ICONIC LONDON STREET SIGNS FOCUS ON CLARET JUGS UK’S BEST COLUMNISTS
ANTIQUE
COLLECTING
FEBRUARY 2021
Military intelligence:
CAMPAIGN FURNITURE A blow-by-blow account
ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Plus:
VOL 55 N0. 8
BRIEF ENCOUNTERS COLLECTING UNDERWEAR
FEBRUARY 2021
KITCHENALIA WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
SILVER LINING
Discover the designs of Omar Ramsden
STUDIO POTTERY FOR LESS THAN £100
NATIONAL TREASURES
Lifting the lid on 8 of the UK’s finest pieces ALSO INSIDE Lockdown 3: latest news
• Focus on antique dining rooms •
Book offers
The Staffordshire Spring Fine Art Auction At Bishton Hall Entries invited until 28 February
Picture: Beki Whitehouse
Bishton Hall, a Georgian country house offering a period setting to showcase antiques 10 March: Curated Ceramics & Glass 11 March: The Kate Bliss Jewellery, Silver & Watches Auction 12 March: Fine Antiques & Decorative Arts 16 March: The Library Auction 17 March: Fine Pictures | The Cellar Auction For all enquiries, free valuations and consignments contact Charles Hanson T: 07725 514855 or 01283 733988 | E: charles@hansonsauctioneers.co.uk www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk | Bidding Platform www.hansonslive.co.uk
FIRST WORD
Welcome
Earlier this year, don’t ask me when, I came across a 1950s black-and-white photo of a line of smartly-dressed people queuing to receive a smallpox vaccination. I remember being struck by the joy and wonderment on their faces and thinking how odd it was. Because, even a year ago, vaccinations had seemed rather remote. I remember one for Rubella to prevent German measles when pregnant (which, aged 12, seemed incomprehensible). Then, aged 14, the even more mysterious ‘BCG’ jab, which, on Googling, I discover was for tuberculosis. So I simply couldn’t understand why this queue of men and women in the photo were so cock-a-hoop to roll up their sleeves for the waiting medical staff. Well, I certainly do now. Come the day my arm is offered up (and according to my online calculations there are 22,548,112 people in front of me) I, too, will be jubilant, cock-a-hoop and generally dizzy with excitement. Until that glorious day, however, we blunder on and try to make the best of it. Talking of which, we hope there is some light relief to be found in this month’s magazine. Despite the fact that most of the events in the magazine are ‘delayed due to Covid-19’ we can take this time to familiarise ourselves with as much antique know-how as we can. The crossword and quiz are back, on page 40, with last month’s winners to be found on page 11. On page 16 we have a guide to campaign furniture while, on page 36, we discover the pioneering female potters whose work can still be bought for less than £100. On page 46, Catherine Southon previews her upcoming sale of original London street signs, which she is selling on behalf of Westminster City Council (estimates start at £80) and, on page 29, Christina Trevanion raises a glass to an exceptional claret jug. Added to which, there is a guide to the changing style of antique chests, courtesy of David Harvey on page 30, and Lennox Cato reveals everything you need to know about dining room tables over on page 51.
IN THIS ISSUE
SEAN CLARKE
fights for campaign furniture to be better known, page 16
MIKKI TOWLER
reveals how to start collecting kitchenalia, page 24
CATHERINE SOUTHON
Enjoy the issue
puts 220 London street signs under the hammer, page 46
Georgina
Georgina Wroe, Editor
We love KEEP IN TOUCH
Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, or email magazine@accartbooks. com. Visit the website at www.antique-collecting.co.uk and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AntiqueMag
Antique Collecting subscription
This 1920s Dawn vase by Moorcroft on sale in Hansons’ fine art sale on February 24 with an estimate of £300-£400
LENNOX CATO
on everything you need to know about dining tables, page 51
The Team Editor: Georgina Wroe, georgina. wroe@accartbooks.com Online Editor: Richard Ginger, richard.ginger@accartbooks.com Design: Philp Design, james@philpdesign.co.uk Advertising: Georgina Wroe, georgina.wroe @accartbooks.com Subscriptions: Sue Slee 01394 389957, sue.slee@accartbooks.com
£38 for 10 issues annually, no refund is available. ISSN: 0003-584X
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 3
The Tony Hart Auction: 29 January Toys & Models: 24 February Entertainment & Memorabilia: 25 February Vintage Posters: 26 Feburary
Contents VOL 55 NO 8 FEBRUARY 2021
THIS MONTH
REGULARS 3 Editor’s Welcome: Georgina Wroe introduces this month’s issue 6 Antique News: With many events on hold, there is still a lot going on in the world of fine art and antiques 10 Profile: Behind the scenes with Louise Phillips, the British Antique Dealer Association’s (BADA) first female chair 11 Your Letters: A delve into the postbag brings a mystery object and memories of working for Worcester Porcelain
12 ICONIC LONDON STREET SIGNS FOCUS ON CLARET JUGS UK’S BEST COLUMNISTS
ANTIQUE
COLLECTING
FEBRUARY 2021
12 Around the Houses: Discover how a Chinese vase expected to sell for £700 made £1.1m 15 Market Report: Seasoned auctioneer Andrew Ewbank considers the ongoing effects of the pandemic on the industry
Military intelligence:
CAMPAIGN FURNITURE A blow-by-blow account
ANTIQUE COLLECTING VOL 55 N0. 8 FEBRUARY 2021
22 Focus On: The stunning designs of the arts and crafts silversmith Omar Ramsden are in the spotlight
Plus:
BRIEF ENCOUNTERS COLLECTING UNDERWEAR KITCHENALIA WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
SILVER LINING
Discover the designs of Omar Ramsden
STUDIO POTTERY FOR LESS THAN £100
NATIONAL TREASURES
Lifting the lid on 8 of the UK’s finest pieces ALSO INSIDE Lockdown 3: latest news
• Focus on antique dining rooms •
Book offers
COVER
Bird and flower wallpaper, China, c.1770 © National Trust Images, see feature on page 42
29 Lots of Love: Columnist and TV star Christina Trevanion raises a glass to an exquisite novelty claret jug
6
30 Waxing Lyrical: David Harvey considers the changing style of antique cabinets through the years
FOLLOW US @AntiqueMag
16
58
40 Puzzle Page: Forget about the lockdown with two pages of head scratching antiques quizzes 46 Saleroom Spotlight: Catherine Southon is set to put 220 iconic London street signs under the hammer this month 48 Cool and Collectable: Paul Fraser has the bottom line on collecting celebrity (and Royal) underwear 51 Without Reserve: Antiques Roadshow’s Lennox Cato reveals the potential pitfalls of buying an antique dining table
32
56 Book Offers: Save money on our latest selection of books
58 Top of the Lots: Original photographs from the band Queen go under the hammer this month in Surrey 60 Subscription Offer: Save money with our latest offer and receive a free book worth £65 61 Fairs Calendar: Limited by Covid-19, there are some fairs still on in February, but check with organisers before you set off 62 Auction Calendar: They may be online, but there are still plenty of sales taking place this month 66 Marc My Words: Antiques Roadshow’s Marc Allum wades into the debate on how old an object needs to be to qualify as an ‘antique’
FEATURES 16 Carry on Campaigning: Why furniture taken half way around the world two centuries ago is exciting collectors today 24 Changing Tastes: While today’s kitchens may be modern, there is a growing demand for vintage and antique kitchenware 32 Arthur’s Feat: Celebrating the work of Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo and the Century Guild and its influence on British art nouveau 36 Trail Glazers: Showcasing the pioneering work of 10 female potters, two of whom studied at Michael Cardew’s Abuja pottery school 42 National Treasures: With us all in lockdown, explore some of the National Trust’s most exceptional pieces from the comfort of your armchair 52 Natural Phenomenon: The work of the wildlife artist C. F. Tunnicliffe has never been more in demand, discover why with Holly Johnson
TO SUBSCRIBE PLEASE CALL OUR SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE ON 01394 389957 ANTIQUE COLLECTING 5
NEWS All the latest
Ox clever
Tudor coins from The New Forest, Hampshire © The Trustees of the British Museum
NEWS AND WHAT’S ON IN FEBRUARY
ANTIQUE news We may be back in lockdown, but there’s much to discover in the world of fine art and antiques
DIG FOR VICTORY While Covid-19 brought a raft of restrictions in 2020 it did see one unexpected boom. The ban on metal detecting in lockdown sent would-be treasure hunters into their gardens, resulting in a boost in garden finds. Discoveries included two significant coin hoards; a Roman furniture fitting with the face of the god Oceanus; and a medieval forgery of a bishop’s seal. The first lockdown saw 6,251 finds recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), including 64 gold and silver coins dating from Edward IV to Henry VIII, which were uncovered in Hampshire during a weeding session, and 50 South African Krugerrand gold coins found in a back garden in Milton Keynes. The announcement comes as the British Museum launched the PAS 2020 annual report detailing 81,602 public finds, with Norfolk yielding the most followed by Hampshire and Suffolk. Culture Minister, Caroline Dinenage,
6 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
said: “It is brilliant to see the scheme growing from strength to strength during lockdown thanks to garden discoveries and digital reporting. I’d like to thank every finder and Finds Liaison Officer whose commitment and hard work has kept the scheme running smoothly.”
Below South African
Krugerrand gold coins from Milton Keynes, 1970s, © courtesy of the British Museum’s PAS
February 12 heralds the start of the Chinese New Year of the Ox, one of the dozen animals in the zodiac which occur in a 12-year cycle. The association of animals with the Chinese calendar first appeared in the third century BC but became popular in the first century. They are, in sequence: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. In Asian art the ox is represented by the character niu and is especially associated with spring, ploughing and fertility. The Emperor Hongwu, founder of the Ming dynasty, known for his humble origins, was sometimes depicted by a picture of a boy riding an ox or water buffalo. People born in the Year of the Ox are considered strong, reliable, fair and conscientious with the ability to inspire confidence in others. Although they do not lose their temper easily their anger can become explosive. While they are serious and quiet to a point of dullness, they have a great deal of common sense.
