34 minute read

5cm wide 30cm deep 45cm high

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Lot 188 A Napoleon III lacquered commode, in the Louis XV style, French, of serpentine outline, the Brèche d’Alep marble top above three drawers, with rococo-style gilt-metal mounts and chinoiserie decoration, raised on splayed supports, terminating in sabots, 122cm wide 54cm deep 86cm high £1,200 - 1,800 Lot 189 A Chinese northern elm wine table, late Qing Dynasty, with a carved apron over rounded supports united by stretchers, 104cm wide 49cm deep 84 cm high £300 - 500 Lot 190 A near pair of large Chinese porcelain vase table lamps, late 19th/early 20th century, each of baluster shape, painted in underglaze blue with scrolling floral and foliate motifs, each decorated with xi (double happiness) characters, on an integral wooden base, 28cm diameter 47cm high, together with silk shades, 70cm high total (4) £400 - 600

191 detail 192 detail

Lot 191 A Persian Karajeh wool runner, 20th century, centred with four geometric floral medallions on a red ground, 450 x 110cm £200 - 400

Lot 192 A Persian wool carpet, 20th century, Tabriz, the deep red field woven with scrolling foliate motifs, within a pale border, 445 x 330cm £1,200 - 1,800 For a similar example, see Christie’s Interiors, ‘Style and Spirit’, 25 September 2012, lot 142.

Lot 193 A Persian wool carpet, mid-20th century, Kashan, with a pale green blue ground and decorated with scrolling foliate and vine designs within a banded border, signed, 400 x 293cm £1,000 - 1,500

Lot 194 A Persian wool carpet, late 19th century, Bidjar, the field decorated with Herati motifs, 392 x 252cm £1,000 - 1,500 Provenance: Purchased from Liberty of London.

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197 detail

Lot 195 A gilt-framed wall mirror, 19th century, French, of rectangular form, the central bevelled plate surrounded by marginal mirror plates and with shell mouldings to the corners, 71cm wide 83cm high £500 - 700

Lot 197 A wool rug, mid-late 20th century, North-West Persia, the field woven with scrolling floral and foliate motifs, within a banded border, 356 x 245cm £400 - 600 198

Lot 196 A giltwood coffee table, mid-20th century, with a glass top, 164.5cm wide 104cm deep 46.5cm high £300 - 500

Lot 198 An Empire-style patinated and gilt-bronze mantel clock, late 19th century, French, the case surmounted by the figure of a seated astronomer, the white enamel dial set with Roman numerals, housing a movement chiming the hours and half hours on a bell, raised on scrolling bracket feet, 45cm wide 18cm deep 53cm high £800 - 1,200

199 200 part lot

Lot 199 A French Louis XVI-style mahogany and parcel-gilt side table, late 19th century/early 20th century, the rectangular top above a moulded frieze set with a single drawer, each side punctuated with paterae, raised on tapering fluted supports united by an ‘H’ stretcher, 118cm wide 71cm deep 77cm high £300 - 500

Lot 200 A Soviet state porcelain six setting dinner service from the Russian Embassy in London, second half of the 20th century, Russia, by the Dulevo Manufactory, comprising dinner plates, bowls, salad plates, side plates, navette-shaped serving dishes, butter dishes and a tureen, each piece highlighted in gilt and bearing the State Emblem of the Soviet Union, stamped marks to the reverse, dinner plates 24cm diameter (34) £300 - 500 Provenance: Purchased from Christopher Martin-Zakheim, owner of Iconastas, who bought the extensive service directly from the Russian Embassy in Kensington c.1991. Lot 201 A painted console table in the Continental taste, of recent manufacture, the rectangular top raised on tapering fluted supports, 120cm wide 33cm deep 74cm high £300 - 500 Provenance: A Private Collection, Mayfair, London.

