Italian marble and alabaster decorative figure of a mallard Duck, C20th
Price: £55
This is a very attractive decorative figure of a mallard duck made from highly polished green and brown marble joined with fine alabaster, the eyes picked out in red. The unusual combination of stone used here is skillfully blended to produce an item of great charm. The materials used to create this piece, perhaps intended as a paperweight, indicate Italian workmanship and the rounded lines suggest a mid twentieth century dating, perhaps to the 1960s.
LOT 20
Art Deco style beaker form Vase, probably Beswick, mid C20th
Estimate: £20 – 30
4d 8h 16m
£0.00
Wall plaque by Giovanni Schoeman depicting classical style figures, 1970s
Price: £75
A diamond shape wall plaque comprising over 40 small tablet form plaques in various colours and sizes, moulded in high relief with Art Nouveau style classical figures. This is the work of the artist Giovanni Schoeman (1940-1981) who was born in South Africa and worked in London and America. He was well known for working in the recently developed medium of ‘Cold Cast Resin Metal’. Metal powder, often bronze, was mixed with a resin binder and poured into a mould to produce a cast with the appearance of solid metal. Different metal powders such as brass, nickel and copper were also used depending on the effect desired and this plaque is an excellent example of the effects which could be achieved.
While Art Nouveau in style, Schoeman only perfected these techniques in the late 1960s, producing pieces in the style from a studio in Kentish Town which sold well in the London outdoor art markets. In the late 1970s, Schoeman moved to America with the intention of producing large scale art but the venture foundered and he died in 1981. This plaque, of which other examples are known, must have been one of his most popular designs in those London years and is a striking example of the techniques he developed and mastered.
Pair of bisque relief plaques by artist Bertel Thorvaldsen. Royal Copenhagen 1969 - 74
Price: £40
This is a stunning pair of bisque porcelain plaques depicting two well known images of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Four Seasons series. Here are Autumn and Winter. This series was produced by Royal Copenhagen Porcelain between 1969 - 74. They are drilled for hanging.
Bertel Thorvaldsen (born Nov. 19, 1770, or Nov. 13, 1768, Copenhagen, Den.—died March 24, 1844, Copenhagen), sculptor, prominent in the Neoclassical period, who was the first internationally acclaimed Danish artist. Prominent in Roman intellectual and artistic circles, he influenced many emerging artists from Europe and the United States. Most of Thorvaldsen’s most characteristic sculptures are reinterpretations of the figures or themes of classical antiquity. The Alexander frieze of 1812 in the Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome, modeled in only three months in anticipation of a visit by Napoleon, is an example of the feverish energy with which he could at times work. Religious sculptures include the colossal series of statues of Christ and the Twelve Apostles (1821–27) in the Vor Frue Kirke in Copenhagen. He also made numerous portrait busts of distinguished contemporaries.
Pair of Art Deco chrome wall sconces
Price: £50
This is a stunning pair of Art Deco sconces in polished chrome. These hold candles and are in a very unusual Art Deco design. A not to be missed lot for Art Deco collectors!
Art Nouveau Bronze Plaque c.1900
Price: £75
This is a beautiful bronze hanging plaque depicting an Art Nouveau woman in natural setting, with integrated ring to hang
LOT 1
Set of 5 matching 18ct gold sewing tools in fitted case, August Boileau, French c.1850
Estimate: £100 – 200Auction Begins
01/01/70 UTC
£0.00
Beautiful Victorian ruby glass scent bottle, circa 1880
Price: £350
This is a lovely ruby glass scent bottle decorated with enamel flowers in a rope twist design. It has a brass top with chain and is fitted with the original stopper which is quite rare.
Egyptian Silver Pill Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay, marked, second half C20th
Price: £45
An oval silver box and cover, the lid with an inlaid mother of pearl design comprising geometric shapes which combine to produce a 3D ‘trompe l’oeil’ effect of solid shapes within a rope twist border, the exterior of the lid with a small stamped mark and the interior of the box with three small stamped marks. The markings here, which can be seen on other examples indicate that we have Egyptian work and there are a fair number of similar silver boxes but more commonly in a round shape. They are usually dated to the mid twentieth century. The quality of the craftsmanship is obvious and the form and decoration make this a highly desirable collector’s item.
Two Scottish Tartan Plaques, C20th
Price: £35
Two round plaques mounted with tartan cloth of two different designs in reds and blues, both studded with metal bosses in imitation of a shield and both with circular gilt metal medallions at the centre depicting a thistle and a deer respectively, presumably the motifs associated with the two clan tartans. Identification here is for the true expert but these were presumably commissions from the firm whose name appears at the back, probably made in the 1970s/1980s. The ‘Targe’ was a shield used by Scottish Highlanders in the early modern period. From the late 16th century, until the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the Scottish Highlander's main means of defence in battle was his targe and the designs regularly included studding and a raised central boss. But these two plaques are items of peacetime and to be enjoyed as such!
Papier Mâché Tray with Millefiori Decoration, Kashmir, C20th
Price: £55
A Papier Mâché Tray of octagonal form with rounded indented corners profusely decorated in rich and detailed colourings with small floral blooms, the ‘millefiori’ (thousand flower) pattern, a central roundel and four hemisphere panels at the corners all set on an orange ground, the border with bands of floral spray and repeating geometric design in gilt, the reverse plain showing the black lacquer ground. Trays and boxes in this distinctive style were made in Kashmir in India and some carry the label for Srinagar, a city famous for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts like the Kashmir shawl, papier mâché, wood carving, carpet weaving, and jewel making, which is most likely the place where this tray was made, probably in the 1920s. It is a superb example of the type with exquisite detail in the decoration and a strikingly attractive use of colour.
Victorian ships inkwell with original fitted ink pots c1900
Price: £75
This is an unusual inkwell that originally would have sat on an officer's desk on a ship. It is made from oak wood with brass fittings and decoration, to include a carrying handle and four feet. Two square recesses contain the original inkpots which have remarkably survived intact. There is also a long narrow channel to hold a pen. Both were intended to ensure stability if the waters grew choppy! Decorative in itself, this piece perhaps provides the ultimate gift for the office even if it is unlikely to find itself in daily use.
Trinket box in the shape of a bound Book, onyx and brass, Austria, first half C20th
Price: £110
This is an unusual trinket box comprising two heavy onyx slabs, fitted with brass which has been cast in the form of a book's spine, pages and clasps. The brass has been patinated to give a more 'olde world' look. There are four small ball form feet to the base and a stamped mark 'AUSTRIA' to one of the sides. Other similar examples are known and many are marked with the country of origin. Great skill was needed to combine bronze fitments which required the drilling fixing holes with the potentially fragile onyx slabs and these boxes must have been luxury items in their day. The style has a hint of ‘Arts and Crafts’ on the one hand and ‘Art Deco’ on the other suggesting a dating to the 1920s when Vienna itself was in the grip of the ‘secessionist’ movement.
Massive Victorian Carnelian Cameo Shell
Price: £55
This is a very large example of a carnelian shell, such pieces often being used for the creation of cameos in the nineteenth century and before. This example has been polished in certain areas to give the shell a more elegant and finely worked decoration suitable for use as a table ornament. Carved carnelian cameo shells were favoured souvenirs from the Grand Tour and were found mainly in the North and West African waters. This piece is of an exceptionally large size, which is both desirable in itself and occurs much less frequently.
Victorian leather bound photo album made by Mechi and Bazin c.1870
Price: £110
This is an incredible photo album comprising a finely tooled green leather cover and gilt edged pages that have inserts for the photos. It is made by Mechi and Bazin, a well respected manufacturer based on Regent Street in central London and mainly known for their campaign fitted toiletry boxes and writing slopes. This album is quite petite so it was most likely also meant for travel. It holds 23 beautiful Victorian photographs : mainly portraits with a few outdoor views.The album Is marked 'Mechi & Bazin Makers London' on front cover.