Recent Years of the Ox include: 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 and 2021. Above A Tang dynasty (618–907) pottery ox
Far left King Henry
VII by unknown Netherlandish artist, 1505, oil on panel, © National Portrait Gallery, London
Left Henry VIII, studio of Hans Holbein the Younger, 16th century, oil on panel, © National Maritime Museum, London Above far right Dish showing a king hunting ibexes and gazelles, about 484-629 © The State Hermitage Museum, 2021/ photo by Alexander Koksharov Above right Armlet, 500-330 BC, from the Oxus Treasure, © V&A, London
1
Royal flush
The changing nature of royal portraiture over 500 years is in the spotlight at a new exhibition now on hold at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits, due to run from February 26, will now open later in the year due to Covid-19 restrictions. It will feature more than 150 works spanning the five royal dynasties: Tudors, Stuarts, Georgians, Victorians and Windsors. The Tudor dynasty saw the foundation of portrait painting in England, initially as a statement of wealth, power, continuity and tradition. The exhibition is especially relevant to Greenwich, which was the home of the principal Tudor palace (the birthplace of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I) and the Royal Observatory, founded by Charles II. Below Thomas Lawrence,
self-portrait, c.1787, oil on canvas, private collection. By kind permission of the owner
Above Thomas Lawrence (17691830) Arthur Atherley, 1791 © Holburne Museum
3
3
to see in
2021
2Persian missile
5,000 years of Iranian art and culture, due to go on show at the V&A this month, is expected to go ahead in March. Epic Iran, due to run from February 13 to August 30, celebrates the artistic achievements of one of the world’s greatest civilisations. The V&A has collected the art of Iran since it was founded more than 150 years ago and has one of the world’s leading collections from the medieval and modern periods. V&A director, Tristram Hunt, said: “This landmark exhibition will unite the ancient and Islamic study of Iran – often seen as two separate disciplines –alongside a powerful modern and contemporary section, allowing the Iranian people’s artistic achievements across millennia to be considered in their entirety.” 500 objects on show will include ceramics, carpets and textiles, as well as photography and film.
Above far left Anne Boleyn by unknown English artist, late 16th century, based on a work of c. 1533-1536, © National Portrait Gallery, London Above left Queen Victoria by Sir George Hayter, 1863, © National Portrait Gallery, London Right Bottle and bowl in
poetry in Persian, 11801220, © V&A, London
Prodigious talent
The early years of one of Britain’s greatest portrait painters are celebrated at an Covid-19 delayed exhibition due to open in Bath this month. Thomas Lawrence: Coming of Age at the Holburne Museum, planned to run from February 8 to May 3, is now set to take place in May. It will showcase the prodigious ability of the artist who, when he arrived in Bath in 1780 aged 11, was considered as talented as Raphael, Dürer and Michelangelo. The exhibition focusses on his output between the ages of 10 and 22, featuring works in pencil, pastel and oil, several of which have been rarely seen in public. Lawrence demonstrated an aptitude for sketching at the age of four and had begun producing saleable work aged six.
Above Thomas Lawrence, Unknown Girl, 1790, private lender
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 7
mour, by ada n een
red ection een
NEWS All the latest SHINING A LIGHT Antiquity lovers can see an important Dark Age mosaic this month when the newly-revealed design at the Roman villa at Chedworth in Gloucestershire reopens later this year. The discovery, of ‘enormous significance’, has demonstrated how people continued to live in luxury mansions – decades after Britain ceased to be part of the Roman Empire. Radiocarbon dating put the mosaic in the mid5th century, long after villas like Chedworth, one of the largest known Roman villas in the country, were thought to have been abandoned. Charcoal and bone sealed within a foundation trench in the north range of the villa revealed the wall could not have been built until after AD 424, meaning the mosaic must be later. Mosaic expert, Dr Stephen Cosh, said: “It will be important to research further sites in the region to see whether we can demonstrate a similar refurbishment in the 5th century. But there is no question that this find is of enormous significance.” For more details go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk Below The 5th-century
mosaic at Chedworth Roman Villa, credit National Trust Images/Mike Calnan
Coming up trumps A set of 52 playing cards reimagined by a host of contemporary artists, raised £32,000 for an international kidney transplant charity. Baroness Floella Benjamin, patron of Transplant Links Community, asked 54 leading artists, including Grayson Perry, David Mach and Frank Bowling, to come up with a card design – while also producing one herself.
Enduring spirit
Above left Grayson Perry with The Queen of Diamonds. Estimated at £100, it made £5,200 at the charity sale
Below left Petty officers Edgar Evans and Tom Crean mending sleeping bags, May 1911
An 11ft sledge and flag from Shackleton’s ‘Nimrod’ Below right The new gin celebrates an unsung hero expedition to the South Pole has been bought by the National Maritime Museum and the Scott Polar Research Institute for £204,000. The 1907-1909 mission was famous for being the first to reach within 100 miles of the pole, locating the South Magnetic Pole and scaling the active volcano Mount Erebus. Meanwhile an unsung hero of Shackleton’s later Endurance expedition (1914-1917) is celebrated in a Below The sledge from Shackleton’s British Antarctic new gin, launched by the great nephew of Tom Crean Expedition, credit Bonhams who was the dog trainer on the arduous mission. Sean Crean said of the drink, aptly called Pioneer. “I wanted to honour Tom’s great achievements.”
Quick fire questions with... Steve Sly from Steve Sly Japanese Works of Art, who last year co-founded the online antiques platform 2Covet, which reported a 293 per cent increase in business in 2020
Why launch another online platform?
With my co-founder (Charles Wallrock from Wick Antiques) we spotted a gap in the market following the sudden closure of a premium platform, coupled with the poor performance of other platforms. So we set out to fill that void and provide the industry with a valuable and much-needed platform.
What makes it different from other online antiques selling platforms?
The fundamental difference from other premium online marketplaces is that it doesn’t impinge on the dealers’ margins by charging huge commissions. So dealers don’t over inflate prices leading to better value.
8 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
While they were all given a charitably low estimate of just £100, many achieved four figure sums: with £10,700 raised by Perry’s two images of the queen of diamonds, £3,600 for Frank Bowling’s Ace of Spades and £3,300 for George Underwood’s King of Clubs. The money raised at the sale, held by Surrey-based Ewbank’s, which waived its fee, will benefit local transplant teams across the globe from Barbados to Nepal.
As long-time dealers you don’t typify techsavvy entrepreneurs...
Ha! As dealers in our 50s and 60s we are not at all tech savvy, but our fellow director Zara Rowe has the experience to drive the platform to the levels demanded by 21st-century shoppers.
Will collectors ever shop as we did pre-Covid?
I don’t believe Covid will change the way we buy antiques forever, but I believe it has speeded up the inevitable demise of the weaker events and bricksand-mortar premises. We hope fairs will return because ours is a very sociable business and there is nothing that can replicate the hands-on experience.
What items are people looking for?
Silver and jewellery were popular over Christmas, and desks and home office-related items are selling well. But overall there is a trend for sourcing higherquality items. It is apparent that buying the best of anything makes us feel good, and usually bears fruit when it is time to sell the item on.
For more details go to www.2covet.com
Fair trade
HEART OF GLASS A Scottish auction has launched a biannual auction specialising in the work of René Lalique (1860-1945) overseen by its new specialist in decorative arts, Joy McCall. The specialist sales, the first of which takes place this spring, celebrates the work of the master glass-maker who, after a career as highlyacclaimed art nouveau jeweller turned his creative energy to glass. Joy joined Edinburgh-based Lyon and Turnbull after working in Bonhams before spending 16 years at Christie’s as the head of decorative art and design where she gained an international reputation for her expertise in arts and crafts, art nouveau and René Lalique. She holds many world records, including the highest-selling Scottish work of art at auction with Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh’s 1902 gesso panel The White Rose and The Red Rose that realised £1.7m in 2008. She said: “The auctions will provide an opportunity both to sell and to buy pieces by Lalique, a brand synonymous with luxury and quality. Sales will include vases, bowls, table wares, car mascots, paperweights, lighting, mirrors, jewellery, scent bottles, boxes, furniture, and much more.” The auction house welcomed two other new faces in late 2020: Sarah Fergusson became its new head of watches and Katherine Wright joined the company as a European ceramics and glass specialist. Top A Sauterelles vase by René Lalique (1860-1945) Above Lyon and Turnbull’s new expert Joy McCall
Right One of a pair of tole
A Covid-blighted popular London fair has teamed up with Bonhams to present an online auction which closes this month. The Battersea Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair, usually held in the famous London park three times a year, is a must visit for collectors, antique lovers and interior designers. But, like many fairs in 2020, it was not able to take place with its winter edition showcasing 70 dealers online. Now, its first fair of 2021 will take the form of a 350-lot online sale, in collaboration with Bonhams, running from January 29 – the day the fair was due to open – to February 12. An organiser said: “As ever, the emphasis will be on a careful curation of unusual antiques and 20th-century design, works of art and objects, and cherished collectors items.”
chinoiserie-style lanterns consigned for the auction from David Bedale
Below The popular fair is
now taking the form of an online auction, image courtesy of Bonhams
•
The Northern Antiques Fair returns in 2021 (Covid-19 permitting) at the new venue of Tennants Auctioneers, Leyburn, North Yorkshire. The date for the next fair is due to be September 30 to October 3.
INTERNET PAWN There’s been a surge in online searches for chess sets sparked by the Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit, with a 273 per cent increase in the 10 days following the show’s release. Founder of the Antiques Boutique, Rob Watson, said: “We often see pop culture reflected in searches on our site, and have witnessed an increased interest in antique chess sets and boards.” Items searched for include a French boxed set for £795, and an Indian engraved chess table priced £3,200. Left The vintage boxed travelling chess set is back in vogue
Fit the bill A chance meeting at an antiques fair led to a costume jewellery dealer playing a central role in two Hollywood blockbusters. When Margaret Macon, from Jewels Past, met a production team member from the Murder on the Orient Express she was asked to supply jewellery for the 2017 hit film and, two years later, Death on the Nile. The Gloucester-based online retailer specialises in original, antique costume jewellery ranging from the art deco glamour of the 1920s to the glitzy 1950s. Among the pieces selected from a pop-up stand Margaret created on the film set were necklaces produced by the German designer Jakob Bengel, silver marcasite earrings, and 1920s Egyptian revival flapper necklaces.