Lot 202 A Chinese sang-de-boeuf glazed porcelain table lamp, 20th century, of cylindrical shape, on an integral wooden base, 23cm diameter 45cm high, with a faceted silk shade, 69cm high total (2) £300 - 500

Lot 203 A large giltwood overmantel mirror, 19th century, French, the domed top surmounted with putti and garlands, between a pair of urn finials, above a pair of caryatid supports and foliate carved edges, surrounding an arched plate, 160cm wide 190cm high £1,000 - 1,500 202

204 detail

Lot 204 A Persian silk rug, by Sarraf Mamoury, mid-20th century, Isfahan, 240 x 153cm £1,500 - 2,000

Lot 205 A Persian silk rug, mid-20th century, Isfahan, 205 x 275cm £600 - 800

Lot 206 A Persian silk rug, 20th century, Qum, the field decorated with animals among blossoming trees, on an ivory ground, 206 x 140cm £1,500 - 2,000 205 detail

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Lot 207 A pair of Empire-style giltwood armchairs, 20th century, the arms carved in the form of swans and raised on square tapering swept legs, 70cm wide 70cm deep 85cm high (2) £300 - 500

Lot 208 A painted mahogany pedestal desk, 19th century, the moulded rectangular top with an inset leather surface, above an arrangement of drawers to one side and dummy drawers to the other, raised on acanthus-carved cabriole supports terminating in hoof feet, 134cm wide 74cm deep 78cm high £800 - 1,200

Lot 209 A Continental wall mirror, 20th century, the carved giltwood and gesso frame with ho-o bird cresting around an oval bevelled plate, 64cm wide 103cm high £500 - 700

Lot 210 A giltwood and veined marble-topped console table, 19th century, French, with a profusely carved apron and festoon swags, raised on slender scrolling supports united by a carved stretcher, 67cm wide 40cm deep 104cm high £300 - 500

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Lot 211 A Regency mahogany ‘Edwards Patent’ dining table, with concertina action, three additional leaves and drop-leaf ends, on standard end supports with embossed brass labels, downswept legs, brass paw feet and castors, the three leaves supported on two central turned legs, the brass plaques read ‘Edwards Patent Ne Plus Ultra Dieu Et Mon Droit’, 269cm long maximum 58cm long minimum 122cm wide 72cm high £3,000 - 5,000 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection. Literature: Christopher Gilbert, ‘Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840’, 1996, this table is illustrated on pp.188, 189. At the time of publishing, there were no other examples of patent furniture by this maker. With accompanying letter from the photographer John Stabler regarding the inclusion of this table in Gilbert’s ‘Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840’, dated 18 June 1993. D Edwards, maker, active first half of the 19th century. Possibly the same D Edwards based at 84 St James’s Street, London and then 21 King Street, Bloomsbury, London, known for their fashionable writing and dressing cases, and the inventor of patent campaign and military travelling writing cases. He was appointed supplier to the Royal family in 1813 until his death in 1848. This form of concertina action expanding table has been referred to as a ‘Cumberland-action’ table. The first table of this type was supposedly made for Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, fourth son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and brother of George III. Resident at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, he was a patron of John Linnell in the mid-1770s, so it is possible that he was the first recipient of a sophisticated design which is a development of the double gateleg table, adapted so that the legs spread the weight without obstructing people sitting at it.

Lot 212 A Persian wool carpet, 20th century, Heriz, woven all-over with geometric foliate motifs, on a red ground, 344 x 250cm £800 - 1,200

Lot 213 A large Regency mahogany open wine cooler, early 19th century, of sarcophagus form with panelled sides fitted with a lead lining, raised on carved hairy paw feet and cup castors, 80cm wide 52cm deep 45cm high £1,000 - 1,500 Provenance: A Private Collection, Mayfair, London.

Lot 214 A George III mahogany oval tray, with a shaped gallery, brass banding and a scroll carved handle to either end, 49cm wide 35cm deep 7cm high £250 - 350

Lot 215 A pair of grand tour bronze candlesticks, 19th century, each in the form of Roman oil lamps, with crisply cast foliate decoration on integral square bases, 15cm long 10cm high (2) £200 - 400 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection. 212 detail

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Lot 216 A ‘Grafton’ armchair by Howard & Sons, c.1900-1910, upholstered in classic blue ticking, with a deep seat and raised on walnut cabriole front supports terminating in brass and leather castors, stamped and numbered to the back-left leg and to each castor, 84cm wide 102cm deep 84cm high £3,000 - 5,000 Provenance: Strutt & Parker, Lofts & Warner, Hylands near Chelmsford, 13-16 July 1964, lot 197.