Beautiful small daguerreotype in a frame c. 1850
Price: £25
This is an amazing daguerreotype of two young girls probably made for an officer to take as a memento while travelling. The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process in the history of photography. Announced to the public in 1839 the daguerreotype enjoyed great popularity in the 1840s and 1850s. Named after the inventor, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, each daguerreotype is a unique image on a silvered copper plate.
Korean Najeonchilgi lacquerware jewellery Box, C20th
Price: £25
This is an example of Korean lacquerware known as ‘Najeonchilgi’. The technique, derived from both China and Japan, involves the inlay of shellfish derived small pieces onto a lacquerware base. ‘Najeon’ means ‘mother of pearl’ and ‘chilgi’ lacquerware. These wares were produced quite early on in Korea’s history with a ‘golden era’ during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) but continued to be made until quite recent times. This box, then, made in the late C20th, comes at the end of a long run of a traditional manufacturing process but retains some of the hallmarks of its predecessors. The shape is rectangular with a bowed front, the hinges and clasp fastening in polished metal and the interior lined in red fabric with a mirror fitted to the underside of the lid. The highly polished black lacquer surface is inlaid with mother of pearl decoration, flowers to the front and a moonlit scene of storks to the lid, symbolising long life. Highly decorative in itself, this box is also extremely practical as storage item for a small jewellery collection and would be an elegant addition to the dressing table.
Art Deco piano sconces c1920
Price: £85
This is a pair of Art Deco sconces comprising brass and mahogany elements. The shape and the detail on these is geometric but with the wood elements it softens the design. These would have been mounted on either side of a piano to help read the music.
Pair of Staffordshire style Vintage Busts of Children, C20th
Price: £75
A pair of polychrome ceramic busts of children, a boy and a girl, both dressed in blue and wearing country style hats, each set on a pedestal base with blue and red ‘veining’ in imitation of marble, the glaze with a feint craquelure and the bases countersunk and pierced. Others may well disagree but, usually described as Staffordshire, or occasionally Continental, these busts were more likely made in China. The enamel work is typical of twentieth century Chinese pieces and the faces of the pair do not have a convincingly European look. More importantly the paste of the foot is closer to Chinese work than Western and even the form of the base is not found on European pieces either. Nevertheless, these two youngsters make an amusing and decorative pair whatever their history.
A Complementary Pair of Gilt Metal Art Nouveau style picture frames, 20th Century
Price: £45
Two Gilt Metal Picture Frames of differing sizes but with matching designs in mirror image modelled in typical Art Nouveau style with slender ladies holding a branch and flowering wheat sheaves and lotus, the reverses with swing mount stands
Pair of Dorset Fossil limestone goblets in presentation box
Price: £35
This is a very unusual pair of goblets or wine cups made from worked Dorset limestone that is known for its fossils. These goblets are dense with different types of fossilised shells and other marine life. It comes in a velvet fitted presentation box.
Art Deco onyx Chess Set with board and fitted box, 1930s
Price: £110
This is a very elegant chess set comprising finely carved onyx pieces which are stored in their own fitted case. The top of the case has been inlaid with onyx and agate pieces to make up a chess board. The pieces are smaller than a standard chess set which makes the fine carving even more beautiful and all have survived in excellent condition which is unusual. The perfect gift for devotees of the game!
A silver filigree decorative Spoon, probably Scottish circa 1900
Price: £55
This is a delicately worked filigree spoon with an openwork bowl in the form of a shell with stylised leaves, the slender handle of rope twist design with thistle leaf terminals at either end and finished with a thistle flower. Of a decorative rather than practical design, the use of thistles suggests that this piece is Scottish; dating is probably around 1900 or the the early Edwardian period.
Victorian Whitby jet mourning brooch
Price: £75
This is a quite large brooch in a scroll work design and Greek key edging. It is Whitby jet a fossilised wood stone that is from the Jurassic period that is found in the North York moors in northern England. Whitby jet was the main material for mourning jewellery during the Victorian age for obvious reasons.
Korean Najeonchilgi lacquerware jewellery Box, C20th
Price: £25
This is an example of Korean lacquerware known as ‘Najeonchilgi’. The technique, derived from both China and Japan, involves the inlay of shellfish derived small pieces onto a lacquerware base. ‘Najeon’ means ‘mother of pearl’ and ‘chilgi’ lacquerware. These wares were produced quite early on in Korea’s history with a ‘golden era’ during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) but continued to be made until quite recent times. This box, then, made in the late C20th, comes at the end of a long run of a traditional manufacturing process but retains some of the hallmarks of its predecessors. The shape is rectangular with a bowed front, the hinges and clasp fastening in polished metal and the interior lined in red fabric with a mirror fitted to the underside of the lid. The highly polished black lacquer surface is inlaid with mother of pearl decoration, flowers to the front and a moonlit scene of storks to the lid, symbolising long life. Highly decorative in itself, this box is also extremely practical as storage item for a small jewellery collection and would be an elegant addition to the dressing table.
Silk Print of a Bird, Bianchini-Ferier, France, early C20th
Price: £25
A silk print of a bird perched on a branch of flowering acorns. The design of the bird itself employs ‘flock work’ technique where slender coloured threads are laid onto the fabric surface to produce a slightly raised effect but the remainder of the image is printed onto the silk using grisaille colouring. Similar examples are known, some depicting birds and some flowers, but all are marked at the bottm ‘Bianchini-Ferier’ ‘Made in France’.
Bianchini Ferier was a silk weaving manufacturer based in Lyons. Founded in 1888 by Francois Atuyer, Charles Bianchini and Francois Ferier, it first produced fine silk damasks mainly for the clothing industry. After gaining a silver medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889 it went on to enjoy great success and many well known artists created designs for it in the early C20th, most notably Raoul Dufy. Production continued until the early 1990s when the firm was acquired by Tissages Bauman.
This print resembles designs in the firm’s archives from the late C19th and was probably created in the early C20th. It was designed for framing and the dotted line definition of the composition can be seen at the edges. Presented now in a modern surround it provides an excellent example of the firm’s work and a reflection of the Art Nouveau style so popular when it was produced.
LOT 8
Art Deco style kneeling figure of a Girl, Aquincum Hungary, second half C20th
Estimate: £50 – 80
4d 7h 52m
£26.00
Noritake Vase in the Form of a Pomegranate, marked, Japanese, early 20th Century
Price: £25
A Japanese Porcelain Vase manufactured by the Noritake Company, the spherical body with three short feet and two handles and finished with a short flaring neck and a crimped rim, intended to resemble the form of a pomegranate. The decoration comprises a continous panorama landscape scene with two central circular panels, depicting trees, mountains and a lake, set on a dark blue glaze ground with raised bead work decoration in gilt and blue enamel, the base marked 'Noritake' 'Made in Japan' with a geometric design enclosed by a circle.
The Noritake compnay was set up by the Morimura family at Noritake near Nagoya in the early twentieth century. Called at first 'Nippon Toki Kaisha Ltd' on its founding in 1904, the business soon changed its name to 'Noritake' and began the manufacture of porcelains for the domestic and export markets. The mark seen here is interesting. It comprises a 'Komaru' symbol, crowned with "Noritake" and with the mark 'Made In Japan'. The centre symbol said to be taken from the Japanese character "Komaru", meaning "overcoming difficulties". According to the Noritake company tradition this mark was designed when contact with the different culture of the west early in the 20th century caused problems of adaptation. It is also known as the 'tree crest mark' which is the clan crest of the Morimura family. This mark is said to have been registered in London for the UK market by 1908. The curled up ends of the Komaru symbol seen here distinguish this mark from later versions and allow a dating of this piece to the early twentieth century.
Noritake porcelain became synonymous with finely potted tea and breakfast services made in great quantities for export. This vase is a rather more unusual production and shows the factory capable of producing high quality pieces.
Victorian small note pad for chatelaine
Price: £45
This is a charming small note pad that would have hung from a ladies chatelaine or a ladies "tool belt" so to speak. It is silver plated with the original paper pages with actual notes on them which is fun. There is also the original mechanical pencil. There is a spring hinge so the notepad opens automatically. The silver plate has a repousse design of angels or putti very typical during this time.
