Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers, 8 Downham Road Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 1AH, 01353 653020 www.rowleyfineart.com Antiques, Interiors and Collectables, Sept 26 Summers Place Auctions The Walled Garden, Stane Street Billingshurst, West Sussex RH14 9AB, 01403 331331 www.summersplaceauctions.com Home and Garden, Sept 29 Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers, GES and Sons Limited, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet Essex, CM24 8GE 01279 817778 www.sworder.co.uk r r r e e e e Sept 8 Homes and Interiors (timed online) Sept 11-20 Fine Interiors (including Books) (live online), Sept 22-23 Jewellery (live online), Sept 29 T.W. Gaze, Diss Auction Rooms, Roydon Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 4LN, Norfolk 01379 650306. www.twgaze.com Antiques and Interiors, Sept 4, 11 18, 25 The Gallery Sale, Sept 5 Jewellery, Sept 11 Architectural Salvage and

Statuary, Sept 12 Fine Timepieces and Horological Interest, Sept 17 Musical Instruments, Sept 18 Toys, Sept 25 SOUTH WEST: Inc. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire British Bespoke Auctions The Old Boys School, Gretton Rd, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, GL54 5EE 01242 603005 www.bespokeauctions.co.uk Children’s Books and Annuals, Sept 2, General, Sept 30 Chorley’s, Prinknash Abbey Park, Gloucestershire, GL4 8EU 01452 344499 www.chorleys.com Fine Art and Antiques, Sept 22 Claydon Auctioneers, The Claydon Saleroom, Calvert Road, Middle Claydon, Buckingham MK18 2EZ. 01296 714434 www.claydonauctioneers.com None listed for September David Lay Auctions Penzance Auction House Alverton, Penzance, Cornwall 01736 361414 www.davidlay.co.uk Fine Art, Sept 10-11 Dominic Winter Auctioneers, Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 5UQ 01285 860006 www.dominicwinter.co.uk Early Printed Books, Maps & Manuscripts, The David Wilson Library of Natural History (Part II), Sept 9 Duke’s, Brewery Square, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1GA 01305 265080 www.dukes-auctions.com Classic Cars and Automobilia, Sept 10 Coins, Militaria, Tribal Art and Sporting, Sept 15 Avenue Auction, Sept 15 East Bristol Auctions, Unit 1, Hanham Business Park, Memorial Road, Hanham, BS15 3JE

0117 967 1000 www.eastbristol.co.uk Monthly, Sept 3-4 20th Century Design and Retro, Sept 25 Gardiner Houlgate, 9 Leafield Way, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9SW 01225 812912 www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk The Guitar Sale, Sept 9 Entertainment Memorabilia. Guitar Amps and Effects, Sept 10 Musical Instruments, Sept 11 Jewellery, Sept 23 Antiques, Silver and Works of Art, Sept 24 Paintings and Prints, Sept 24 Works of Art, Sept 24 HRD Auction Rooms Ltd The Auction Rooms, Quay Lane Brading, Isle of Wight PO36 0AT, 01983 402222 www.hdrauctionrooms.co.uk Fine Art, Antiques and Collectables, Sept 15 Modern and Vintage, Sept 16 Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd. Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 8AB, 01460 703041 www.lawrences.co.uk General Sale, Sept 9, 23 Militaria. Coins and Medals, Sept 10 Books, Maps and Photographs, Sept 10 Mallams Oxford, Bocardo House, St Michael’s St, Oxford.

01865 241358 www.mallams.co.uk Jewelley, Watches and Silver, Sept 30 Mallams Cheltenham, 26 Grosvenor St, Cheltenham.

Gloucestershire, 01242 235 712 www.mallams.co.uk Interiors, Sept 17 Mallams Abingdon, Dunmore Court, Wootten Road, Abingdon, OX13 6BH 01235 462840 www.mallams.co.uk The Home Sale, Sept 7 Philip Serrell, Barnards Green Rd, Malvern, Worcs. WR14 3LW, 01684 892314. www.serrell.com Antique and Fine Art, Sept 10 Victoriana and General, Sept 24