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Lot 217 A three-seater ‘Fielding’ sofa by Howard & Sons, c.1900-1910, upholstered in classic blue and white ticking, with a deep seat and raised on walnut cabriole front supports terminating in brass and leather castors, stamped and numbered to the back-left leg and to each castor, 240cm wide 104cm deep 91cm high, with a later bolster cushion and loose covers £6,000 - 8,000 Provenance: Strutt & Parker, Lofts & Warner, Hylands near Chelmsford, 13-16 July 1964, lot 195.

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Lot 218 A pair of wing back armchairs, 20th century, each with a tan leather button-upholstered back and overstuffed seat, raised on square tapering legs and brass castors, 84cm wide 75cm deep 11cm high (2) £600 - 800

Lot 219 A Regency oak marble top console table, the grey veined marble top over a frieze drawer, fitted for cutlery, with moulded decoration and two scrolled front supports, carved with stiff leaves and moulding, 105.5cm wide 80cm high marble top 106.5 x 57cm £600 - 1,000 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

Lot 220 A French Hepplewhite-style mahogany open armchair, probably 18th century, the pierced wheel back with a carved central rosette and open arms, over a serpentine-fronted seat and on carved cabriole legs, upholstered in lemon moiré silk, 58cm wide 58cm deep 89cm high £600 - 800

Lot 221 A George IV mahogany sideboard in the manner of Gillows, of shaped bow-fronted outline, the top with a moulded edge, above two frieze drawers with scrolling line inlay, raised on tapering reeded supports terminating in peg feet, 183cm wide 75cm deep 92cm high £2,500 - 3,500

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Lot 222 A white-painted fire surround, probably 18th or 19th century, the shaped frieze decorated with floral swags, above the aperture with an egg and dart moulded edge, set between two pairs of Corinthian columns, on a moulded base, 204cm wide 26cm deep 131cm high, aperture 101cm wide 81cm high £300 - 500

Lot 223 A large cast iron fireback, dated 1611, depicting a lion beneath a thistle, 79cm wide 70cm high £300 - 500

Lot 224 A set of George III brass fire irons, possibly Irish, with lyre-decorated polished steel shovel blade and facet-moulded knop handles, 72.5cm high (3) £150 - 250

224

Lot 225 A pair of cast iron French bulldog firedogs, by Howes, 43cm high, together with an adjustable brass fire kerb, a poker and an ash sieve (5) £500 - 800 Provenance: A Private Collection, Mayfair, London.

Lot 226 A pair of mahogany and brass-mounted peat buckets, George III style, each with ribbed sides, a twisted brass handle and a brass liner, 35cm diameter 64cm high (2) £800 - 1,200

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Lot 227 A North-West Persian wool carpet in the manner of the Benlian workshop, early-mid 20th century, Tabriz, the pale field woven in vibrant polychrome colours with Shah Abbasi motifs, centred with four saz leaves around a single flower head, bearing an eight-pointed star to one corner enclosing an Arabic signature, within three foliate-decorated borders, 360 x 275cm £1,500 - 2,500

Lot 228 A set of four Victorian hall chairs, mid-19th century, each with an ornately carved scrolling back with a painted armorial, over a solid seat and on turned tapering front legs, 41cm wide 42cm deep 87cm high (4) £800 - 1,200

Lot 229 A pair of demilune console tables, second half of the 20th century, each top with radiating sunburst inlay, over three curved leaf-capped giltwood supports, 58cm wide 30 cm deep 63cm high (2) £300 - 500