French Regency style Bevelled Amber Glass & Filigree Ormolu Casket, mid twentieth century
Price: £55
A Regency style bevelled amber glass & gilt filigree ormolu Casket, the pentagonal body with five ovoid amber glass panels with bevelled edges, the borders with an arrow form repeating geometric design, all set between gilt filigree work of stylised foliage, the three spreading feet also with floral gilt filigree work, the hinged lid with a similar circular amber glass panel surrounded by a repeating design of stylised gilt leaves, the interior lined in gold velvet studded with tiny gilt nails.
Various pieces in this style where amber glass panels are combined with elaborate gilt metal work can be found. Most were intended as dressing table ornaments, as here. Sometimes termed 'Hollywood', after the American made products in this style of which Lot 1 in this sale is a prime specimen, these items were designed to add a touch of luxury to the bedroom. They are usually regarded as French and thought to have been made between the 1920s and 1940s. This is a particularly nice example with no damage to either the glass or the metalwork.
French Regency style Bevelled Amber Glass & Filigree Ormolu Casket, mid twentieth century
Price: £55
A Regency style bevelled amber glass & gilt filigree ormolu Casket, the pentagonal body with five ovoid amber glass panels with bevelled edges, the borders with an arrow form repeating geometric design, all set between gilt filigree work of stylised foliage, the three spreading feet also with floral gilt filigree work, the hinged lid with a similar circular amber glass panel surrounded by a repeating design of stylised gilt leaves, the interior lined in gold velvet studded with tiny gilt nails.
Various pieces in this style where amber glass panels are combined with elaborate gilt metal work can be found. Most were intended as dressing table ornaments, as here. Sometimes termed 'Hollywood', after the American made products in this style of which Lot 1 in this sale is a prime specimen, these items were designed to add a touch of luxury to the bedroom. They are usually regarded as French and thought to have been made between the 1920s and 1940s. This is a particularly nice example with no damage to either the glass or the metalwork.
LOT 16
Pair of continental style openwork border Dishes, probably Chinese C20th
Estimate: £10 – 20
12d 8h 8m
£0.00
Wood Mask, Borneo late C20th
Price: £25
This is a striking wood mask, probably ebony, carved in a bold, semi abstract style, the facial details flanked on each side by two volute decorated ‘ears’, the back hollowed out and pierced at the top for hanging. These gargoyle like creations were made in Borneo, the island north of Java whose sovereignty is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. They are held to be the work of the Dayak tribe and were sometimes used for harvest festival or fertility rites, soul catching and death ceremonies and spiritual dances, but were also, no doubt produced as tourist souvenirs which is most likely what we have here. The decorative appeal is obvious and the potential spiritual functions an added bonus.
Toy Wicker Chair, mid C20th
Price: £35
A masterpiece in miniature, this is a small size wicker chair of tub shape, the arms merging into the back rail, the seat and lower sides closely woven with the upper sides and back in openwork and the legs with loop stretchers. Dating is probably to the mid twentieth century and this may be the work of an accomplished amateur, perhaps as a gift for their child. Certainly, these model chairs are much less commonly found than their full size counterparts and do not seem to have been manufactured widely. The perfect display item for a treasured Teddy!
An Arts and Crafts small Brass Tray, English early twentieth century
Price: £40
A small Brass circular tray with a wide flat rim edged with repeating bead work and a round concave centre decorated in repousse work with a procession of parrots on a boldly chased punch work ground. Repoussé work is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing or embossing is a similar technique in which the piece is hammered on the front side, often with a punch, sinking the metal. The two techniques are often used in conjunction as here, although the effect is slightly bolder than in the previous lot (35). Metalware items with 'hammered' decoration were a common feature of 'Arts and Crafts' work with their reminiscences of earlier metal working techniques and the effect of the slightly rustic. As in the previous lot, the bold metalworking techniques used complement the medium of burnished brass. A dating to the early twentieth century seems reasonable
An Arts and Crafts small Brass serving Tray, English early twentieth century
Price: £40
A Brass circular tray with a shaped raised pie crust edge decorated in repousse work with overlapping geese on a chased punch work ground. Repoussé work is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing or embossing is a similar technique in which the piece is hammered on the front side, often with a punch, sinking the metal. The two techniques are often used in conjunction as here. Metalware items with 'hammered' decoration were a common feature of 'Arts and Crafts' work with their reminiscences of earlier metal working techniques and the effect of the slightly rustic. The design here is unusual and attractive and the bold metalworking techniques used complement the medium of burnished brass. A dating to the early twentieth century seems reasonable
A Ceramic Moneybox in the form of a Pig, Helensgate Ceramics, mid twentieth century
Price: £25
A ceramic moneybox, pink glazed and amusingly modelled in the form of a rotund pig with wide eyes and ribbon bow, the back with a slot to insert the coins and the base with a circular aperture to retrieve them, sealed with a plastic plug, probably original. A paper label affixed reading 'Helensgate Ceramics'. Little seems to be known about this firm but they clearly specialised in amusing animal figures and in particular moneyboxes. The piece has a mid twentieth century look to it and a circa date of 1960 seems reasonable. While less in use now, there are still some for whom 'cash is king'. If so, this would be a desirable acquisition!
Ceramic Model of a Fish, Jema Holland, signed, 1950s/1960s
Price: £30
A ceramic model of a fish strikingly modelled with outstretched fins and rising out of flowing waves, lustre glazed in tones of green and blue, the base with an incised script mark reading 'Jema' 'Holl.' '132'.
The Jema factory in Holland was started by two brothers, Jelis Mager ( born 1912 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) and his brother Johan Willem Mager (born 1919 also in Rotterdam) both living in Maastricht who took over an existing ceramics factory, founded originally by J.Meussen, in 1942 and traded together in a partnership which was dissolved in 1955 when the firm JEMA KERAMISCH ATELIER N.V. (jema ceramic studio; the first JE standing for Jelis and MA standing for Mager) was created under a new agreement between them. Ceramic products of many types were produced with figurines a speciality and the business continued until 1984 when it became insolvent and closed its doors.
Most of the pieces seem to have been marked, usually with an impressed script as here indicating the factory itself and the model number of the piece. For modest decorative items the quality of the manufacture is of a high standard as can be seen in both the modelling and the glazing of this piece. Their animal figurines were immediately approachable and provided modest but amusing items of decoration.
LOT 9
Majolica palissy style Walnut Dish, Roque Gaeiras, Portugal, second half C20th
Estimate: £30 – 40
12d 7h 54m
£0.00
Pair of Silver Filigree Bonbonnieres, probably continental circa 1900
Price: £110
A pair of bowls formed from minute and delicate silver filigree work, the shallow incurving sides with a deeply scalloped rim above an openwork foot with plain sides, the decoration in the from of leaves, perhaps those of a cabbage plant, with elaborate silver thread detail. The workmanship here is obvious but the provenance of these pieces less so. Silver filigree pieces were made in both Russia and China but there is little resemblance to those here. A much closer parallel lies in Portuguese work and there is one very similar bowl known to have belonged to one Charles William de la Poer Beresford, an Admiral and Member of Parliament who died in 1919. If there is a connection here, then this pair of bowls most likely date to the early years of the twentieth century.
Pair of ceramic Bookends, the three wise monkeys, Czech second half C20th
Price: £30
This is an amusing pair of ceramic bookends, the sides and base with ‘marbled’ decoration in tones of beige and light brown, each with a seated group of the ‘three wise monkeys’ (hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil) in similar colours. The flat base is unglazed and both the pieces have a stamped mark ‘Made in Czechoslovakia’ with one ‘Czechslovakia’ in addition. The mark provides a ‘terminus ante quem’ for the dating since Czechoslovakia split into two countries (Czech republic, Slovakia) in 1992 but beyond that is matter for guesswork since there do not seem to be any similar examples, but 1950s/1960s would seem to be a reasonable assumption. But the humour is there, whatever the date of manufacture!