Above Margaret’s jewellery was worn by stars including Penelope Cruz and Judi Dench Above right Egyptian revival jewellery was a shoe-in for Death on the Nile Below Authentic costume designs were greatly
sought after
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 9
BEHIND THE SCENES Louise Phillips
EXPERT
PROFILE LOUISE PHILLIPS
Period oak specialist Louise Phillips, owner of North Yorkshire-based Elaine Phillips Antiques, is the recentlyappointed chairman of the British Antiques and Dealers Association (BADA) – the first woman in its 103-year history to hold the position What was the first antique you ever acquired? In 1979, I bought a 19th-century Yorkshire pottery bird whistle from Charles Lumb & Sons in Harrogate. Charles’ son, Reginald Lumb, introduced me to all sorts of fascinating collecting areas when I was a teenager – writing to me in the most beautiful copperplate script. He sent me a book about Blue John that I still have sitting on the shelves behind me in my office together with his letters.
Why, and when, did you start in the business? My mother, Elaine, started Elaine Phillips Antiques in Harrogate in the late 1960s. In the early ‘80s, I was working in Savile Row in London as a fashion PR when I decided I would only be truly happy in a career as a dealer. I begged my mother to allow me to join the business. She warned me there was no future in antiques for someone my age but, in 1985, finally relented. We moved the business to Leyburn in 2019.
Who influenced you most when you started? My parents – my father had been a successful fashion designer but, as my mother’s antiques business flourished, he gave his career up and joined her. They had always collected early oak furniture and early decorative objects so, as I was growing up I absorbed this passion surrounded by the most wonderful pieces. It wasn’t easy working with your parents, but we only argued once a day.
What piece would you still most like to find? The 17th-century oak credence table I underbid on at a sale in the south of England in the late 1980s. I was not long in the business and didn’t have the confidence on the day to keep bidding.
10 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Right Louise keeps the table as a reminder to look before you buy Below Essential
supplies: Kendal mint cake
Best buy and biggest mistake? For my biggest mistake: see above. My first buying mistake was when early on my mother sent me on the road with £250 of my own money. When I proudly returned with a gateleg table, my mother took one look and said: “If that’s the best you can buy you better go back to London.” I was devastated. It turned out the table had a new leg with a completely different turning from the others. I still have the table to remind me to look at everything before I buy. My best buy was an incorrectly catalogued 17th-century oak refectory table, which I bought after a last-minute, 300-mile trip to Scotland – the profit paid for a holiday.
What do you most like, and dislike, about today’s antiques business? The thrill of finding a wonderful piece. And my dealer friends. On the downside, I don’t like people who buy items without passion or empathy.
What is your essential reference book? A series of pamphlet type books by Anthony Wells-Cole of Temple Newsam Museum, Leeds, on documented regional oak furniture.
What is your favourite non-antiques activity? Mountain walking in Mallorca, it is spectacularly beautiful and clears the mind. I’ve ended up in a few hairy situations route finding, which went a bit awry with no torch or Kendal mint cake! Anyone interested in joining BADA Friends, which runs a number of antiques and fine arts-related events annually, should email anne@bada.org or go to www.bada.org/friends. The annual fee is £60 for a double and £30 for a single membership.
‘My best buy was a 17th-century oak refectory table incorrectly catalogued, which I spotted late in the evening about 20 years ago – the problem was that the sale was the next morning, 300 miles away in Scotland’
LETTERS Have your say
Your Letters
This month’s delve into the postbag reveals a love of Worcester porcelain and praise for Drew Pritchard
Our star letter
receives a copy of Bulgari Treasures of Rome by Vincent Meylan worth £55. Write to us at Antique Collecting, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD or email magazine@ accartbooks.com
Right A rare Worcester cream jug, c. 17521753, from last month’s article Left Drew Pritchard is a guilty pleasure Below right Does anyone
recognise the sporting medal?
While we have all had our guilty pleasures in lockdown, mine was Salvage Hunters with Drew Pritchard. In fact, it was watching his quest to track down the perfect piece that inspired me to subscribe to the magazine. So I was delighted to see him ‘profiled’ in my first issue. What a great insight into the great man. And now we are back in lockdown, I can watch even more. S. Brownlow, by email While I wholly concur with the sentiment expressed by one of your readers of the ‘greenness’ of antiques, as one of a couple with more than half a century of collecting behind us, we would say that almost every purchase is, above all, a celebration of the skills and abilities, artistry and vision of craftsmen and women over the centuries. From the simplest teaspoon, whether provincial silver or carved from wood as a love token, to the most ornate Chippendale sideboard filled with Worcester porcelain, the pieces being collected from every age have a story to tell us if we will just look and listen and enjoy. Name withheld, by email
Be part of the conversation on Twitter and Instagram @antiquemag
I was excited when I read the Star article about the sale of le tter Worcester porcelain (Saleroom Spotlight December/ January issue). I was employed by Royal Worcester as a visitors’ guide for five years in the 1960s. I loved it! To see such beautiful items being made was marvellous, and to see similar pieces in the article was a real thrill for me. Sadly, Worcester, like so many things, no longer fetches as much as it used to. I also had the luck, too, to be at the Worcester factory when Henry Sandon was at the museum. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Jane Fisher (Mrs), Abbots Langley, Herts
I am researching the history of a sporting medal and wondered if any of your subscribers might be able to help? The medal in question was given to me in 1970 by Sir Stanley Matthews who told me it was given to him by the Queen, following either a UK or international game. It may be the latter because it is stamped on the back ‘Bertoni Milano’. Stanley Matthews played against Italy on three occasions, in 1934 at Highbury, London; 1948 in Turin; and on Saturday May 13, 1939, at San Siro, Milan. If anyone knows anything further I would be very grateful. Salvatore Paris, Malta, by email
Answers to the quiz on page 41
1. B 2. A 3. B 4. D 5. C 6. D 7. B 8. B 9. C 10. A SOB NOT! = Boston (rocker) (c) RARE ICING = rice grain (d) SEEN, I ERR = Riesener (Jean-Henri) (a) MAN’S OWN = snowman (b)
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 11
AUCTION Round up
AROUND the HOUSES Antiques large and small caught buyers’ attentions at the start of 2021
The Defence of Rorke’s Drift, 1880, by Lady Butler (1846-1933)
ROSEBERYS, LONDON
The luxury brand A Louis Vuitton suitcase and small continues to sell trunk, both covered in the trademark LV well, especially in monogrammed fabric, topped the auction good condition house’s recent sale, when the pair hammered for £9,375 – nine times its low estimate. Bound in leather and brass, the smaller trunk contained three riding hats, a pith helmet and a Louis Vuitton monogram canvas hat box. Despite the lockdown, larger pieces have also fared well as witnessed by the sale of 16 mahogany Regency dining chairs, estimated to make £2,500 - £4,000, which hammered at £6,875 at the same sale.
The elegant Regency chairs came in a set of 16
BONHAMS, KNIGHTSBRIDGE
––
A 40-page handwritten account of the battle of Rorke’s Drift by Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, portrayed by Stanley Baxter in the film Zulu, sold for £175,500 at the London auction house – more than 10 times its estimate. In the battle, on January 22, 1879, 141 British soldiers defended the station against 4,000 Zulu warriors. Chard wrote: “As darkness came on we were completely surrounded”. By the following morning, 370 Zulu warriors had been killed with 15 British losses. The Zulus retreated, a The handwritten decision attributed as respect for the manuscript sold for courage of their opponents. more than 10 times its estimate
BISHOP AND MILLER, STOWMARKET A George I burr walnut cabinet on chest, was one of the Suffolk auction house’s star lots when it sold for £4,400. The cabinet Its elegant cabinet doors open on chest proved to reveal 11 drawers with a central popular in the cupboard housing three more. Many Suffolk saleroom 18th-century chest on chests, like this example, boasted elegant bracket feet.
The piece had both peardrop and bail handles
12
ANTIQUE COLLECTING
H&H AUCTIONS A children’s pedal car, which retailed for £20 The Austin and was built by disabled Welsh miners, J40 pedal car sold fetched £3,220 at the car specialist’s recent for £3,220 sale – almost double its low estimate. Fondly known as the ‘joycar’ or ‘Junior Austin’, almost 32,000 of the J40s were produced from 1950 to 1971. The intricate models were the brainchild of Sir Leonard Lord who came up with the idea of a factory which could employ ex-miners suffering from pneumoconiosis to build Austin pedal cars. They were sold in Austin showrooms for £20 – a considerable price at the time.
JOHN NICHOLSON’S, FERNHURST It was a shock result in the Surrey saleroom when a fruit bowl catalogued as ‘possibly The Maori’ and estimated to 22cm food bowl make £20-£30, sold for £26,000. made more than 100 It is not the first time the auction house times its pre-sale has been surprised by the booming market estimate for Oceanic art. In 2017, a Maori putorino or bugle flute, estimated at £50-100, sold to a French dealer for £140,000. The most recent piece, a 22cm food bowl, went to a buyer in Canada.