Lot 230 Spare lot

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Lot 231 A mahogany bergère library tub armchair, early 19th century, the scrolling top rail above a curved seat with a buttoned leather cushion, raised on tapering square supports terminating in brass caps, 61cm wide 55cm deep 90cm high £400 - 600 Lot 232 A Regency mahogany hall chair, the fan carved back above a painted central roundel of a coat of arms depicting a white cat, above an oval solid seat and tapering turned supports, 45cm wide 43cm deep 92cm high £300 - 500 Lot 233 A George III mother-of-pearl octagonal tea caddy, c.1780, with tortoiseshell borders and all-over engraved decoration of trailing and stylised flowers, the front mounted with a circular miniature on ivory depicting a wistful looking lady and her spaniel seated beneath a tree with a gold border, the cover with a gold capital, the lockplate with gold mounts, the hinge and escutcheon also gold mounted, 12cm high 7.5cm deep 10cm wide £400 - 600 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection. Lot 234 After the antique, an equestrian sculpture of Marcus Aurelius, 19th century, on a marble plinth, 26cm high £200 - 400 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

235 detail 236 detail 238 detail

Lot 235 A Persian wool carpet, c.1930s, Tabriz, the pale field centred with a lozenge medallion, within foliate decorated borders, 312 x 226cm £1,200 - 1,800

Lot 236 A tribal wool runner, 20th century, Afghan, decorated with foliate motifs on a red ground, 278 x 75cm £400 - 600

Lot 237 A Persian silk carpet, early 20th century, probably Isfahan, decorated in a garden design within a banded border, signed, 207 x 132cm £300 - 500

Lot 238 A tribal wool runner, 20th century, Afghan, decorated with scrolling foliate motifs on a red ground, 283 x 75cm £300 - 500

239 240 241 242

Lot 239 A Chinese Tang-style pottery figure of a camel and rider, on a square base, 31cm long 12cm deep 42cm high £300 - 500

Lot 240 A set of three rococo-style composite and gilt-metal candleholders, 20th century, each in the form of a dolphin, with erect tail supporting an acanthus-cast sconce, on a shell-decorated base, 15cm wide 9cm deep 28cm high, together with six carved giltwood curtain pole finials in the form of artichokes (9) £200 - 300 Provenance: A Private Collection, Mayfair, London.

Lot 241 A carved ivory bust of William Shakespeare, 19th century, raised on a fluted and turned column socle base, 29cm high £600 - 800

Lot 242 A plaster bust of Sir Edmund Burke, 19th century, depicted wearing classical robes, raised on a socle base, 68cm high £200 - 400

Lot 243 A mahogany library bookcase, first quarter of the 19th century, of inverted breakfront outline, the three sections with an arrangement of glazed upper and lower doors and all-over gilt-metal mounts, raised on bracket feet, 240cm wide 36cm deep 206cm high £2,500 - 3,500 243

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Lot 244 Two sets of pine library steps by Slingsby, 20th century, each with four steps to a platform with a tubular metal frame, the rear supports on wheels, one ladder with two Slingsby plaques, 121cm high to platform 213cm high total (2) £500 - 700

Lot 245 A set of four maps of Spain (3) and Portugal (1), published under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Baldwin & Cradock, 47 Paternoster Row, 1831, 1938 (4) £200 - 300

Lot 246 A three-tier étagère occasional table, 20th century, the mahogany shelves held on turned brass supports terminating in brass castors, 34cm wide 34cm deep 76cm high £450 - 550 Lot 247 A pair of George III satinwood and painted card tables, c.1800, each hinged D-shaped top with a Greek key border, opening to a baize inset playing surface, above a frieze decorated with a snaking vine pattern and centred with a moulded tablet decorated with a tied ribbon, lute and horn motif, on turned and reeded tapering legs, surmounted by patera terminals, 92cm wide 45cm deep 74cm high (2) £6,000 - 9,000 For a related pair of satinwood card tables displaying a similar scheme of painted decoration, see Christie’s, ‘Important English Furniture & Carpets’, 24 November 2005, lot 116 (£19,200).

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Lot 248 A George II mahogany centre table, c.1730-1740, raised on slender lappet-carved cabriole legs, terminating in pad feet, 68cm wide 33cm deep 66cm high £1,000 - 2,000 Provenance: Christie’s South Kensington, ‘The Collection of Will Fisher: Founder of Jamb’, 2 February 2012, lot 202.

Lot 249 An Art Deco oval burr elm and walnut desk, early to mid 20th century, the top inset with green leather skiver over three frieze drawers and recessed shelves to either end, raised on a plinth base, 118cm wide 76cm deep 75cm high £2,000 - 3,000 Provenance: A Private Collection, Mayfair, London.