Pair cast iron Doorstops, Basket of Fruit, probably American mid C20th
Price: £45
This is a pair of doorstops made from cast iron in the form of an urn containing fruit including orange, lemon, peach and grapes, combined with foliage and flowers. Hollow at the backs, these pieces were most likely mould cast and then cold painted. Various similar compositions are found with the impressed numbers ‘456’ and a few identical ones marked ‘DONSCO’ ‘JOHN WRIGHT CAST IN USA’. ‘456’ was a model number used by the well known manufacturer of metal products, Hubley, which, like John Wright, had its premises in Pennsylvania, USA. These doorstops (at least that is how they are always termed; the weight of the pieces seems quite light to retain a heavy door) seem to have been made in the 1950s and this pair most likely originate from a manufacturer operating in the same area as the two named ones. As a pair, which is unusual, they also have decorative potential and remain in excellent condition for their age.
Green Leather Jewellery Box with Bramah Lock, early C20th
Price: £55
This is a fine quality jewellery box covered in green leather with a graining effect. The rectangular base is fitted with a shallow flush lid and attached by brass lever hinges. The front of the base has a lock marked ‘Bramah’ (lacking its original key) and the lid a leather strap handle with fine stitching. Inside are two removable trays, the top one with compartments for jewellery, and the bottom of the box is divided into two compartments. The linings of the box and trays are in green leather and velvet with moiré silk to the inside of the lid. As with the previous lot, there are many features here of a ‘deluxe’ item, in particular the ‘Bramah’ lock, known for its high security, and the lever hinges. This box perhaps dates to a little later than the previous one, more to the 1930s but is no less of a ‘luxury’ item which equally well retains its functionality today.
Art Deco Shagreen Picture Frame, 1930s
Price: £110
A rectangular picture frame, the broad border inset with strips of beige and dark grey shagreen skin laid on a wooden surround the edges with short narrow strips stained beige to match the border with graining in imitation of bone, the back stained dark brown with patterning effects designed to imitate animal skin, the central insert hinged and held with fastening clasps to reveal the glass underneath and also fitted with a hinged support.
Shagreen is a natural hide, typically from shark, stingray or dogfish, worked through special processes to produce a granular surface effect. Known in China and Japan from the earliest times and popular in Europe in the eighteenth century Shagreen enjoyed its greatest popularity in the Art Deco period where it was used as a covering for writing desks and well-dressed cabinetry and smaller items such as the picture frame we have here. The clean lines of this piece and the palette of colours employed fit exactly with the ethos of the Art Deco period and a dating to the 1930s is extremely likely. A luxury item at the time it could be used now to provide enhanced presentation of a favourite image adding to it a hint of true elegance.
Octagonal Agate Mortar Bowl, C20th
Price: £25
Truly Art Deco in style, the form of this bowl, octagonal with flaring sides and an upright bevel edged rim, deeply cut out to a rounded interior, is however normally regarded as a mortar shape and would have been used with a pestle, probably in the same material. Commonly used in a laboratory context for grinding samples these agate pieces are very much fit for purpose since the stone is much harder than porcelain, thus reducing the level of impurities introduced during the grinding process. Found in a wide variety of locations including Italy, Africa and Brazil, agate, a form of chalcedony with a wide variety of banding effects, was used for jewellery from the earliest of times but has also had practical uses because of its hardness. This bowl shows the typical banding effects of the stone but perhaps because most likely intended for practical use an impurity in the piece used has been left visible (see image 5).
Art Deco Wooden Cigarette Box, 1930s
Price: £25
An oak wood cigarette box and cover of rectangular form with the sides and handle finished in a dark hard wood, possibly mahogany, the interior lined in green baize. The clean angular style of this piece recalls the Art Deco era and there is little reason to doubt that it was actually produced at that time. Most likely the work of a talented amateur carpenter, the box is carefully constructed with an imaginative combination of woods. Perhaps less likely to be used for cigarettes now, but handy for all those small things that would otherwise get lost!
Oriental style ceramic plate, signed Alice Smith, possibly American mid C20th
Price: £10
There are no obvious parallels for this plate. The form is that of a typical Chinese nineteenth century desert plate with a broad shallow well and a slightly upcurving rim but the back is glazed all over including the foot rim which is not the case with Chinese examples and the general appearance of the decoration is Western. The theme of children at play is typically Chinese but it is usually boys that are represented where here we have girls, four of them in coloured robes playing with tops, one standing apart from the rest. At the edge are a few sparse gilt leaves and the ground is a light mustard coloured wash, with the reverse plain and the signature in black ‘Alice Smith’ under the glaze. Whoever the artist was, she was capable of having a piece of hers professionally fired which implies a degree of commercial expertise. But there is nothing else to suggest other than the work of an accomplished amateur. Americans were and are prone to manufacture ‘home grown’ pieces in an Oriental style (some of their modern wallpapers are particularly notable) which leads this cataloguer to hazard a guess as to provenance and date. Otherwise, we have a true ‘mystery piece’ here but the composition is a sympathetic recreation of the East, wherever it was produced.
Persian Marquetry Khatam Kari Desk Set, second half C20th
Price: £55
This marquetry desk set is a typical example of a range of similar pieces made by Persian Craftsmen in the second half of the twentieth century. The low rectangular wood base has curved corners and a bowed front in which is set a drawer. The centre has a slightly raised panel with two removable brass loop handles. To the rear of this are two pen holders and behind two upright panels forming a letter rack. Even the pens, which can be fitted with removable biro refills, have marquetry decoration, which is unusual. The base is plain with four short feet.
The intricate marquetry decoration used here, with its repeating star form pattern, is called ‘Khatam’ work. Khatam is the capital of Khatam County in Iran and is the centre for craftsmen working in this technique. Khatam is a Persian version of marquetry in which the surface of wooden articles is decorated with small pieces of wood, bone and metal formed into precisely-cut geometric shapes. The process is time consuming involving the cutting of the shapes and gluing them in place, followed by smoothing, oiling and polishing. In Persian, the work is known as ‘Khatam kari’, ‘the art of crafting Khatam ware’.
These desk sets occur in a wide variety of forms. The drawer is less commonly found and decorated pen holders are, as said above, most unusual. These sets seem to have been made from the 1950s onwards. The use of a ‘biro’ pen indicates a dating from the 1960s onwards and perhaps this example is a bit later than that, but the workmanship speaks for itself and the piece has survived in excellent condition with minimal damage, providing a truly elegant ‘desk tidy’ for the contemporary study!
Novelty Perfume Bottle with Grecian Scenes, late C20th
Price: £15
A ceramic perfume bottle the compressed bulbous body fitted with a high domed cover and a separate ‘dipper’ finial, the rich blue glaze brightly decorated with polychrome and gilt figures in a pseudo classical style reclining and conversing, the interior with traces of perfume cream. The Greek manufacturers of perfumes seem sometimes to have turned to the Classical era as inspiration for the decoration on the vessels containing their products. Similar bottles can be found with packaging labelled ‘Anapal by Anastasios’. The designs are pastiche in the extreme but the effect is opulent and no doubt reflects the luxury of the contents inside!
Ceramic and Bronze figure of a Blue Tit, Albany Worcester, late C20th
Price: £35
A superbly modelled polychrome ceramic figure of a Blue Tit hanging from a gnarled twig well worked in bronze, the base stamped 'Albany England'. Albany Worcester was launched in 1973 by David Palmer, Bill Nichols & David Lovegrove, who all previously worked at the Royal Worcester Porcelain factory. Their pieces, distinguished for their quality and detail, rapidly became popular and Harrods and the Queen's jeweller Asprey became customers. Sales grew to be global and some of their china and bronze pieces were even reputed to have been bought as wedding presents for the Prince and Princess of Wales. But the firm, which had just two full-time employees at the end, started to decline in the late 1980s and sales figures fell even further when the factory, which was then based in Lowesmoor, suffered a serious fire in 1995. There was something of a revival after this but fashions had changed and it proved to be short lived with the company closing in 2005. This piece is truly a sculpture in miniature and well deserves the protective dome in which it now stands. A reminiscence of a past era, perhaps, but surely deserving of a place in a contemporary interior.