SWORDERS, STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET A 5cm George III silver bougie box sold mid estimate for £350 at the Essex auction house’s recent sale. Made with the maker’s mark of Robert Hennell I, London, 1790, the box – named after the French word for candle – was used for heating sealing wax. At the same sale an oil painting by the East Anglian marine and landscape artist John Sell Cotman (1782-1842), expected A bougie to make box was named £3,000, sold after the Algerian for £14,200. port which traded in wax
The work was titled A river landscape with an angler and his dog near a bridge
A German double-bay fronted town house attributed to Christian Hacker
A Tudor mansion manufactured by Tri-Ang for Hamleys sold for £500
ANDERSON AND GARLAND, NEWCASTLE 25 doll's houses from a The private collection were a miniature atlas, highlight at the auction house’s recent sale. made by Edward They belonged to Catherine ‘Kit’ Hewitt Stanford Ltd., sold who furnished the miniature rooms with for £140 a creative eccentricity. One even housed a miniature atlas of the British Empire by Edward Stanford Ltd, which measures 42 x 32mm. Anderson and Garland’s John Anderson, said: “It was a privilege to be able to see each doll's house up close.”
SOTHEBY’S, LONDON A rare miniature dinner service commissioned in 1922 as a gift to HM Queen Mary for the world’s most famous doll's house at Windsor Castle, sold for £37,800 at the London auctioneer’s online sale. Considered “the largest, most beautiful and most famous doll's house in the world”, the 5ft-tall The 76-piece house with working electricity, service was made silver bath taps and flushing lavatories, was for the Windsor designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the 1920s. Castle doll’s house More than 1,500 craftspeople were employed Every to create 600 miniature piece was stamped for the books, 774 replica artworks and a wine London tableware cellar complete with real wine and spirits. maker
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 13
AUCTION Round up HALLS, SHREWSBURY
The set had an estimate of £40,000-£60,000
EAST BRISTOL AUCTIONS
The spoons and fork were used by Gandhi during his imprisonment
Two spoons, a fork and a battered metal bowl used by Mahatma Gandhi (18691948) during his incarceration failed to meet its reserve at the auction house’s recent sale. The metal bowl, two spoons and a fork, which had a pre-sale estmate of £40,000-£60,000, had been used by the father of Indian independence after British colonial rulers confined him to the Aga Kahn Palace during WWII. He was imprisoned from 1942 until 1944 – during which time his wife died – and after his release went to stay with a friend called Sumati Morarjee, who later sold the bowl and cutlery to the current vendor. Gandhi famously renounced all worldly possessions, wearing only a simple cotton dhoti (loincloth). The same Bristol-based seller offered a pair of Gandhi’s glasses last year, which sold at auction for £260,000 – 26 times their asking price.
The elegant single stone diamond ring sold well
A complete art deco dining suite, including a cocktail cabinet, more than doubled its low estimate when it sold for £5,000 at the Shropshirebased auctioneers. The Made in walnut, the set was set, dated to 1935, was in the manner of in the manner the furniture of Harry and Lou Epstein who, of Harry and Lou as H&L Epstein, became known for their Epstein superb art deco furniture much of it based on the avant-garde designs exhibited by French makers at the Paris 1925 Art Deco exhibition. Harry Epstein’s pieces for the Cloud dining and lounge suites, included boat-based tables and cabinets.
SHEPPARD'S, IRELAND A celadon vase expected to The sell for just �800 (£700) set a vase had new record for Chinese art been expected to in Ireland when it sold for make £700 but sold for a record�1.2m (£1.1m) at the County breaking £1.1m Laois auction house. The 52cm piece, which was catalogued simply as “Chinese celadon vase of amphora form decorated with scroll handles, seal mark to base” had a Yongzheng (1722-35) six-character mark. Only a handful of vases of this size, form and glaze are known. Its ‘doubledragon’ form copies Tang dynasty pottery prototypes, while the bluish-green glaze stretches back to the Longquan celadon wares of the Song.
GORRINGE'S, LEWES Jewellery, such as this emerald and diamond necklace, has shone in lockdown
FELLOWS, BIRMINGHAM A mid 20th-century platinum and 18ct gold and diamond ring more than doubled its estimate to sell for £2,800 at the Midlands auctioneer’s recent sale. At a previous auction, an emerald and brilliant-cut diamond necklace fetched £5,800 against a low estimate of £2,500, confirming the vibrant market for jewellery during lockdown, particularly in the run up to Christmas.
14 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
An American ‘Classic Head’ one-cent coin dating to 1810, discovered in an envelope of loose change and expected to make £300, sold for £20,000 at the East Sussex auction house’s sale on January 4. While 1820 dated ‘Classic Head’ cents are not uncommon, high-grade coins of any date in this Lady short-lived series remain scarce. Liberty’s head is surrounded The key to the high price, according to by 13 stars Gorringes’ coins and medals expert, Dan of the original Bray, was its virtually uncirculated condition. US colonies According to coin auction records fewer than 15 examples of the 1810 coin in equal or better condition have appeared for sale in the last decade.
Classic Head cents are exceptionally rare in mint condition
EXPERT COMMENT Antiques today MARKET REPORT
Antiques today With the end of printed catalogues, slower sales with higher sell-through rates and a new generation of bidders (not to mention Brexit), 2021 promises busy times ahead, writes auctioneer Andrew Ewbank
W
hile the general picture in the country remains gloomy (we haven’t had a bidder in the room since March), the upcoming year looks bright – largely thanks to last year’s phenomenon of bidding transferring online like never before. Recent months have been tough in many ways: fewer consignments due to curtailed house visits, and heart-breaking decisions over staff numbers, but 2020 saw an astonishing learning curve, with the cultural development of auctions leaping forward by at least a decade in just a few weeks. The lockdowns fuelled a huge growth in new customers, but a significant number of online bidders had never bought at auction before (especially those from the Midlands,
north of England and Scotland) and with this came a greater number of payment defaults when bidders, caught up in the thrill of the sale, failed to understand the fee structure on top of the hammer price. Clearly more clarity and education is now needed to explain the bidding process. Also selling live and online tends to be slower, with more bidders competing for each lot and auctioneers on the rostrum having to take extra care not to bring the hammer down prematurely. Sales which used to complete 80 lots an hour are now down to 50, or even 40. But new buyers, attracted by entertainment and sporting memorabilia auctions, have helped see online visitors rise by a quarter, boosted by strong private buying.
PRINTED CATALOGUES With advances in technology and more business transacted online, the cost and effectiveness of producing printed catalogues has to be considered. The furniture retailer Ikea, for one, has gone from producing massive paper catalogues to an online-only approach. Happily, it’s also in tune with environmental concerns. We also anticipate disruption between auctioneers’ own bidding platforms and the commercial portals that stand alongside them. Savvy bidders are naturally turning away from a site which charges up to six per cent on top of the auctioneer’s VATinclusive buyer’s premium, in favour of an
auctioneer’s own platform, which, in our case, regularly attracts bidders from more than 50 countries. 2021 will also see the growing importance of ethical standards, with buyers looking to auctioneers which are members of professional bodies such as the Society of Fine Art Valuers and Auctioneers (SOFAA). There’s an old saying in this industry that every sale should be viewed as a potential future consignment. If you want to achieve that, then you need to build client loyalty, and you will only do that if you look after your customers.
NEW LEGISLATION Despite the Brexit deal the picture on compliance is still far from clear when it comes to customs declarations and other fulfilment challenges. What we do know is that they will be more complex and, as a result, we have brought shipping expertise in-house to facilitate easier delivery to European buyers, as well as reassuring UK consignors. Having said that, our largest overseas market remains the US and Canada (combined), then Europe (including the EU), followed by China. We are already dealing with more buyers on Third Country terms, so we anticipate a relatively smooth transition for EU clients. The other major change, due to come into force in 2021, is the new anti-money laundering regulation. While this only affects very high-end transactions, we still need to have the protocols and training in place, which is time-consuming and expensive. Andrew Ewbank is a partner at Surreybased Ewbank’s Auctions. Started by his father Chris, it celebrated 30 years in business in 2020. For more details go to www.ewbankauctions.co.uk Above left Will 2021 see the end of printed catalogues? Below New online bidders boomed in 2020
‘Historically, we have been used to getting through about 80 lots an hour. That’s down to 50, or even 40. It means that sales can take a great deal longer, but you simply have to give people the time to bid’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 15
COLLECTING GUIDES Campaign furniture
Left A mahogany secretaire campaign chest by S W Silver & Co
Carry on
CAMPAIGNING Designed to withstand the rigours of travel and battle at the height of the British Empire, campaign furniture remains in demand today for its flexibility, history and pared-back style 16 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above A mahogany, portable camp stool by Charles Green of London. Priced £650 at Christopher Clarke Antiques Below The underside of the
two-part, hinged seat of the stool has recesses to fit the four legs once removed
W
Left A rosewood davenport. The original design was conceived by Gillows as a piece of portable furniture for Captain Davenport. Priced £3,650 at Christopher Clarke Antiques
hen an officer and gentleman in the Georgian and Victorian era took up an overseas commission for some remote quarter of the sprawling British Empire, he prepared to leave behind the sumptuous comforts of the family stately pile or elegant urban townhouse. However, rather than facing the prospect of roughing it ‘under canvas’ during the weeks or months of arduous journey to foreign climes, he set off with an inbred determination that, first and foremost, he remained a gentleman, and then, secondly, a soldier. It was an approach that saw these doughty imperialists take with them ingenious versions of the trappings and luxuries of their domestic settings, in the form of speciallydesigned, portable campaign furniture and a variety of other clever metamorphic objects. Similarly, any ladies bound for the colonies would require all manner of furniture, encompassing desks, sofas, beds and chests, all crafted by the leading makers of the day, including such luminaries as Thomas Chippendale and Sheraton, George Hepplewhite, William Ince and John Mayhew.
‘The Times reported in 1858 how Sir Colin Campbell’s various baggage ‘extended for eighteen miles, when it came down from Lucknow’’
IN DEMAND
Above A brass bound, mahogany, short drawer secretaire campaign chest by Gregory Kane of Dublin. Priced £3,950 at Christopher Clarke Antiques
By the Victorian period, with the Empire continuing to expand, so, too, did demand for campaign furniture. No longer limited to just aristocratic officers, items became increasingly affordable to the countless army of mid-level officers, district administrators and their families. It is estimated that more than 80 makers set up shop in the capital and the surrounding area to meet the burgeoning need. Furniture businesses and workshops such as the Army & Navy Co-operative Society Ltd., London, S.W.Silver & Co., Gregory Kane of Dublin and Ross & Co., produced all manner of furniture and fixtures to guarantee home-from-home comfort. Moreover, as the cabins on board the ocean-going ships that took travellers to their destinations were unfitted, it provided lucrative opportunities for cabin fitters to construct items needed for the journey.