Lot 250 A French wool rug, c.1925, decorated with a repeating abstract design, 265 x 196cm £500 - 800 Provenance: Christie’s, ‘Collection of Alberto Pinto’, 2017, lot 318.

250 detail

Lot 251 *Bryan Kneale (b.1930), a pierced bronze abstract sculpture, signed to lower section ‘Bryan Kneale’, 34cm wide 55cm high £400 - 600 Lot 251A A set of ten Chippendale style mahogany dining chairs, late 19th/early 20th century, each with a well-carved Gothic-style back, over-stuffed seat and square chamfered front legs, two armchairs and eight singles, armchairs 62cm wide 62cm deep 100cm high (10) £500 - 800

Axel Vervoordt (Belgian, b.1947)

Interior designer, antique and art dealer, Axel Vervoordt, started his fifty-year career at age 21 by buying and restoring a row of 16th century houses in his hometown of Antwerp. His empire now stretches a little further, with an interior design practice, an antiquaire, a private foundation, and two art galleries in Antwerp and Hong Kong. Listed in Architectural Digest’s inaugural AD100 Hall of Fame, Vervoordt has built a reputation as one of the world’s leading connoisseurs of style, working with clients such as Robert De Niro, Sting and Calvin Klein. His interiors are clean and serene, with every piece carefully chosen for its presence and story, often fusing heritage with the contemporary. The following select group of lots encapsulates Vervoordt’s aesthetic, whilst giving a gentle nod to traditional designs such as the cricket table, lot 255, and wing back armchair, lot 253.

Lot 252 A pair of green veined marble lamps, by Axel Vervoordt, with wide shallow shades, 23cm wide 43cm high excluding fittings (2) £800 - 1,200 Lot 253 A wing back armchair, by Axel Vervoordt, contemporary, Belgian, with grey stuff-over upholstery and raised on bleached oak cabriole legs, 82cm wide 72cm deep 112cm high £500 - 700

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Lot 254 A pair of contemporary slate and oak side tables, by Axel Vervoordt, contemporary, Belgian, with applied maker’s label beneath the marble and with a brand to the underside, 57cm wide 57cm deep 60cm high (2) £1,000 - 1,500

Lot 255 An oak ‘cricket’ table, contemporary, by Alex Vervoordt, the three legs united by an undertier, 59cm diameter 68cm high £250 - 350

Lot 256 A porphyry-topped rectangular low table, contemporary, Belgian, by Alex Vervoordt, on turned ovoid legs, 136cm long 68cm deep 37cm high £1,000 - 1,500

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Lot 257 A Regency mahogany cylinder bureau desk, early 19th century, the upper section with a brass gallery and a tambour front, opening to reveal pigeonholes and a pull-out slide, over a twin pedestal base containing an arrangement of further drawers and slides arranged around a kneehole, on a plinth base and castors, 121cm wide 70cm deep 111cm high £400 - 600

Lot 258 A pair of brass candlestick lamps, 20th century, each of classical column design, on a leaf moulded and cast square raised base, stamped ‘Asprey & Co.’, 15.5cm wide 51cm high including fittings (2) £250 - 350 Lot 259 A George IV rosewood centre table, early 19th century, the rectangular top raised on pierced and carved end supports, on carved hairy paw feet, 115cm wide 55.5cm deep 63cm high £400 - 600

Lot 260 A set of twelve Chippendale-style mahogany dining chairs, early 20th century, each with a pierced wavy back and square moulded legs, two carvers and ten singles, six single chairs with serpentine over-stuffed seats, four singles and two carvers with drop-in seats, each 56cm wide 56cm deep 100cm high (12) £500 - 800 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

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Lot 261 A pair of giltwood mirrors, 18th century, each of oval shape, with a carved foliate frame surrounding a mercury glass plate, 60cm wide 80cm high (2) £800 - 1,200