Vintage Brass Pocket Case with a lid, probably a Vesta case for Matches, circa 1900
Price: £55
A small brass case with a hinged lid of irregular rectangular form decorated in high relief repoussé tecnique with a devil’s head encircled by a snake whose scaly tail continues onto the lid. Repoussé work is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Other examples of these cases are known with a similar shape and technique and even the devil and snake motif. It is more than likely that this case was designed for matches, the so called 'Vesta Case' of which there is another example in this auction. Like that piece it is fitted with a ring, presumably to allow it to be attached to a watch chain. But other uses could have been intended, possibly for business or visiting cards (the Victorian calling card was much smaller) or perhaps for pills. The style of decoration very much recalls 'Arts and Crafts' pieces made around 1900 and a similar dating seems likely here.
Vintage Brass Vesta Case in the form of a Violin, circa 1900
Price: £55
A Brass Vesta, or Match, case in the form of a Violin with an opening cover to the bottom and a fabric covered bar inside. Vesta was the Roman Goddess of the hearth, home and family and
altars and temples dedicated to her commonly employed a live flame, which caused some manufacturers of matches in the nineteenth century to name their products 'Vestas', the most famous being the Swan Vesta match produced from around 1900. Early matches were highly combustible and cases to keep them safe were produced from around 1830 onwards. The peak of popularity of the 'Vesta Case' was around 1900 and their use declined in the 1920s when the first cigarette lighters were produced. The cases were made in a variety of forms and materials, even gold and silver. This example is brass and probably from around 1900. The surface of the cover is ribbed in order for a match to be struck against it but he function of the interior covered bar is less clear. The case is fitted with a ring, presumably to allow it to be attached to a watch chain. Practical in their time, Vesta Cases are collectible now and the rarer shapes much sought after.
LOT 18
Pewter Plate in the Art Nouveau style, marked Joh. Heidl, C20th
Estimate: £20 – 30
12d 8h 12m
£0.00
Set of Three Japanese Lacquer Nesting Trays, mid to late C20th
Price: £45
This is a fine quality set of three Japanese lacquer trays designed in a ‘nesting’ format so that the two smaller fit into the largest. Each is finished in red lacquer with an elaborate and detailed gilt and enamel design of two peacocks in a garden scene with peony and bamboo, the rims gilt and the openwork handles with beige plastic loops, the sides and reverse in black lacquer. The art of lacquer ware (漆器, shikki) has been practised in Japan since the earliest times and pieces from the Meiji period (1868-1912) are particularly collectible today. These trays are much later, the use of plastic suggesting the 1950s or 1960s but the quality is still there and their excellent condition allows the skill of the workmanship to be fully appreciated. Highly decorative in themselves they are functional as well!
Pair of Brentleigh Ware Wall Hanging Ballet Shoes, 1930s
Price: £35
A ceramic wall hanging model of a pair of ballet shoes glazed in red with black laces, one pierced at the back for display, the soles also glazed in red and with an impressed mark ‘Brentleigh Ware’ ‘Made in England’. Brentleigh was one of the trade names of the Howard Pottery Co Ltd in Shelton Staffordshire who seem to have made pieces from the 1920s to the 1950s. The art deco style of this group suggests a pre war dating to the 1930s. The model sometimes appears in black, making these a rather more decorative example and the glaze is often subject to substantial loss and flaking which is not the case here and therefore much more pleasing to the eye. Kitsch perhaps but an amusing piece of wall decoration for shoe lovers everywhere!
Pair of Gilt Metal and Onyx Scales, probably French, C20th
Price: £55
A decorative pair of scales with an elaborately cast fluted central column from which branch out two rococo like arms. From each arm is suspended an onyx vessel which sits on a gilt metal pan hanging by three linked chains. The column is fitted to a spreading onyx base which is supported by three gilt metal feet attached to a circular gilt metal rim. The casting of the metal work and general style of the piece suggests France and dating is most likely to the mid C20th.
Vintage hand carved Fossil Stone Trinket Box and Cover, C20th
Price: £25
A rounded box of compressed apple-like form with a lid finished with a concave set knob, carved from fossil stone in which can be seen shells and a multitude of other marine life objects
all combining in an intriguing and decorative design. Doubtless intended for trinkets this box is an ornament in itself.
Fine Quality engraved French Glass Dish with naturalistic Ormolu Mounts, early C20th
Price: £25
A small glass circular dish with deep sides and engraved to the centre with flowering lotus, mounted to the rim in gilt meatal or 'ormolu' with a circular band cast with a repeating loop design,
astride which are a well modelled frog and a lily pad. Perhaps intended as a bonbonniere or a trinket dish, this charming piece clearly reflects the Art Nouveau style with its emphasis on
naturalistic design. Similar pieces are held to be French and this is most likely the provenance here with a dating to the early C20th.
Burgundy Leather Jewellery Box with Bramah Lock, early C20th
Price: £95
This is a fine quality jewellery box covered in red burgundy leather. The rectangular base is fitted with a shallow flush lid bevelled at the front and back and attached by brass lever hinges. The front of the base has a lock marked ‘Bramah’ with the original key and the lid an inset brass handle, the surface of which would have been suitable for the engraving of the owner’s initials. Inside are two removable trays, the top one with compartments for jewellery and a circular holder for a watch. The linings of the box and trays are in burgundy leather and velvet. There are many features here of a ‘deluxe’ item, in particular the ‘Bramah’ lock, known for its high security, and the lever hinges. The box most likely dates to the early 1900s and would clearly have been sold by a purveyor of ‘luxury’ items for a wealthy clientele. It retains, of course, its functionality today.
LOT 22
Pair of petit point Tapestry Pictures, The Needlewoman Shop London, mid C20th
Estimate: £30 – 40
12d 8h 20m
£0.00
Oriental porcelain European Style Heart Shape Box and Cover, OC & CO, late C20th
Price: £15
A ceramic box and cover of heart shape, gilt metal mounted with a hinge and clasp, the base plain and the lid with a geometric design in blue and gold, a stylised floral spray within a panel set on a tasselled cushion with geometric patterns and a repeating ‘C’ shape border, the base with a gilt mark of a crown above a twisted robe with the letters ‘O C & CO’. While European in appearance, this box is, in fact Oriental and possibly Japanese of fairly recent manufacture. Although many of the Staffordshire potteries used a three loop knot, often combined with a crown, as a factory mark, this version does not appear any English pieces and is a pastiche, so far removed from the parallels that it can hardly have been intended to deceive. Various European style pieces with the same mark (or a similar one incorporating the name ‘Roselle’) can be found in a variety of shapes and all with elaborate decoration in the style of their models. The boxes are particularly attractive and the shape and decoration here is appealing.
Two similar Chinese Export Style Monteith Form Jardinieres, C20th
Price: £75
Two Chinese Export Style Jardinieres, each of deep oval form with wavy edge rims, one with rococo style handles in pink enamel and the other with lion head mask handles in iron red and mustard yellow, both similarly decorated in polychrome with insects, butterflies and flowers, the interior of the first with a floral spray and of the second with fish. Each has a slight craquelure effect to the glaze which is probably intentional and both have glazed bases with numbers applied to the biscuit foot.
The form here is a miniature version of the Chinese ‘Monteith’ first produced in the early to mid eighteenth century. The wavy rim was designed to hold the stems of glasses which were stood to cool in iced water placed in the interior. The style of the decoration is in Chinese Export taste as well, but dating here is to the C20th probably around the 1960s. Some similar examples have Chinese seal marks and one the name of a Chinese manufacturer implying that these pieces were most likely made in China but this does not assist with establishing their age. Purely decorative objects then with no intent to deceive but amusing creations in themselves and pleasing to a contemporary eye.