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 17
COLLECTING GUIDES Campaign furniture necessarily translated into the materials used for their construction (often heavy mahogany and teak). The 19th-century scientist and travel writer Sir Francis Galton recounts in his The Art of Travel (1893) how ‘The luxuries and elegances practicable in tentlife are only limited by the means of transport’. As such, it wasn’t unknown for all manner of servants, horses, baggage camels and even elephants to be drafted in to the service of transporting items from camp to camp throughout a journey. There’s little doubt that they were needed, as The Times reported in 1858 how Sir Colin Campbell’s various baggage ‘extended for eighteen miles, when it came down from Lucknow’.
TRAVEL IN STYLE Such extensive lists of ‘essential’ travel items were less commonplace in the Georgian era, when acquiring good examples of campaign furniture was relatively costly, making it largely the preserve of the wealthy elite. The period also gave rise to some of the grandest pieces made, courtesy of cheap labour available in the colonies, coupled with the determination of designers to create new technological innovations, vying to craft furniture boasting ever more adjustable, movable and retractable parts. The writer Stanley Northcote-Bane recounts how ‘cabinets were often specially equipped with sliding, adjustable or disappearing mirrors; folding or swivelling candle brackets; specially equipped drawers for the toilet or for shaving; writing slides; adjustable reading flaps, etc’. Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director of 1762 boasts no less than six designs for beds constructed for the field. Similarly, in the early 19th century, Thomas Sheraton’s The Cabinet Dictionary of 1803 highlights how the designs also took into account the environment they would be used in: ‘Hence every article of an absolute necessary kind, must be made very portable, both for package, and that such utensils may not retard a rapid
FLAT PACK Centuries before the Swede Ingvar Kampard left behind farm life to find furniture success with Ikea, ‘flat-pack’ furniture had a well-established history. Some of the earliest historical incarnations include accounts that Julius Caesar carried parquets of wooden mosaics for his floors. However, it was the aristocratic Georgians, Victorians and, latterly, the Edwardians who popularised the campaign furniture that we recognise today. The various hallmarks and characteristics of this unique furniture genre range from protective brass plates on corners and edges, flush carrying handles, strapworks, hinged sections, X-shape legs, the relative lack of decorative ornamentation and, of course, the fact that it can be broken down or folded for transportation. However, the need for portability was not
Above left A mahogany secretaire campaign chest by S W Silver, with a full-length desk drawer. Priced £3,650 at Christopher Clarke Antiques Left A pair of bird’s eye maple, balloon back chairs that dismantle and fold down for transportation. Priced £750 at Christopher Clarke Antiques Right A mahogany
military secretaire twopart chest by makers S W Silver. Priced £3,750 at Christopher Clarke Antiques
18 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
FLEX APPEAL
movement, either after or from the enemy.’ Alongside these celebrated names, numerous other less-known makers, such as Thomas Butler, Morgan and Sanders (who were commissioned by Lord Nelson to create portable furniture for his cabin on HMS Victory), and William Pocock were also kept busy constructing campaign furniture that allowed their customers to clearly communicate their place in the social pecking order, wherever they were. One advertisement for a portable dining table proclaimed how it could ‘form an elegant Piece for Furniture for a Dining Room…And yet be made so portable as to go with the Baggage of a Regiment for the Officers’ Mess’.
TREASURED CHESTS Perhaps the item mostly closely associated with campaign furniture of the era is the chest of drawers. Their combination of practicality and flexibility made them extremely useful items both during the outbound journey and on eventual arrival. The most ubiquitous example is the two-part, brass bound chest. These
Today, collectors and buyers of campaign furniture can be drawn to the items for various reasons, from their pared-back designs, to the stories that can come attached to a particular piece. Some still retain the maker’s name and address labelled or stencilled to the furniture, or brass plaques bearing the original owner’s name and rank. With a little research, a vivid picture soon emerges to tell the life of the item and its owner. Other indicators of a chest’s history and construction can be revealed by the types of wood on the interiors, with oak and ash used by many British makers. Locks can also carry their maker’s mark and even reveal the period they were made with a ‘GR’ for the Georgian era and ‘VR’ for Victorian. However, due to their age and use, some of these components could have been replaced or repaired so are no longer original. Changes to modern warfare - especially the three-year Boer War starting in 1902 where the Boers demonstrated the effectiveness of speed of movement - signalled the demise of campaign furniture. However, its impact is seen in the works of later designers, such as Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chair, which was inspired by the ‘Roorkhee’ chair, used by British Army Engineers in India, alongside pieces by Knoll and the Conrad shop. And, not least of all, a certain Swedish global furniture brand.
Above A large, mahogany extending imperial dining table by Gillows. Priced £16,500 at Christopher Clarke Antiques Below left The chair folds into a bed, which would have had a hinged canopy to create a tent bed Below right A mahogany
chair bed design by London maker Thomas Butler, whose brass plaque is fixed to the front. Priced £4,450 at Christopher Clarke Antiques
were generally transported inside a wooden packing case, and could also be split into two equal parts, which made them convenient for transportation by horse or mule. Once again, it was the wealthy customers who demanded the most technologically ingenious and beautifully-designed articles. The Army and Navy Cooperative Society’s general price list of 1881 includes a ‘Chest of Calvary Drawers with escritoire, secret drawer, and back with shelves, looking glass and fittings’.
‘Any ladies bound for the colonies would require all manner of furniture, encompassing desks, sofas, beds and chests, all crafted by the leading makers of the day’
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 19
COLLECTING GUIDES Campaign furniture
Campaign Furniture
Q&A
Simon Clarke is a specialist in military campaign furniture and travel-related items, and runs Christopher Clarke Antiques in Stow-on-the Wold
QA
Describe campaign furniture? Furniture that has been designed in such a way to make it easier to transport. This could be by officers in the military, hence the name campaign, but also others traveling around the British Empire. References can be found worldwide going back to the earliest years of civilisation, though nowadays when referring to campaign furniture we think of items used by the British from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century.
QA
What are the common features? They needed to be easy to transport so you will find chest of drawers can be split in two, with removable feet. Chairs may fold flat or have removable legs and arms. Tables may also fold flat or have removable legs. Brass ferrules to the tops of legs will suggest they unscrew. From the 18th century into the early
19th century, pieces appear much like their domestic equivalent having handles and fashionable decorative features. The way they dismantle may be more disguised. As we move on into the 19th century, chests have brass corners and strapwork to protect them, screw-in feet and are more linear in shape. This type of 19thcentury military or campaign chest is the look people think of as campaign furniture.
QA
Which are the main makers? At the beginning of the 19th century, with the more Georgianlooking pieces, collectors look out for two firms based in Catherine Street, London: Thomas Butler and also Morgan & Sanders – both two of the main makers. Later in the century, the names of Ross & Co., Hill & Millard and S.W.Silver & Co., are sought after names, as well as pieces supplied by the Army & Navy Co-operative Society Ltd. However, there are also several other good makers whose work is desirable. Collectors also look to different regiments, wars, periods and countries such as the Crimea or the British in India.
Left A teak ‘Roorkhee’ chair, unusual for having a head rest. On sale at Christopher Clarke Antiques for £390 Right The chair breaks down into a
bag of sticks
20 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
QA
What dictates value? Primarily, the quality of construction, materials, and design. Also, clever, innovative design. These points will be further elevated by a good cabinetmaker and further still if there is a solid provenance to its owner and their importance. The better known they were the higher the price. Equally, if they fought in a particular battle, such as Waterloo or Trafalgar, value will increase. Condition and any restoration will also have a bearing.
QA
How do designs differ? In the second half of the 19th century, the main London makers all offered similar items with the opportunity to buy a complete outfit. Most examples of military chests of this period follow a formulaic design. The handles, brass corners and strapwork all look the same but, on further inspection, you will find they all differ slightly. To the trained eye minor design changes may indicate a particular maker. Some designers favoured certain drawer or strapwork configurations and many had a distinctive design for their screw-in feet. The other area of difference may be the design of a secretaire drawer, or where the maker has hidden a secret drawer (if there is one). These little idiosyncrasies set these makers apart. Overall quality will always set one piece over another.
QA
How do you establish provenance? This can be tricky, so to make a difference on price or collectability it needs to be solidly put together. Pieces may have a family legend that it belonged to so-and-so who was at whichever battle. This can very easily get muddled over time. Ideally, you have the piece’s packing case with the name and regiment of the owner – but make sure that the packing case belongs with the piece. Other items may have the owner’s name on the back boards. Some trunks or chests will have a brass plaque with whom it belonged to on it, or may have a shipping label with those details. Very occasionally you will see a painting or photograph of the owner next to the piece. Once you have the owner’s name you can research their history through relevant army lists, etc.
QA
How do you identify genuine pieces? Experience, as well as talking to and buying from a knowledgeable dealer. There are some pointers that may help the beginner: Firstly, how old is it? Many pieces were made later in the 20th century that look the part, but are not genuine. Secondly, has it been adapted to look like a
campaign piece? It could be a chest or desk that has had the handles replaced, and brass strapwork and carrying handles added. This could be a chest of drawers that is a single piece, not two halves, but still has its original bracket feet. Thirdly, look to see if it has been enhanced in any way. It may have had carrying handles added in the mistaken belief they belonged. Most British chests did not have handles to the sides as they were boxed in packing cases with handles for carrying. Also, be sure that if a piece of furniture has an owner’s or maker’s name it is original. We have seen spurious names added to enhance value. Campaign furniture can be a minefield, so tread carefully.