Lot 262 A carved oak repeating bracket clock, 19th century, the silvered dial with subsidiary dials for chime/silent and regulation fitted gong strike, three train movement, 32cm wide 25cm deep 48cm high together with a carved oak bracket (2) £300 - 500 Lot 263 A mahogany and brass-bound tray, 19th century, with a wavy shaped gallery and brass binding, 57cm wide 39cm deep 11cm high £150 - 250

Lot 264 Casa del Fauno, a modern bronze figure of a dancing faun, signed ‘Milo’, on a white marble plinth, 26cm wide 16cm deep 70cm high including plinth £250 - 350

Lot 265 A Sarab wool runner, c.1910, Persian, 524 x 90cm £1,500 - 2,500

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Lot 266 A George III and later mahogany kneehole desk, the lifting top revealing a fitted interior complete with shaving mirror and an adjustable writing surface, the six further drawers fitted with brass swan neck handles and on bracket feet, 74cm wide 52cm deep 75cm high £1,500 - 2,000

Lot 267 A George II mahogany low press, c.1750, with heavy brass side handles, fitted with slides and on bracket feet, 126cm wide 63cm deep 93cm high £700 - 1,000 Provenance: Christie’s South Kensington, ‘The Collection of Will Fisher: Founder of Jamb’, 2 February 2021, lot 299.

Lot 268 A pair of Empire D’or ormolu and bronze candelabra, 19th century, Russian, each with four sconces raised on scrolling arms, a figural support and circular to square plinth base, 66cm high (2) £1,000 - 1,500

Lot 269 A Chinese hardwood altar table, 20th century, in the Ming style, with pierced and carved brackets and stretchers to the turned supports, 112cm wide 40cm deep 81cm high £200 - 400

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Lot 270 A large pietra dura specimen stone tabletop, of recent manufacture, depicting a central coat of arms surrounded by parrots and foliate motifs within a banded border, 152cm wide 102cm deep £800 - 1,200

Lot 271 A large treacle-glazed pottery table lamp, 20th century, fitted with a large shade, 60cm high £200 - 300

Lot 272 A Regency mahogany whatnot, with four shelves set between ring-turned supports, raised on baluster feet terminating in castors, 51cm wide 41cm deep 147cm high £300 - 500

Lot 273 A mahogany and glazed cabinet, 19th century, French, with a scrolling architectural pediment over a single door and with a single deep drawer to the base, 95cm wide 52cm deep 181cm high £400 - 600

274 part lot

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Lot 274 Frank Mason Good (1839-1928), ‘Selected Photographs of the Nile and its Scenery Including some of its Most Ancient & Interesting Temples’. Published by A Shapcott, 50 Rathbone Place, London, octavo landscape, containing 20 lithographic photographs, each numbered and with printed title, including Cairo (3), Pyramids (3), Nile boats (1) Thebes, Karnak (4) Sehayl (1), Philae (3) and Nubia (5), images 10 x 18cm approximately album 19.5 x 29cm approximately £2,000 - 3,000

Lot 275 After Benedetto Boschetti (1820-1870), ‘Capitoline Venus’, a bronze figure, stamped ‘B Boschetti Roma’, the base fitted with a plug and a small handle to the side that would allow the bronze to turn, 47cm high £800 - 1,200

Lot 276 A crocodile skin stationery box by Asprey London, late 19th century, with fall front and silver mounts, stamped with maker’s name to the inside edge, 23cm wide 14cm deep 18cm high £400 - 600 Provenance: A Private Collection, Mayfair, London. Lot 277 A grand tour lava box, the cover worked with two musicians and two dancers, the interior with silver hinges and mounts, 8cm long 5.2cm wide 1.7cm high, and an ivory pillbox, 19th century, with a carved ‘basket weave’ cover with a yellow metal-framed lock of hair and ornamental pins, the interior velvet lined, 6cm long (2) £200 - 300 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

Lot 278 A William IV gilt brass carriage timepiece, c.1835, in the manner of Thomas Cole, the case engine turned below a scrolled and part-reeded handle and within cluster column corners, the rear with a revolving shutter for the winding hole, the silvered dial engine turned over subsidiary day and date dials, the case engraved ‘Presented by Mr W. Buchan To His Mother, 22nd July 1836’, 11.5cm high £800 - 1,200 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