Stroud Auctions, Bath Rd Trading Estate, Bath Rd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 3QF 01453 873 800 www.stroudauctions.co.uk Jewellery, Silver, Watches, Bijouterie, Clocks, Coins, Asian and Tribal Art, Sept 9, 10, 11 Woolley & Wallis, 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, 01722 424500 www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk Old Masters, British and European Paintings, Sept 8 Tribal Art and Antiquities, Sept 22 Medals and Coins, Arms and Armour, Sept 23 EAST MIDLANDS: Inc. Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Sheffield Batemans, Ryhall Rd, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XF 01780 766 466 www.batemans.com Fine Art, Antiques and Specialist Collectors, Sept 5 Gildings Auctioneers, The Mill, Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough, LE16 7DE 01858 410414 www.gildings.co.uk Fine Art and Antiques, Sept 22 20th Century Art and Design Sept 22 (tbc) Golding Young & Mawer The Bourne Auction Rooms, Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9LE 01778 422686 www.goldingyoung.com Bourne Collective Sale, Sept 2 Golding Young & Mawer The Grantham Auction Rooms, Old Wharf Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 7AA 01476 565118 www.goldingyoung.com Grantham Collective Sale, Sept 9-10 Golding Young & Mawer The Lincoln Auction RoomsThos Mawer HouseStation RoadNorth Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 3QY 01522 524984 www.goldingyoung.com Lincoln Collective, Sept 16-17

WEST MIDLANDS: Inc. Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Bigwood Auctioneers, StratfordUpon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 7AW. 01789 269415 www.bigwoodauctioneers.com Antiques and Collectables, Sept 4 Furnishings, Interiors and Collectables, Sept 11 Antiques and Collectables including Traditional Sports and Pastimes, Sept 25 Cuttlestones Ltd, Penkridge Auction Rooms, Pinfold Lane, Penkridge Staffordshire, ST19 5AP, 01785 714905 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Autumn Antiques, Sept 3 Antiques and Interiors, Sept 9, 23 Cuttlestones Ltd, Wolverhampton Auction Rooms, No 1 Clarence Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 4JL, 01902 421985 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Speicalist Collectors, Sept 11 Antiques and Interiors, Sept 30 Fellows, Augusta House, 19 Augusta Street, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6JA 0121 212 2131. www.fellows.co.uk The Designer Collection, Sept 7 Pawnbrokers Jewellery and Watches, Sept 10, 24 Antiques, Silver and Collectables, Sept 14 Jewellery, Sept 17 Jewellery (timed online), Sept 24 Watches and Watch Accessories (timed online), Sept 28-29 Watches, Sept 28 Fieldings, Mill Race Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 1JN 01384 444140 www.fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk The September Sale, Sept 17-18 Halls, Bowmen Way, Battlefield, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 3DR 01743 450700 www.hallsgb.com/fine-art Antiques and Interiors, Sept 2 The Autumn Auction, Sept 16 Hansons, Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST18 0XN 0208 9797954 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Great Interiors, Antiques, Collectors and Countryman, Sept 26 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 63

AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes.

We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.

Potteries Auctions, Unit 4A, Aspect Court, Silverdale Enterprise Park, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6SS 01782 638100 www.potteriesauctions.com Rare 20th-Century British Pottery, Collectables, Antiques, Jewellery and Furniture, Sept 12-13 Trevanion & Dean The Joyce Building, Station Rd, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 1RD, 01928 800 202 www.trevanionanddean.com Fine Art and Antiques, Sept 19

NORTH: Inc. Cheshire, Co. Durham, Cumbria, Humberside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Sheffield, Yorkshire 1818 Auctioneers Junction 36 Auction Centre Crooklands, Milnthorpe Cumbria, LA7 7FP 015395 66201 www.1818auctioneers.com Weekly Sale, Sept 7, 14, 21, 28 Adam Partridge Withyfold Drive, Macclesfield, Cheshire 01625 431 788

www.adampartridge.co.uk Silver, Jewellery and Watches and a Single Owner Collection of Charles Horner Silver, Sept 4 Militaria, Sporting, Toys, Wine & Spirits including the Jack Tempest Collection, Sept 11 Furniture and Interiors, Sept 24-25 Adam Partridge, The Liverpool Saleroom, 18 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 OBP. 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Antiques & Collectors, Sept 2 Anderson and Garland Crispin Court, Newbiggin Lane,

Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 1BF. 0191 432 1911 www.andersonandgarland.com The Pictures Auction, Sept 1 Town and County, Sept 2, 23 Stamps and Coins, Sept 3 Watches, Sept 15 Fine Silver and Jewellery, Sept 15 Autumn Fine Antiques and Interiors, Sept 15-17 Boldon Auction Galleries Limited 24a Front Street, East Boldon Tyne & Wear, NE36 0SJ 0191 537 2630 www.boldonauctions.co.uk General Sale, Sept 2, 30 Antiques and Interiors Sale, Sept 16 Capes Dunn The Auction Galleries, 40 Station Road, Heaton Mersey, SK4 3QT 0161 273 1911 www.capesdunn.com Interiors, Vintage & Modern Effects, Sept 7, 21 Jewellery, Silver, Watches and Gold Coins, Sept 8 Antique Furniture, Clocks, Eastern Carpets and Traditional Paintings, Sept 22 David Duggelby Auctioneers Vine Street Salerooms Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 1XN 01723 507 111 www.daviddugleby.com Jewellery, Watches & Silver, Sept 10 Decorative Antiques & Collectors, Sept 11 The Furnishings Sale, Sept 12 Maritime, Cameras, Scientific and Musical Instruments, Sept 18