Baroque Style Picture Frame with Still Life, C20th
Price: £25
The elaborate stylised floral decoration of this picture frame looks to the baroque era prevalent in Europe during the late C17th and early C18th with its elaborate floral scrolling but its date of manufacture is rather more recent. The material seems to be resin and the aim was clearly to produce a lavish effect at a bargain price. The picture enclosed is, of course, far from baroque but the semi impressionist style of this floral still life actually matches its surround rather well. A piece of decorative whimsey then, probably 1950/1960s and continental, and a clear antidote to austerity!
Japanese Carved Wood Figure of a Young girl, Kokeshi doll style, C20th
Price: £45
This is a rather charming carved wood figure of a young girl standing dressed in an elaborate robe decorated with floral blooms and fan shape panels in blue with floral designs. She holds something in her hands (an offering?) and looks out expectantly. The naif style resembles closely the kokeshi dolls that have been made in Japan for more than 150 years as children's toys but the portrayal is much more lifelike than that of its abstract counterparts. Dating is probably to the mid twentieth century.
Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Hieroglyphic wall plaque c2000
Price: £20
This is a very detailed plaque that depicts an Egyptian owl. It is a replica from Tutenkhamun's tomb that was issued by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Blackpool souvenir teapot c1920
Price: £35
This is a wonderful souvenir teapot from Blackpool with a pewter cover. Blackpool was a very popular holiday destination for brits back one hundred years or so. Blackpool is a seaside resort on the Irish Sea coast of England. It's known for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, an old-school amusement park with vintage wooden roller coasters. Built in 1894, the landmark Blackpool Tower houses a circus, a glass viewing platform and the Tower Ballroom, where dancers twirl to the music of a Wurlitzer organ.
Edwardian large text magnifying glass with horn handle, early C20th
Price: £25
This is an unusually large magnifying glass that has a buffalo horn as a handle. The large lens itself is set in brass with a brass attachment fitting to the handle. It would most likely have been used to read a newspaper by those for whom the text was too small and its size would have made it hard to misplace. Dating is probably to the early years of the twentieth century, the era of the celebrated Edwardian detective, Sherlock Holmes!
A group of twenty assorted artists Stamps in H&R Johnson sample Box, C20th
Price: £75
This is a most interesting group of stamps, possibly intended for tiles, nearly all with naturalistic designs of trees or stylised floral emblems. Twelve are mounted on thick clear plastic or perspex blocks while the remainder are mounted on wood. Examples of the pressed designs can be seen in images 1 and 2 and their appeal is obvious. The stamps are contained in a wooden box with the name of the well known tile manufacturers H&R Johnson Ltd printed on the front with the words ‘ceramic glazed tiles’ below. H&R Johnson began trading in 1901 and are still producing tiles in imaginative and innovative designs today. The box was clearly for tile samples rather than stamps and was presumably adapted by the owner of these stamps to hold his small collection. Perhaps this is why the three central dividers are missing (the grooves for them can be clearly seen in image 3); their presence would not have allowed all the stamps to fit inside! This assembled collection with its impromptu container was clearly used by an enthusiastic amateur artist. Both the box and the stamps look to have been made in the 1950s or 1960s and were clearly well used. Printing block stamps can be much in demand today and there is a family firm, Stamped in Tradition, based in London and Devon who produce a truly vast selection of handmade pieces in bronze, some of which are similar in design to some of the stamps in this box (see images 9,10). The tradition truly lives on then, and this collection allows the opportunity for experimentation today in an age old craft.
Framed Watercolour, Harbour or Beachside Scene, signed, C20th
Price: £25
This is an attractive watercolour depicting a harbour or beachside scene with a sailing boat moored to the left, a lighter boat to its side and various sailing boats in the distance with mountains beyond. The tones used are mainly sepias and browns but more colours combine in the rendering of the sky with its setting sun. The artist’s signature can be seen to the bottom left but is unfortunately very hard to read. The impressionistic style is typical of mid century work - the well known English artist George Hann comes to mind and perhaps the painter here, an accomplished amateur, shares his nationality. The appeal here is obvious and not just to a collector of maritime scenes!
Past Times Art Nouveau Style Vase, Veronese Collection, 2004
Price: £45
This deceptively attractive vase which reflects Art Nouveau design in both its form and decoration is, in fact a recent reproduction sold by the once popular UK firm ‘Past Times’. The organically shaped slender ovoid body with a flaring base and a wide, open top is decorated with applied decoration of lotus, water lilies, reeds and a dragonfly, both the ground and its ornamentation intended to imitate bronze metal whereas the material is, in fact, bronze effect resin. The base has an attached felt pad with the repeating words ‘Veronese’, the name of the collection or range to which it belonged. There is also a small signature on the body and a copyright mark for the date of manufacture, 2004.
‘Past Times’ was founded in 1986 by John Beale, at first as a mail order company but then trading from physical stores and developing into a business which enjoyed enormous popularity with over one hundred shops in the early 2000s. The stock was focused on retro and vintage style items also including a wide range of licensed products, such as Harry Potter and Beatrix Potter merchandise. Badly impacted by the recession in 2008 it went into administration in 2012 and was bought by W.H.Smith a year later leading to the disappearance of its products from the marketplace.
This ‘Art Nouveau’ vase can be seen as an example of their range at its best. Manufactured with care it presents an appealing souvenir of the era it aims to recreate at a rather more affordable price than the authentic originals.
A pair of stamp collage Postcards, Alsace and Nice, framed, early C20th
Price: £45
These are a fine example of collage pictures where the image is made up or mainly made up from fragments of stamps. The technique was used in various parts of the world including America and China but we obviously have French work here. The artist, whose signature appears on both pieces, has chosen to represent two ladies dressed in local costume, that of Alsace and Nice. The first is seen holding flowers which fits with a rural location and the second standing on a rock looking out to sea which suits a maritime one. The heads and hands are painted and the costumes made from stamp fragments. Eagle eyed philatelists might be able to date these pieces form the stamps used but the amateur has to rely on the style and ‘feel’ of the representations and we are probably looking at the 1920s or 1930s. The frames and mounts, though, are likely to be slightly later. The appeal is obvious and while there may be other parts of France represented in the same way, this pair of pictures are most likely ‘one off’ and would be an individual addition to the decoration of an interior.
Pair of Ceramic Wall Hanging Plaques, Butterflies, probably continental 1960s
Price: £40
A pair of ceramic wall hanging plaques modelled in the form of butterflies with outspread wings, brightly decorated in green, red, orange and black enamels with beaded detail, the reverses plain and with a central cavity, pierced at the top for the wire wall hanger which also forms the proboscis. The fairly coarse paste of the foot rim at the back and general style of decoration suggests continental work, most likely Portugal or Spain and these pieces have a mid century look to them suggesting a a dating in the 1960s when brightly coloured ornaments (and carpets!) enjoyed something of a vogue. Highly decorative then, this pair of lepidoptera would certainly enliven a contemporary interior.
Framed poster for Victor Bicycles, Overman Wheel Company, C20th
Price: £55
This is an iconic poster image, the original of which was created in 1896 by the famed artist Will H. Bradley for the Overman Wheel Company, famous for their innovative and high quality bicycles in the last years of the nineteenth century. The ‘Victor’ bicycle was the most famous model in their range and enjoyed enormous success after its introduction in 1883. By 1893 it was known as ‘the highest grade bicycle’ and it went on to be sold in a wide variety of models and sizes. But competition and changing economic circumstances saw the company’s business decline sharply and after a devastating fire in 1899 the business was sold in 1900.