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Lot 279 A pair of bronze and Blue John figural table ornaments, early 19th century, each African figure with a gilt headdress, skirt and boots, supporting an urn whilst standing on a square plinth, 28cm high (2) £300 - 500 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

Lot 280 A box of grand tour plaster intaglios, each beechwood tray now with a marbled paper mount and prepared for hanging, seven trays containing 126 plaques, together with the original box lid, each tray 24 x 15cm £1,400 - 1,800

Lot 281 A grand tour marble cistern, early 19th century, Italian, in the manner of Benedetto Boschetti, raised on lion’s mask and paw feet, 23cm long 10cm wide 9cm high £300 - 500 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection. Lot 282 A French silver and brown banded agate Historismus tazza, c.1890, maker’s mark ‘M G’, in a lozenge-shaped punch, of oval form, with bifurcated scroll handles and gadrooned borders, raised on a knopped and baluster stem, terminating in a domed and spread base, the ball and foot carved with narrow and broad flutes, together with the top of another dish, of similar design, lacking base, 13.3cm wide 23cm long 17cm high (2) £500 - 800 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

Lot 283 A grand tour gilt-metal and specimen hardstone dish, 19th century, of lobed and pierced form, with scrolling foliate detail, inset with various agate and quartz roundels, on bun feet, 27cm wide 6cm high £200 - 400

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Lot 284 A four-fold screen, decorated with a fleet of ships at sea, 204cm wide 177cm high £250 - 350

Lot 285 A carved giltwood pier mirror, c.1760, in the manner of Thomas Johnson, the scrolling rococo frame decorated with acanthus and further floral motifs, set with a pair of square columns and surmounted by a ho-o bird, surrounding a rectangular mercury glass plate, 55cm wide 107cm high £800 - 1,200 Provenance: Private collection, Suffolk; The Guinness family, Coldpiece Farm, Hound Green, Hampshire, via Lacy Scott & Knight; Sotheby’s, ‘Britwell House: Sold by the direction of Mr David and the Lady Pamela Hicks’, 20-22 March 1979, lot 173.

Lot 286 A Persian wool and silk rug, 20th century, Isfahan, the blue woven field centred with a floral medallion, surrounded by foliate scrolls and multiple borders, 223 x 135cm £500 - 700

Lot 287 Spare lot

Lot 288 A pair of French alabaster figures of Voltaire and Rousseau, 19th century, each on a square plinth carved with stiff-leaf borders, 10.5cm wide 14cm deep 34cm high (2) £600 - 800 Provenance: Christie’s, ‘The Duarte Pinto Coelho Collection: From the distinguished decorator’s houses in Madrid and Trujillo, Spain’, 20 July 2011, lot 233.

Lot 289 A wooden model of the Octagon Church, Wisbech, by Tony Southwell, mounted as a table lamp, Octagon 21cm high lamp 40cm high £200 - 400 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection. The Chapel was a brick building faced in stone, erected in 1827 as a chapel of ease to the parish church. It was designed by William Swansborough in imitation of the Octagon of Ely Cathedral. It closed in 1946 and was demolished in 1952.

Lot 290 A Napoleonic prisoner of war straw workbox, 19th century, in the form of a book, opening to reveal a mirror, a printed angel and French inscription which translates as ‘Your absence worries me, I only like where you are’, 8.5cm wide 6.5cm deep £200 - 300 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection. 288 289

Lot 291 A pair of carved marble reliefs, late 19th/early 20th century, depicting a gentleman and a lady, the marbles each 32.5 x 23cm, one housed in a wooden frame (2) £200 - 300

Lot 292 A carved alabaster Corinthian capital, 57cm wide 43cm high, together with a carved alabaster cartouche panel, 54cm wide 72cm high (2) £300 - 500 290 291