Right This chest, from the
second half of the 19th century, can be broken into two parts
Q A
What are the key things buyers should consider? Is the piece genuine and what it has been described as? Is its condition acceptable and has it had any restoration? Is it functional? You may think you have bought a bargain but then find that the drawers on a chest don’t open smoothly, the feet are missing and you have to spend the same amount again on restoration.
Q A
What ‘Holy Grail’ items would you love to acquire? I would love to find trade catalogues for some of the top makers as this would increase our knowledge and understanding. Regarding furniture, it would have to be a chest owned by Admiral Nelson. In fact, any piece of furniture he owned would do. Similarly any piece belonging to General Wolfe when he was in Quebec. Also on the wish-list would be a good 19th-century piece by a great maker with a good provenance. For me and many others handling something with a great provenance makes history come to life. When you have a piece (which we have had) you can prove had been at the Battle of Waterloo it is the most incredible feeling.
Q A
What’s the most ingenious piece you’ve owned? An 18th-century three-part Sheraton cylinder bureau bookcase on screwin legs. It was veneered all around in exotic timbers and made to the highest standard. It would have been unusual as a domestic piece, but as a campaign design incredibly rare.
QA
Which items are currently in demand? The iconic brass-bound campaign chest, as well as folding bookcases, pedestal desks and sets of chairs.
QA
Who is your favourite designer? Thomas Butler of Catherine Street in London for the following
‘A folding chair might be used by a soldier in Sudan and then be equally useful to take to a cricket match. Many of the designs are still in use today reasons. Before him there were designers, including Chippendale, Sheraton and Gillows, who were all instrumental in exploring designs of furniture that could be easily transported. While this signalled the start of campaign furniture, what Thomas Butler did was specialise in, and later advertise, designs and patents purely as travel furniture. He set the bar for the many that followed, including the better-known Morgan & Sanders (who worked for him), as well as other more famous makers. I would also mention another of our favourite makers, Ross & Co of Dublin, who not only produced a prolific amount of campaign furniture of the highest design and manufacture, but also – where possible – followed the latest fashions of the day.
QA
What is campaign furniture’s appeal? Brass strapwork and handles on mahogany or teak is a great look that many people like. A lot of campaign furniture is very linear in appearance with little decoration, which lends itself to both old or modern interiors. The trend for younger buyers is away from more traditional styles towards more minimalist settings that campaign furniture sits comfortably within, while having a great story to tell. It’s also easy to move
around while being much more desirable than modern badly- constructed, flat-pack alternatives with very little residual value once put together. Antiques are also greener than buying new furniture.
Q A
How does campaign furniture differ from tourist travel furniture? Mostly there are no great differences. Both 18th and 19th-century furniture would have fulfilled the same function for both military men or colonialists. Before the golden age of the ocean liner you would pay for an empty cabin on board ship and then have a cabin fitter provide you with furniture and the necessities to make your journey more comfortable whether you were in the military or a civilian. Victorian makers went on to market their portable furniture to the military and domestic markets. A folding chair a soldier might use in Sudan was equally useful at a cricket match. Many of the designs are still in use today.
Simon Clarke and his brother Sean took over the Gloucestershire-based business Christopher Clarke Antiques, founded in 1961 by their parents. For more details visit www.campaignfurniture.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 21
FOCUS ON Omar Ramsden PARTNERS IN SHINE
Shining STAR Works by silversmith Omar Ramsden are highly collectable, with pieces by the arts and crafts designer regularly selling for thousands
B
orn in Sheffield in 1873, Omar Ramsden’s relatively humble beginnings belied the glittering mark he was to leave on the silver industry and the arts and crafts movement. Ramsden’s father, Benjamin Woolhouse Ramsden, ran a silversmith business so from a young age his son was immersed in the craft. Following a brief period of emigration to America, the family returned to Sheffield where Ramsden was apprenticed to a firm of silversmiths in the city. He also enrolled in evening classes at the Sheffield School of Art, a leading centre for art and design.
22 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above Silver spoon in fitted case, by Omar Ramsden, priced £1,500, www.1stdibs.com Above right Arts & crafts sterling silver tazza by Omar Ramsden, 1926, priced £3,650, www.1stdibs.com Below left Omar Ramsden arts & crafts silver and enamel box, 1926, priced £11,075, www.1stdibs.com. Omar Ramsden caskets are very commercial. The most sought after being those with enamel decoration. The enamelling is often done by Jeanne Eteve, previously employed as Ramsden’s secretary
The classes allowed the budding designer to explore the history of art, becoming influenced by early Celtic compositions and the designs of the Tudors, which were to be recurring themes throughout his career. Ramsden also formed a friendship with fellow student, Alwyn C E Carr, with whom he was to enjoy a highly fertile professional collaboration. The pair both won scholarships to study full time at the school, and also undertook various trips to London and further afield into Europe, visiting numerous galleries and exhibitions.
MACE RACE Around this period, Ramsden won a competition arranged by the Duke of Norfolk to design a ceremonial mace for the city of Sheffield. Achieving such a prestigious commission immediately raised his profile in the design world and laid the foundations for his burgeoning career. While undertaking such an honourable and illustrious task for their home city, Ramsden and Carr took the somewhat surprising decision to set up a workshop far from Sheffield, settling in Stamford Bridge Studios in Chelsea, west London. Here, the pair could take advantage of the forward-thinking cultural milieu of the capital as they set about crafting the item that was eventually completed in 1899. The mace was an impressive expression of their combined skills, incorporating elements such as handbeaten silver, a resplendent royal crown, organic motifs including oak leaves and acorns, and the two coats of arms of Sheffield and the Duke of Norfolk. On the base was an inscription: Deo Adjuvante Labor Proficit (With God’s help our labour is successful), alongside another: Omar Ramsden and Alwyn C E Carr made me in the year of our Lord 1899.
ARTS & CRAFTS In the same period, Ramsden and Carr also produced other objects that demonstrated their design sympathy with the arts & crafts movement and its graceful and sinuous lines that draw inspiration from the natural world. Their pieces were soon in demand from a modern audience keen to shake off the strict sensibilities of the receding Victorian era. A move to a new studio and workshop, St Dunstan’s in Fulham, saw the enterprise continue to flourish, with numerous commissions from civil and various other organisations, alongside private clients. Throughout the period of their partnership, which lasted from 1898 to 1915, a wide range of silverware was produced, from smaller pieces of tableware such as spoons and wine coasters, to ornamental centrepieces and larger-scale ecclesiastical silver. The decoration of many of these objects showcased their predilection for designs of
IN DEMAND Demand for silverware by Omar Ramsden and CE Carr is currently robust, with prices at auction and in the marketplace reflecting its continuing appeal. A George V Omar Ramsden silver dish, sold at Elstob & Elstob for £1,700
earlier epochs, such as the medieval, Tudor and gothic periods, while fully embracing the arts and crafts ethos. Ramsden and Carr’s highly productive partnership continued up until WWI when the latter enlisted with the Artist’s Rifles and left for France. Ramsden remained in London, eventually heading a team of some 20 silversmiths at the workshop he continued to run until his death in 1939.
RAMSDEN MARKS The marks found on items made by Omar Ramsden reflect the two different periods of his creative output, both in partnership with Carr and then on his own. The first mark registered by the pair in February 1898 features the letters ‘RN & CR’. Despite the partnership effectively ending with Carr’s wartime service, the mark was last used in 1919. From 1917 until 1938, the year before Ramsden passed away, the firm’s registered silver mark was ‘O R’. Items produced during this time also mostly feature the Latin inscription: ‘Omar Ramsden Me Fecit’ (‘Omar Ramsden Made Me’). In order to achieve the greatest value, the marks on pieces of Omar Ramsden silverware need to be in perfect condition and clearly defined.
Above left A pair of
Omar Ramsden arts & crafts sterling silver ewers, priced £15,500, www.1stdibs.com Above A pair of arts & crafts sterling silver candlesticks by Omar Ramsden, priced £6,275, www.1stdibs.com Below left Examples of Omar Ramsden’s mark, including the inscription Omar Ramsden Me Fecit (Omar Ramsden Made Me), image courtesy of AC Silver
Did you know? In the aftermath of WWI, Ramsden created various war memorials for sites across the UK. These include memorials to members of the London hop trade (adjacent to the Southwark war memorial); the Mayfield war memorial in East Sussex and a bronze of St George and the Dragon, depicted on the memorial at Sandwich in Kent.
‘Ramsden and Carr also produced objects that demonstrated their design sympathy with the arts and crafts movement, with graceful and sinuous lines that draw inspiration from the natural world’
At Yorkshire auctioneers Elstob & Elstob, a George V silver dish hallmarked 1921 in a planished navette shape with pierced foliate berry ends sold for £1,700. Auctioneer David Elstob commented: “Demand is there for Ramsden, we have sold a number of pieces during the last 18 months and rarely fail.”
The sauceboats were possibly part of a full dinner service, which sold at Tennants Auctioneers
Elsewhere, a pair of George V silver sauceboats marked London 1912 sold at Tennants Auctioneers’ jewellery watches and silver sale last March for £1,200. The sauceboats were possibly part of a service commissioned between 1906 and 1922 by Martin de German-Ribon OBE. Perhaps some of the most sought-after, entry-level items crafted by Ramsden are his spoons. These are large in number, with caddy spoons being particularly popular with collectors. Typically, Ramsden caddy spoons feature a Celtic-style knop which can be set with cabochons. While prices for a single arts & crafts spoon by Ramsden start at around £200£300, this can rise to £3,000 for a caddy spoon in perfect condition.
Above Of all the spoons made by Ramsden the caddy spoon is the most sought after, image courtesy of 1st Dibs
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 23
COLLECTING GUIDES Kitchenalia
Changing
TASTES
Kitchenalia collectors can be inspired by a new online exhibition this month shining a light on life below stairs at one of Britain’s most magnificent stately homes
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display highlighting the kitchens of the 19th-century Waddesdon Manor, in Buckinghamshire, built at the end of the century by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the style of a 16th-century French château, will reveal much about the below-stairs lives of staff who worked hard to create sumptuous feasts for visitors. The catalyst for the exhibition History of the Manor Kitchen is a grainy, black and white photograph of seven kitchen staff, taken around 1900, capturing them standing along the substantial island table, which having undergone restoration remains in situ.