Artcurial’s auctioneer Isabelle Bresset. For the sales report turn to page 12

64 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

Elstob & Elstob, Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1AJ. 01677 333003 www.elstobandelstob.co.uk None listed for September

THE COLLECTORS’ AUCTIONEER Jewellery Coins Medals Banknotes Forthcoming auction

Jewellery, Watches, Antiquities and Objects of Vertu to include

Selected Jewels from the 1960s/70s and The Culling Collection of Military Watches Part 2

Tuesday 15th September at 1pm to be held in our Mayfair saleroom The sale offers a wide range of items, from ancient to modern.

We are delighted to offer readers of Antique Collecting magazine a free copy of the auction catalogue

Please email jewellery@dnw.co.uk

A Cartier 18ct gold rose and ladybird brooch, circa 1950s.

Estimate: £3,600-£4,600 to be included in the sale

www.dnw.co.uk 16 Bolton Street Mayfair London W1J 8BQ T. 020 7016 1700

Hansons, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS 01283 733988 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Antiques and Collectors, Sept 17-21 Fine Arts, including Silver, Jewellery and Watches, Sept 24 Morphets, 6 Albert St, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 1JL 01423 530030 www.morphets.co.uk Fine Art and Antiques, Sept 10 Furniture and Design for Hime and Garden, Sept 24 Peter Wilson Fine Art Victoria Gallery, Market St, Nantwich, Cheshire.

01270 623 878 www.peterwilson.co.uk Coins and Banknotes, Sept 3 Arms, Militaria, Medals and Firearms, Sept 10 Country Pursuits, Sept 17 Musical Instruments, Sept 24

Sheffield Auction Gallery, Windsor Road, Heeley, Sheffield, S8 8UB. 0114 281 6161 www.sheffieldauctiongallery.com Antiques and Collectables Auction (filming with BBC’s Antiques Road Trip), Sept 4 The Collectors’ Auction, Sept 17 Antiques and Collectables, Sept 18 Tennants Auctioneers, Leyburn, North Yorkshire 01969 623780 www.tennants.co.uk Militaria & Ethnographica, Sept Motorcars, Motorcycles and Automobila, Sept 5, Antiques and Interiors, Sept 11, 26 Books, Maps and Ephemera, Sept 16 Sporting Art, Sept 19 Country House Sale, Sept 19 Jewellery, Watches and Silver, Sept 19 Fine Wine and Whiskey, Sept 26 Scientific & Musical Instruments, Cameras & Tools, Sept 30

Thomson Roddick and Medcalf, Coleridge House, Shaddongate, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA2 5TU 01228 5289939 www.thomsonroddick.com Antiquarian & Collectable Books, Aug 6 Vectis Auctions Ltd, Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton on Tees, TS17 9JZ. www.vectis.co.uk 01642 750616 Matchbox Models of Yesteryear, Sept 3 Dolls and Teddy Bear, Sept 8 Specialist Book, Sept 15 General Toys, Sept 17 Specialist Diecast, Sept 22, 24 Model Trains, Sept 25 SCOTLAND Bonhams, Queen St, Edinburgh.

0131 225 2266 www.bonhams.com Homes and Interiors, Sept 23 Lyon & Turnbull, Broughton Pl., Edinburgh.

0131 557 8844 www.lyonandturnbull.com Five Centuries: Furniture, Painting & Works of Art, Sept 2 Jewellery, Watches & Silver, Sept 15 Paintings and Works on Paper, Sept 16 African & Oceanic Art and Antiquities, Sept 16 WALES Anthemion Auctions, 15 Norwich Road, Cardiff, Wales, CF23 9AB 029 2047 2444 www.anthemionauction.com General, Sept 9 Peter Francis Towyside Salerooms, Old Station Rd, Carmarthen, SA31 1JN 01267 233456 www.peterfrancis.co.uk Antiques, Furnishings and Collectors, Sept ANTIQUE COLLECTING 65

LAST WORD Marc Allum

Marc My Words Antiques Roadshow specialist Marc Allum adjusts to the new normal and gives it a cautious thumbs up

W

ith all of the trials and tribulations of the last few months, it’s heartening to see the auction world getting off to a sturdy, post-lockdown start.

Re-adapting to new ways of buying has been interesting. Booking a viewing slot, then finding I can’t see most of the lots because my glasses keep steaming up, and wearing latex gloves to handle the goods, has been challenging – but I’m not complaining.