Lot 293 A walking stick of Napoleon Bonaparte interest, with an ivory handle, crisply carved with a dog’s head and collar, mounted with diamonds, opals, garnet, split pearls, coral, turquoise and zircon, a banded agate in the dog’s open mouth over a cast yellow metal collar which tests as 15ct gold, similarly mounted with gemstones, on a malachite cane, with an applied paper label which reads ‘From The Collection of the Stansfield and Cooper-Horsfall families. This stick was presented to Marshal Soult, with gratitude from Napoleon’ [sic], 91cm long £1,000 - 2,000 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection. Marshal General Jean-de-Soult, the 1st Duke of Dalmatia (born 29 March 1769, died 26 November 1851), commonly known as Marshal Soult, was a distinguished military commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (including the Peninsular War). The Stansfield and Copper-Horsfall families were brought together by the marriage of the Reverend Michael Alfred Horsfall of West Thorpe, Whitby to Mabel Catherine Stansfield in 1897. As the name Stansfield is mentioned first, it is more than feasible that the stick came into the possession of the Copper-Horsfall family through Michael’s marriage to Mabel in 1897. The Stansfield family were a well-established family in the County of Yorkshire gentry. Likewise, the Horsfall family appear to have been long residents in the county.

Lot 294 A Napoleonic gilt-bronze medallion in a fitted case, 19th century, depicting the emperor in profile, the red leather case inscribed in gilt lettering ‘Donnee Par S. M. L’Empereur A Mr Roustam Ier Mameluc’, 7.7cm diameter case 9.5cm wide 9.5cm deep £1,000 - 2,000 The inscription on the case of this medallion suggests it was presented by Emperor Napoleon to Roustam Raza, Premier Mameluc. Roustam Raza was Napoleon’s Mamluk bodyguard and secondary valet. Having been taken into slavery from his home city of Tbilisi, Georgia, by the Egyptians, Roustam was gifted to Napoleon in 1798 by the sheikh of Cairo, following the successful French campaign in Egypt. He served the Emperor for 15 years until his exile. The use of the phrase ‘premier Mameluc’ in this inscription is notable and alludes to the fact that Napoleon had a second Mamluk, Mamluk Ali who joined his service in 1812, after which time Roustam would have referred to himself as the premier mamluk to denote his seniority. This may indicate that whoever inscribed the box knew of this arrangement and was probably following the owner’s instructions, rather than someone simply inscribing a text. A letter from the British Museum, Department of Coins and Medals, dated December 1964, suggests that this medal matches the description of one shown in both Trésor de Numismatique and Bramsen which is said to have been produced in December 1813.

Lot 295 A George III mahogany breakfront bookcase, early 19th century, the moulded cornice above lancet-glazed doors punctuated with reeded baluster columns, on a panelled cupboard base, 239cm wide 50cm deep 245cm high £2,000 - 3,000 Provenance: The Peter and Pat Crofts Collection.

Peter Crofts (1924-2001)

Peter Crofts was a big man in many senses of the word. Broad and above average height, with thick white hair and clear penetrating eyes, he cut an imposing figure. Above all, he was a big man in terms of his courage, spirit, and determination to make the most of life.

Peter was born in Elm, a small village south of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. His parents were well-known professional farmers and Peter joined the family firm, where he remained active until his death.

After leaving Wisbech grammar school, he volunteered to serve in the Fleet Air Arm and subsequently went to the USA as part of the Admiral Tower Scheme, to train as a pilot.

He gained his wings at Corpus Christi Air Base in Texas. On 25 March 1945, a month and a day before his 21st birthday, the engine of his Corsair F4U failed during take-off, crashed and burst into flames, leaving Peter severely injured. He spent the next three and a half years in hospital. In his own words ‘on April 25th, surgeon Sam Stabins came to see me and told me he would have to amputate both my feet… it sounds better than legs. I spent the 26th April, my 21st birthday, with no legs’. The care he received forged a great love of America and many lifelong friendships.

In 1948 Peter met Major Bernard Edinburgh of Stamford, a well-known and knowledgeable antique dealer who took him under his wing and encouraged him to set up and trade himself. In 1950 he married Pat, who shared his love of antiques. In 1958 Peter was elected a member of the British Antique Dealers Association, whom he served for the following forty years.

Despite his disability, he was a keen sailor, greatly enjoying time on his boat ‘Amity’, an eighty-eight year old clinker-built Norfolk beach boat. He was also a trustee and generous benefactor of the Fenland Museum.

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