24 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Waddesdon Manor’s head archivist, Catherine Taylor, said: “We don’t know for certain who the staff in the photograph are, but I’m fairly certain that Alice de Rothschild’s chef at the time the photo was taken was M. Bonnar, who died in 1915 in a car accident while in Brighton, where Miss Alice was spending the war.” However, house records, while incomplete, still offer a tantalising glimpse into the identities of others ranged along one edge of the table. Kitchen staff members of the time included two cooks, Annie Gough and Susan Smith; two kitchen maids, Susan Cole and Fanny Sams; and a 21-year-old scullery maid named Agnes Dundas who worked at the property in 1901. While the photograph captures a snapshot of Waddesdon’s main kitchen, there was also a range of smaller rooms in operation, dedicated to such activities as pastry making, alongside a servants’ hall where staff could gather during mealtimes.
REGAL REPAST
Above The central table in the manor restaurant, part of this month’s online exhibition, image courtesy of Waddesdon, Rothschild House and Gardens
Built by the baron as a weekend retreat between 1874 and 1885 to house his impressive collection of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts, the property also played host to some of the most well-known and fashionable faces of Victorian high society. During lavish Saturday-to-Monday house parties, guests included royalty, with both The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) being a regular visitor, and Queen Victoria visiting in 1890 to enjoy a particularly memorable lunch.
Left Pots and pans from the online exhibition, image courtesy of Waddesdon /Adam Hollier Below Kitchen staff
at Waddesdon Manor about 1900, image courtesy of Waddesdon Image Library
Below right Vintage pots
are popular among today’s collectors
While the house had a relatively small staff of just 24 to ensure that everything ran smoothly day to day, this number could double during parties and society gatherings, and included the Baron’s celebrated French chef, Auguste Chalanger, and his confectioner, Arthur Chategner, formerly in the employ of the Tsar of Russia, who were both drafted in for the royal command performance. In a feast that reportedly lasted for several hours and comprised six courses, the monarch started with consommé, then trout, followed by quails, beef and chicken, ducklings garnished with buntings and asparagus, soufflés a la Royale (decorated with gold leaf) and beignets a la Viennoise. The Queen enjoyed this culinary tour de force in privacy with her daughters, but Ferdinand later noted how ‘The royal appetite is proverbial, and it was not until half past three that the Queen… reappeared.’
WADDESDON MANOR Pippa Shirley, head of collections and gardens at Waddesdon Manor, shares her excitement about this month’s now online display There is an increasing interest in the behind-thescenes life of Waddesdon, which is why we were so keen to make this a central aspect of the exhibition. We’ve assembled some of the objects that were used by the servants in the late-19th and early-20th century. Among them is the copper batterie de cuisine of at least 50 pots, saucepans and moulds, which were made for Waddesdon and are engraved with Baron Ferdinand’s and Miss Alice’s monograms. The set ranges from flatware, including ladles and straining spoons, to really substantial saucepans, such as a magnificent dish for cooking turbot, which is kite-shaped like the fish and would take two people to carry. We also have jelly and pudding moulds, which are really pretty. Some of these are tiny at about 5cm across and were used for individual desserts, so pieces range from the miniature to the huge. There are also various types of cooking implements, as well as quirky items such as an early 1920s electric espresso machine, which is about the size of a large cafetiere. The espresso machine and other pieces of domestic paraphernalia, like coal scuttles, have come out of store and will be available to be viewed online for the first time. We will also be displaying a number of documents, including the menu of a meal served to Queen Victoria when she came to lunch in 1890, and a rather lovely menu book that records what was served to James and Dorothy de Rothschild over the course of several days in the early 20th century. We want to give a sense of how the kitchen and staff evolved over time. It’s very clear that because Waddesdon and its visitors were at the heart of elite 19th-century society, no expense was spared at its house parties to make sure everything, including the cuisine, was of the very highest quality.
‘Built by the Baron as a weekend retreat between 1874 and 1885 to house his impressive collection of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts, the property also played host to some of the most well-known and fashionable faces of Victorian high society’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 25
COLLECTING GUIDES Kitchenalia
Country house party etiquette The years between 1861 and 1914 were considered the golden age of country house entertaining. While dances were held during the Season, August and September were the months for lavish country bashes, as they coincided with the height of the shooting season. Besides sport, food was one of the more important aspects of a successful event. Breakfast, served between nine and half past ten, was a regal meal including potted meats, fish, tea cakes, muffins, hams, tongues, pies, kidneys and bacon. While luncheon was an informal affair, afternoon tea was de rigeur, with dinner being the main meal of the day served at 8pm. After being announced by the butler, the master of the household led the procession into the dining room, with the lady of highest rank on his arm. They were followed by the rest of the family and guests in pairs, with men offering their arms to the ladies – husbands were not supposed to escort their wives. The last in should be the hostess and the most socially important male guest. However, not before returning to the cold beef for a second helping, as the butler recounted. Such was the impression made on her Highness’s stomach that she sent her own chef to Waddesdon to learn from its celebrated cooks.
TURNING OF THE TABLE
Footmen held food platters to the left allowing diners to help themselves (in contrast to food being served ‘à la Russe’ when dishes were portioned on a sideboard and handed to each guest). The lady on the host’s right was generally attended to first, with service proceeding clockwise around the table. The idea of women being served first was continental and not yet adopted in the UK. While food was of the highest order, complimenting hosts on the lavishness of the spread was frowned on – it showed a distinct lack of breeding as it was assumed such extravagence should be regarded as commonplace. Conversation was dictated by the lady of the house who would talk to one neighbour and then the next, her actions being followed by fellow diners in a practice known as ‘turning of the table’.
SUNDAY TOAST While Waddesdon’s kitchens could clearly up its gastronomic game when required, Ferdinand’s single status following the loss of his young wife, Evelina, after just a year of marriage, along with his delicate digestion, meant that between the episodes of culinary largesse, the proprietor existed on altogether simpler fare, even as basic as cold toast and water. His successor at Waddesdon, his youngest sister, Alice, continued to maintain Ferdinand’s high standards, with the kitchens serving up such unusual delights as black strawberries. However, just like her late brother and, subsequently, her French great-nephew, James de Rothschild, who inherited the property in 1922, the family’s taste for less ‘fussy’ food is a matter of record. James’ chef, Maurice Tissot, recorded a favoured bread and butter pudding recipe: ‘Two slices of bread and butter off long tin loaf, cut into sections, about half a grated lemon: a few currants: a table spoonful of castor(sic) sugar: five eggs and ¾ to 1 pint of milk. Bake for about half an hour.’ In 1957, the house was bequeathed to the National Trust, and the manor kitchen was converted into a tearoom, which is a popular choice among visitors to the property today. As part of the restoration programme in the 1990s, many of the original fixtures and fittings were retained, including the large central table, serving hatch, tiled walls and ovens.
Above A selection of copper moulds and pans part of this month’s online exhbition, image courtesy of Waddesdon
History of the Manor Kitchen which had been due to run at Waddesdon Manor, in Buckinghamshire, from February 3 to March 7 can now be viewed online at www.waddesdon.org.uk
Above right An original recipe for fruit cake from Waddesdon Manor, image courtesy of Waddesdon
26 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
‘Such was the impression made on Queen Victoria’s stomach that she sent her own chef to Waddesdon to learn from the celebrated cooks’
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Kitchenalia
Q&A Mikki Towler, a specialist in kitchenalia, treen and country furniture, offers advice on starting a collection
QA
What do we mean by kitchenalia? It is a broad term used to cover a variety of antique and vintage items relating to the kitchen. Antique items should be 100 years old (so pre-1920), while vintage items refer to pieces dating from 1930-1970. The items I sell range from as far back as 1800 to 1950.
QA
Why is kitchenalia popular today? Many items of kitchenalia suit everything from a contemporary home to a period farmhouse. Nothing looks lovelier on a baking day than cakes cooling on ornate Victorian wire work cooling trays surrounded by antique storage jars full of ingredients. Victorian rolling pins, crimpers, spoons, spice chests and chopping boards are as useable today as they were more than a century ago.
QA
What should collectors consider? Buy what you like. Once you have a couple of pieces your collection will naturally grow to match them. Some people collect by brand. For example, Brown & Polson-made rolling pins, cake tins and moulds, shortbread moulds, jelly moulds, whisks and advertising items. Others collect by material, such as wirework (egg baskets, whisks, hooks, cooling trays), enamel (bread bins, storage jars and jugs) or the popular white ironstone, which covers a vast area of plates, tureens, dishes and shop display pieces.
QA
How important is condition? If buying to decorate a shelf or to add colour to a kitchen, condition is not so important. However, if you are buying in the hope that your purchase will not only add to your kitchen but be an investment, then steer clear of damaged items. Quality is everything and the deeper
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the carving or rarer the carved verse on a wooden bread board the more money they command. Chips, cracks and staining reduce value significantly. If you are buying ‘treen’ (wooden items) try not to buy with worm, even if you are told it’s been treated.
QA
What are the most valuable items? Recently, anything of age and in good condition has increased in value. Carved bread boards and carved bread knives have trebled in price in the last two years. Victorian treen egg racks, good wirework, storage jars and black-on-white advertising ironstone have all hugely increased in value. The most expensive items at the moment are the Victorian and Edwardian white ironstone grocers’ and butchers’ slabs. They were used for display in shop windows and are now attractive, sought-after pieces. A ‘pure butter’ slab will now sell for around £1,000 and a rarer one reading ‘finest sausages’ could sell for thousands. Enamel bins, inscribed ‘bread’ and storage jars are easier to find. The white ones are very buyable. The rarer the colour, the more they cost – look out for the rare, pale pink colour.