Will H. Bradley (1868-1962) was an American artist and illustrator whose work enjoyed enormous popularity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, indeed he became America’s highest paid artist. Some of his most elaborate and original poster and advertisement designs were produced in the last years of the nineteenth century and he was an apt choice for Albert Overman’s then thriving business. His style was quintessentially Art Nouveau and is often compared to that of the English artist, Aubrey Beardsley, indeed he was sometimes dubbed as the ‘American Beardsley'. This poster design for Overman has been much copied and reproduced over the years with original examples residing in museum collections. The dating of this particular printing is not wholly certain; the reproduction is certainly way superior to that of more modern versions and the accompanying frame also indicates some age, perhaps to the 1960s or through to the 1980s. We have, then, both an elegant decorative item and an excellent addition to a collection important poster art.
Pair of Capodimonte ceramic Wall Hanging Plaques, boy and girl praying, Italian 1960s
Price: £25
This is a charming pair of small ceramic wall plaques, the biscuit porcelain with a slight ivory tint, with moulded designs of a boy and a girl praying, their hair and robes carefully detailed, set in velvet covered oval frames with cording at the edge which also forms the loop hangers at the top. Near identical pieces often have a paper mark at the back reading ‘Porcellane Capodimonte’ ‘Made in Italy’ surrounding a crown device with an ‘N’ above. Capodimonte porcelain was first made at Naples, Italy, in the mid eighteenth century and was often marked with an ‘N’ and a crown above. The original factory was to enjoy a relatively short life but there were many imitators in the nineteenth century and beyond to the twentieth who freely used the Capodimonte name. This pair of plaques is a very modest and fairly recent (probably dating to the 1960s) example of these ‘Capodimonte’ wares but nonetheless have a distinct appeal of their own.
Pair of Capodimonte ceramic Wall Hanging Plaques, boy and girl praying, Italian 1960s
Price: £25
This is a charming pair of small ceramic wall plaques, the biscuit porcelain with a slight ivory tint, with moulded designs of a boy and a girl praying, their hair and robes carefully detailed, set in velvet covered oval frames with cording at the edge which also forms the loop hangers at the top. Near identical pieces often have a paper mark at the back reading ‘Porcellane Capodimonte’ ‘Made in Italy’ surrounding a crown device with an ‘N’ above. Capodimonte porcelain was first made at Naples, Italy, in the mid eighteenth century and was often marked with an ‘N’ and a crown above. The original factory was to enjoy a relatively short life but there were many imitators in the nineteenth century and beyond to the twentieth who freely used the Capodimonte name. This pair of plaques is a very modest and fairly recent (probably dating to the 1960s) example of these ‘Capodimonte’ wares but nonetheless have a distinct appeal of their own.
Set of five small landscape paintings attributed to Charles Boyland Turner, C20th
Price: £110
While ‘antique’ in appearance, both in respect of the frames and the style of the paintings themselves, this set of small landscape compositions most likely date to the mid to late years of the twentieth century. As the inscriptions on the backs indicate, all five display Norfolk scenes and are attributed to the artist Charles Boyland Turner. Charles Turner seems to have painted many Norfolk landscape scenes and his pictures sometimes appear at auction. The style is always similar, traditional and with a nineteenth century ‘feel’, but Charles Turner worked in acrylic rather than oil paint, a much more modern medium, and was the author of a book on the subject, ‘Painting Miniatures in Acrylics’, published in 1990 whose cover displays an image very similar to these. Accordingly, while little is known about him, his work is relatively recent which is not to say that it is without its attraction. The five scenes depicted here are extremely pleasing. Many, but not all, of his pieces are signed but these are not, perhaps because of the size, and we have to take the labelling on trust. The close similarity with signed works, though, gives little reason to doubt the attribution.
Decorative pair of Chinese ceramic figures of children, Yunu and Jintong , late C20th
Price: £45
This is an amusing pair of ceramic figures depicting the two children Yunu and Jingtong, Taoist deities well known from Chinese mythology and traditional religion. They are represented with hands clasped and attached to their arms are coins or ‘cash’ (to use the Chinese word, later adopted into the European language), considered to be good luck symbols. Yunu and Jintong were the favoured servants of the Jade Emperor and the martial God Zhenwu. They acted as guides to the underworld but also became known as the paradigm of happily married couples; pictures of them are sometimes displayed during the Chinese Sprig Festival. There are accordingly many associations with good fortune here and these pairs of figures were doubtless sold as lucky charms in the later years of the twentieth century.
LOT 27
Wall Vase, designed by Noomi Backhausen, Søholm Stentøj, Denmark, late C20th
Estimate: £80 – 120
4d 8h 30m
£48.00
Trade+Aid Enamel Teapot, No.292.UK, 1990s
Price: £25
This is an intriguing enamel teapot, the rectangular body curving in towards the lid and with a loop handle and spout. It is brightly decorated in coloured enamels on a yellow ground with a large sheaf of sunflowers on each side. The base is marked ‘Trade+Aid’ ‘No.292.UK’ with three Chinese characters below. It comes from a range of teapots produced for ‘Charlotte di Vita Collections’ under the trading name ‘Trade+Aid’. These were hand crafted items using traditional techniques whose sale benefited charitable projects and initiatives worldwide. The various designs were usually limited editions and some are quite collectible today. The decoration on this piece is inspired by the famous painting ‘Sunflowers’ by Gustav Klimt making it one of the more interesting models produced.
Framed Chinese Embroidery Silk Textile, signed, second half C20th
Price: £45
A Chinese silk textile with an embroidered design of a phoenix standing on a rock at the edge of a river, flowering peony below and to the rear a prunus or plum blossom tree with bamboo. On the riverbank also stand a pair of cranes, ducks can be seen in the water and a pair of birds sitting on one of the prunus tree branches with another pair flying to the left. In the distance, the setting sun and at the top right a four character signature probably denoting the artist. There is a mixture of motifs here. The phoenix can denote the Empress, cranes represent long life, peony represents spring while prunus denotes winter. Ducks point to marital happiness and the flying magpies happiness and good luck, whereas the setting sun is often a metaphor for sadness and sorrow. Perhaps a deliberate contrast is intended here or perhaps the various motifs were simply chosen for their decorative elements. As with lots 2 and 3 in this sale, this is another excellent example of the genre and the frame provides a clearer indication of dating. The frame makers ‘Charles and Co’ had a business in Notting Hill, London in the post war years and the telephone number ‘PARk 6306’ indicates a date before 1966 when UK telephone numbers ceased to include letters.
Silver prayer beads with seventeen Beads, 20th century
Price: £75
This is a lovely set of prayer beads made from solid sterling silver. The 17 beads are heavy and have decoration at the ends. They are strung on a chain with aslider and tassel at the end. These are hallmarked, most likely with continental silver marks.
Victorian book chain with locket c1900
Price: £350
This is an outstanding example of a book chain with its locket. These types of necklaces were very popular during the Victorian period and each one has different ornate links ending in a central drop, as you see here. The link is a star link with silver balls attached. The locket has engraving and small silver balls around the edge to mirror the chain. The chain is very sturdy and is held together by two silver ring clasps.
Pair of Brass Wall Plaques of Jousting Knights, Peerage Brass, mid C20th
Price: £45
This is a decorative pair of wall plaques with two brass jousting knights on horseback in mirror image on a black background with a simulated wood grain effect. The decoration is in cast metal and the square metal sheet continues to the back where it is folded over at the edges on top of the hardboard backing. While there are no markings beyond ‘Made in England’ on the hanging loops, these pieces were, in fact manufactured by ‘Peerage Brass’ who produced many quality brass decorative items from 1946 onwards. There is one group where they are joined by a larger rectangular plaque with similar mediaeval inspired decoration and which has a label reading “Peerage” ‘Brassware at its Best’ ‘Regd’ ‘Needs no Cleaning’ ‘England’ (see image 7). Peerage Brass was the successor to ‘Pearson-Page’, manufacturers of high quality brass and copper reproductions who enjoyed considerable commercial success before the Second World War. The trade name ‘Peerage’ was first adopted in 1946 and this pair of plaques would have been produced in the years thereafter.