It’s good to get back into it again. What has been a little annoying is the sudden hike in prices, no doubt caused by buoyant online sales in lockdown.

This was fuelled by people with plenty of time to spare staring at their computer screens, followed by a frenzied scrabble as the trade endeavoured to re-stock its heavily denuded businesses.

THE NEW NORMAL There are some other adjustments.

Increased prices means you have to bite the bullet and, if you want something badly enough, accept you are going to have to flex a bit more financial muscle. It’s also strange when you arrive at your pre-booked collection slot to discover your hard-won purchases are basking in the sunshine on a row of plastic trestle tables in the saleroom carpark – without a soul in sight!

On the whole, though, online systems have been the norm for some time now and we are generally well adapted. One gripe, however, are the increased online bidding charges and I applaud those salerooms who are addressing this.

Another annoyance is the escalation in online traffic which has led to some painfully slow bidding. I recently almost lost the will to live as an auctioneer laboured his

‘It’s also been strange when you arrive at your pre-booked collection slot to discover your hardwon purchases are basking in the sunshine on a row of plastic trestle tables in the saleroom carpark – with not a soul in sight’ 66 ANTIQUE COLLECTING

way through no more than 40 lots an hour.

I believe if the online audience knows auctioneers aren’t hanging around they won’t hover over the ‘bid’ button for quite as long and lessen the agony of willing the hammer to go down as every last pound is wrung out of the system.

PANDEMIC RESHAPING Having said that, I’ve always been one to apply a pragmatic ‘swings and roundabouts’ principle. What might be more expensive on the one hand is often balanced by something more of a – dare I say it – bargain, on the other. So I have a feeling that it will all level out as the effects of the pandemic reshape the world we live in.

No doubt the markets will reduce somewhat and an equilibrium will be reached in which dealers, collectors, auctioneers et al, continue to generate the ground rock of the markets. If the ‘trade’ headlines are anything to go by, records will continue to be broken, fairs will find a new footing on which to operate and, barring unforeseen circumstances, we will get back on some sort of track.

On the Antiques Roadshow front, we are doing things a little different this year.

As reported on page 6, in order to lessen numbers, the audience will, out of necessity, be invited to our filming with strict distancing rules applied.

For our part, we, too, hope the specialists’ tenacity to make things happen will match the overwhelming feeling that life can go on with some semblance of normality.

Marc Allum is a specialist on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, dealer and author. For more details go to www.marcallum.co.uk Above left The antiques trade has entered the world of social distancing Below Crowds may be a thing of the past on the

popular show

Quick and easy, socially distanced

Antique Valuations Take photos on your mobile phone

We will call you if we need any further information

WhatsApp or text it to Elstob & Elstob on 07936 922661

We are RICS and NAVA registered with qualified valuers in your area

ÂŁ

We will send you an To include 17th Century and later silver, watches including auction valuation Omega and Rolex, objects of virtue and over 300 lots of antique, vintage and contemporary jewellery.

Elstob & Elstob Limited The Ripon Saleroom, Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon HG4 1AJ

t: 01765 699200 e: info@elstobandelstob.co.uk

www.elstobandelstob.co.uk

If you would like to sell the item we can arrange for a safe collection

1965 Rolex GMT-Master Pepsi Estimate: £15,000 William George & Co

George IV silver candlesticks Estimate: £350–520 Adam’s

Coffee table, Herman Miller Estimate: £760–1,150 Wright

Marble bust Late 19th/early 20th century Estimate: £11,500–15,500 Christie’s

Sear c 2000 h over a uct hous es fr ion om over the w all orld Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger Estimate: £30,000–50,000 Sotheby’s

Pumpkin, Yayoi Kusama (b.1929) Hammer price: £550 Forum Auctions

Hermès bag Kelly Starting price: £7,500 Stockholms Auktionsverk

Your search for art, design, antiques and collectables starts here

May Day V, Andreas Gursky Estimate: £450,000–650,000 Phillips

Mahogany dresser Estimate: £500–660 Uppsala Auktionskammare

Swivel chair by Hans J. Wegner Estimate: £2,460–3,300 Bruun Rasmussen

Style of Serge Mouille, ca. 1950s Estimate: £300–460 Rago Arts

Edwardian Art Noveau frame Estimate: £200–300 Tennants

Emerald cut diamond ring Fixed price: £27,400 Once Upon A Diamond

Without title, Alexander Calder Estimate: £430–600 Artcurial

Edwardian arm chair, ca. 1910 Fixed price: £3,850 Wick Antiques

Find the true value of your treasures - only £13. Visit barnebys.co.uk/valuation