Set of four Petit Point needlepoint stitch framed floral Wall Hangings, mid C20th
Price: £45
This is a set of four needlepoint designs comprising colourful floral spays (peony and chrysanthemum) stitched onto canvas. The fine stitching here is a version of needlepoint termed ‘petit point’ because of the small size of stitches used. In general needlepoint designs are stitched onto fine canvas using a simple tent stitch, a small, diagonal stitch that crosses over the intersection of one horizontal and one vertical thread of the canvas forming a slanted stitch at a 45-degree angle. Petit point uses the same technique but with much finer stitching and thread on a much finer canvas often requiring magnification for the work to be carried out. It allows more intricate designs and shading effects as seen here on some of the petals and leaves. The petit point technique dates back to the seventeenth century and was particularly popular in France amongst the aristocracy in the early eighteenth century but its use has continued to the present day. This set is most likely English work, doubtless that of an accomplished amateur, and has to be dated by the frames on the assumption that they are contemporary. The use of hardboard at the back, so popular in England in the 1950s, suggests, then, a mid century dating but this set would happily grace a contemporary interior.
Townshend & Co : Butler’s Crumb Tray and Matching Brush, Birmingham c1900
Price: £75
This is a brass tray with a matching brush designed for the clearing of crumbs from the dining table. It might have been used by a butler, hence the apocryphal term, or possibly a maid or even by a member of the household depending on the grandeur of the establishment. The tray is unusually cast in the form of a pair of confronting sea serpents below a stylised openwork shell, the surface of the tray engraved to represent the scaly bodies of the beasts. The edge of the tray is scalloped and the curving design is repeated in the wooden brush which is decorated with an applied brass sea serpent complementing its companions on the tray. The back is stamped ‘Townshend & Co’ one of the marks used by the manufacturers, Townshend, whose premises were on Earnest St, Holloway Head, Birmingham and who made quality brass and copper art metalware for up-market retailers. (see www. oldcopper.org). This particular trademark was used from around 1890 until the beginning of the first world war after which demand for art metal ware seems to have declined. This fits with the design of the piece whose emphasis on organic forms reflects the productions of the art nouveau style so popular at the time. But while other crumb trays from the period are known, Townshend produced one of the most upmarket examples and this example, rarely a complete and matching set, probably began life in a very grand house indeed. A relic of the past perhaps but not without a practical function, even today!
Pewter and brass box and cover in the form of a Mallard Duck, Gatco, Hong Kong, 1960s
Price: £25
This is a novelty box and cover, possibly for pills or more likely trinkets made from pewter and brass in the form of a mallard duck. The details are simply but amusingly modelled with an effective contrast of the two metals used. The base, in common with other examples of this model, has an engraved mark comprising a reversed ‘3’ below an ‘8’. Other examples carry a gold ground paper label which reads ‘Made in Hong Kong’ and this is sometimes found elsewhere on brass items which also have a label for the firm ‘Gatco’, implying that this was the manufacturer here (see image 11). These amusing boxes were made in Hong Kong in the 1960s and retain their charm today.
Pair of Art Deco glass Vases with applied silver snakes, 1930s
Price: £95
This is a very unusual pair of glass vases with no obvious parallels. The shape is that of a slender beaker vase flaring out towards the base and neck. The black glass of the body has a narrow band of silvered decoration at the top and bottom and applied silver snakes are coiled around the centre, making an effective contrast. The clean lines of the pieces imply a dating to the Art Deco era and the decoration, with its reflection of Egyptian Revival, suggests manufacture in France but this is not certain. But whatever the provenance these vases are striking decorative accessories which could find a home in the most contemporary of interiors.
Indian wooden toy model of a Horse with metal fitments, early C20th
Price: £25
This is an amusing wood model of a horse, its right leg raised and the head looking expectantly forwards, the finely grained wood with metal fitments in brass and copper representing the ears, muzzle, saddle, saddle bags and tail, all with fine detailing and small nail fastenings. Many examples exist of these wood and metal horse figures which are usually held to have been made in India at Jodphur, Rajastan, in the early C20th. Presumably more intended for the local colonial audience these pieces have an obvious and wider appeal. The smaller sizes were probably intended as toys and perhaps the original owner of this piece played with it a little too vigorously which might explain the damage to the right front leg!
Set of Three Celluloid Figures of Monks, Japanese, first half C20th
Price: £45
This is an amusing group of three Japanese celluloid figures representing young boys dressed as monks. Each wears a patterned coat with complementary trousers and boots, the coloured details carefully picked out. Their poses resemble those of the celebrated three wise monkeys ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ which is a humorous combination with their apparently spiritual role. Celluloid, often known as the first plastic, was used for the manufacture of accessories and collectibles from the late nineteenth century to the 1940s and can be regarded as a cheaper alternative to bone or ivory. The Japanese produced many pieces in the material, other examples of which can be seen elsewhere on this site, but this small group, probably dating to the 1930s, is a particularly charming example.
Tubular Onyx Box and Cover, 1960s
Price: £35
A box and cover of tubular form, the circular body with a flush fitting flat lid, the onyx stone with typical veining and striation in shades of amber and brown. Onyx is named from the Greek 'ónux', meaning “nail,” or “claw,” and is a variety of the mineral chalcedony, a kind of quartz. Onyx with flesh-coloured and white bands can sometimes resemble a fingernail and similar effects can be seen here. Its use is known since ancient Egyptian times and it has also been commonly employed during the twentieth century. Similar pieces are usually attributed to Italian makers with a mid twentieth century dating. The clean lines of this piece are certainly consistent with that and it combines elegance with practicality.
Rectangular Green Onyx Box and Cover, 1960s
Price: £35
Rectangular Green Onyx Box and Cover, 1960s
A box and cover of rectangular form constructed from joined sections of green veined onyx, the lid with a gilt metal hinge. Onyx is named from the Greek 'ónux', meaning “nail,” or “claw,” and is a variety of the mineral chalcedony, a kind of quartz. Onyx with flesh-coloured and white bands can sometimes resemble a fingernail which explains the name but is obviously not in evidence here. These boxes are usually attributed to Italian makers with a mid twentieth century dating which seems reasonable here.
LOT 18
Falcon Ware Jardiniere decorated Mallard Duck and Foliage, 1930s
Estimate: £50 – 80
4d 8h 12m
£0.00
Renaissance Revival Brass Desk Set, English c 1900
Price: £55
A brass desk set, comprising an inkwell and a pair of candlesticks, all with square bases and short feet, the inkwell of pagoda like form with a hinged lid above a square surround, the candlesticks with urn like candle holders and loop handles again with a square surround, all with heavily cast decoration of floral scrolls and and mask heads. The solidity of the shapes here with an element of the architectural in the design and the style of the decoration which loosely recalls pieces from the classical period both reflect one of the design fashions of the late nineteenth century which looked back to and developed variants on renaissance art. The ‘renaissance revival’ style could be found in many areas of the arts including architecture and interior decoration. Accessories were also produced to match of which this desk set is an excellent example. The pieces are unmarked and the maker cannot be determined but the well known firm of William Tonks and Sons, whose 1890 catalogue still exists, produced many pieces in a similar style which allows the late nineteenth century dating here. This set is probably now rather more decorative than practical but would certainly add a touch of opulence to interior furnishings.
French Souvenir Verre Eglomise Box and Cover, Sacre Coeur de Montmatre, circa 1900
Price: £55
This box, and others like it, was probably made in France as a tourist souvenir in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Formed as a small casket, the base is of pressed brass with relief decoration and four small pad feet. The lid has a ‘verre eglomise’, or reverse painted glass, bevel edged panel set in a brass mount and the box is lined inside. Some of the decoration of the lid is probably transfer with other elements hand painted on the back of the glass in true ‘verre eglomise’ style. The scene depicted is the well known Basilica of Sacre Coeur situated on the top of Montmatre, one of the most frequently visited sites in Paris and therefore eminently suitable as the subject for a memento of the ‘great city’. This is the ‘Grand Tour’ style rather towards its end with cheaper materials and a more mechanical method of production but an authentic example of a period souvenir to tempt the traveller.