QA
Who is buying? Love of kitchenalia spans all ages and generations, but there are mainly three types of collectors. Firstly the general buyers who buy an item because they like it and don’t mind the odd hairline crack (I don’t sell any items with bad damage). Then there are the bakers, who use everything they buy, such as early mixing bowls, spoons, storage jars, cake tins, wirework cooling racks, tins and moulds. The third type are the purist collectors. They buy the top end of the market and will pay a lot to get a very rare item. Some of my customers have the most amazing, near
1 A Victorian deeply carved bread board, image courtesy of Mikki Towler, the Antique Kitchen 2 One of the most expensive items of kitchenalia, an Edwardian white ironstone cream with original lid, image courtesy of Mikki Towler, the Antique Kitchen 3 A set of Edwardian white ironstone family scales,
image courtesy of Mikki Towler, the Antique Kitchen
4 A rare pink enamel bread bin, image courtesy of
Mikki Towler, the Antique Kitchen
museum-quality collections. I fall between the gaps as I buy what I like, but also have some rare pieces on display which I couldn’t bear to break as they might if in daily use. I collect early ironstone storage jars, as well as other similar pieces. It took me 15 years to find one jar I needed for my collection.
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Any other guidance for would-be kichenalia buyers? Buy from a reputable dealer as there are many good reproduction items out there being sold as the real thing. Car boot sales and charity shops aren’t what they used to be, but bargains can still be found. For inspiration, the National Trust has some fantastic fully-stocked period kitchens. A good book is Collecting Kitchenware, 1998, by Christina Bishop, published by Millers. It’s full of lovely photographs but the prices are now out of date. Kitchenalia adds a great individual look to your kitchen, but prices are still going up so start buying now.
For more details of Mikki Towler’s stock go to www.theantiquekitchen.co.uk ANTIQUE COLLECTING 27
COLLECTING GUIDES Kitchenalia The Petworth House kitchen © National Trust Images/Andreas von Einsiedel
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KITCHENS TO SEE
Berrington Hall, Herefordshire
Life for the Georgian servants behind Berrington Hall’s grand facade can be explored during a tour below stairs. An ‘unadorned iron staircase’ transports visitors back to an era when the average housemaid earned an annual £5 for working days that could be up to 20 hours long. Berrington’s kitchen displays the range of gadgets and objects that would have been employed. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/berrington-hall The Berrington Hall kitchen © National Trust Images/Andreas von Einsiedel
Petworth House, West Sussex
The 19th-century kitchen at Petworth House was comparable in scale to a major hotel, with the staff serving up an average 100 meals a day. Following a devastating fire in 1872, the kitchen was refitted with the latest steam-powered technology, but retained its traditional roasting range. Petworth’s collection of copper moulds, part of the 1000-strong batterie de cuisine on loan from Lord and Lady Egremont, range from jellies to creams and tipsy cakes. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth-house-and-park The New Kitchen at Erddig, Clwyd © National Trust Images/ Arnhel de Serra
‘The average housemaid earned an annual £5 for working days that could be up to 20 hours long’ Erddig, Wrexham
When the bells started ringing at 5.30am outside the servants’ hall at Erddig it signalled the start of the day for kitchen staff and servants. Visitors today can get a glimpse of life below stairs at the 17th-century Welsh estate, including its impressive array of copper and tin-plated moulds, which include fish and lobster shapes for creating the savoury jellies that were served up to guests during sumptuous feasts. www.nationaltrust.org.uk.erddig
28 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
EXPERT OPINION Christina Trevanion C H R I S T I N A T R E VA N I O N
Lots of Love Christian Trevanion raises a glass to some memorable sales, including an exceptional claret jug discovered last year
very endearingly, as a circus dog. Claret jugs are highly sought after by collectors, not only did this example appeal to claret jug collectors, but also to silver animal collectors. The word ‘claret’ is French in origin and means ‘bright’ or ‘clear’ and refers to the bright colour of French Bordeaux wine. Although glass has been used as a receptacle for wine and other beverages for hundreds of years, it wasn’t until the 19th century that the claret jug that we would recognise today, began to appear. It provided the artist with an opportunity to really showcase their work and, by the end of the 19th century, some of the rarest, most exquisite examples were created. This example was marked for London 1882 by the ever-popular silversmith Sampson Mordan, whose work is synonymous with the mechanical pencils he patented.
SCOTTISH MAKER
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s an antiques and fine art auctioneer with – sharp intake of breath – 20 years’ experience under her belt, there are certain workaday things you get used to seeing on a regular basis. But then, just sometimes, you see something that you know you won’t see again. It’s electric, it’s exciting, one of those ‘hair standing up on the back of your neck moments’ and one of the key reasons why I love my job so much. Of a handful of such career highs three stand out: a magnificent Mughal emerald weighing in at 217.80 carats, which sold when I was at Christie’s in 2001 for just over £1,5m; the second in 2003 came from a valuation in Broadway, Worcestershire with my colleague Jeremy Lamond and was a 1677 Delft cat jug, which we sold for £45,000. Finally, and most recently, came this claret jug from last November.
CLARET JUG Inherited by the owner, it was discovered on a house call in Cheshire and took the form of a rather splendid silver claret jug. Slightly tarnished, it nestled on a sideboard and was instantly recognisable as something very special. Usually claret jugs have a glass body, but this example was made of solid silver and modelled,
Top left The fashion
for novelty ‘toys’ blossomed in the Victorian period
Above left The jug is marked for London 1882 by Sampson Mordan Above The astounding piece is the work of the Scottish silversmith Alexander Crichton
It is likely that this particular jug was designed by the master silversmith Alexander Crichton. Born in Edinburgh in 1839, we first hear of Crichton entering a silver cup into the 1870 Society of Arts exhibition before registering his mark at Goldsmiths Hall in November 1872. In the 1881 census, he was recorded as living in Hammersmith as a widower with five young children, all aged between one and five. It was during this period that Crichton designed his fantastical animal claret jugs for which he is so well known, creating more than 34 between 1881 and 1882 – many of which were registered at the Patent Office. His menagerie of claret jugs include: a walrus, crocodile, cockatoo, dodo, fish, squirrels, seals, ducks, a penguin, and an otter – among others. He was part of a tradition for creating novelty silver ‘toys’, arguably started by Rundell, Bridge & Rundell in 1825 when they produced a monkey inkwell after a design by Odiot of 1819. But it wasn’t until the Victorian period when the fashion for ‘toys’ really blossomed, and when we start to see some truly exceptional pieces of craftsmanship. Sadly, things didn’t turn out well for Crichton and, whether it was the recession of the 1880s, or his struggle to provide for five young children as a single parent, he was declared bankrupt in December 1886. Our claret jug was one of these such ‘exceptional’ pieces and hotly contested by both domestic and international bidders in our December sale before going to a private collector for an incredible £30,000. Christina Trevanion is partner at the Shropshirebased auctioneers Trevanion & Dean as well as a regular face on Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road Trip, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Flog it!
‘Alexander Crichton’s menagerie of claret jugs include a walrus, crocodile, cockatoo, dodo, fish, squirrels, seals, ducks, a penguin and an otter – among others’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 29
EXPERT COMMENT David Harvey panels of exotic hardwoods set out in a geometric pattern. It would have been made in two parts for ease of transportation and movement within a home and would probably have been delivered to a manor house or similar. The drawers have thick sides to accommodate the side runners and large nails used to hold the drawers together with the bottom similarly nailed on.
QUEEN ANNE CHEST
A Charles II two-part oak chest with yew wood bandings and hardwood panels
Waxing lyrical
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A chest is one of the most stylish pieces of antique furniture you can own. David Harvey lifts the lid on some of the best
he chest of drawers as an item of furniture has a very special place in most people’s hearts. Indeed, generations have been raised using the phrase “top drawer” to signify something of the highest quality or provenance, and “bottom drawer” referring to a young lady’s collection of silver, napery or bedclothes to be used after her marriage. Like all furniture, chests conform to changing styles, tastes and makers’ techniques throughout the periods from the 17th to 19th centuries, spanning a dozen monarchs’ reigns. The earliest examples display the continental influence prevalent during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685) after the restoration of the monarchy, reflecting the final flourishes of the English Baroque. This is the period where we witness the progression from joinery to cabinetmaking. Charles II brought over craftsmen from Europe who introduced continental techniques using readily available timbers such as oak and pine for the carcass, and then veneered over in fine walnut or similar, sometimes with panels of marquetry. This two-part oak chest is enriched with yew wood bandings and
30 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above A Charles II twopart oak chest with yew wood bandings and hardwood panels Above right Early chests were glued or nailed together Right A Queen Anne
oyster-veneered chest of drawers, c. 1700
Below Glue and nails
had given way to dovetailed joints by the 1700s
Within a quarter of a century the changes in every aspect of furniture were apparent and, as we move through the reign of William and Mary (1689-1702) and into that of Queen Anne (1702-1714), how things change. Chests on stands fell from favour and were replaced by chests on chests, or tallboys. They usually had a flat cornice, and a mid moulding covering up the gap between the separate upper and lower sections. The use of veneers had become a standard for cabinet-made fine furniture, and the chunkiness of the chest of drawers had been reduced to a smoother form which was decorated with patterns of veneers, rather than applied mouldings and panels. Typical of this transition is this Queen Anne period chest with its patterns executed in oyster veneers of laburnum, so called because when pairs of consecutive cuts from the branches were placed opened out book fashion, the design so produced resembles the interior markings of an oyster shell. The straight feet of the extended corner stiles of the earlier chest gave way to turned bun feet, with the formerly nailed drawer sides now held in place with dovetailed joints. A transformation also took place in the way the drawer bottom was attached. Whereas previously it was held in place with clout nails, now the bottom boards are rebated into the back, sides and front of the drawer, so in effect, the bottom edges are runners.
Left A George III mahogany serpentine chest of drawers, c. 1780, with original oval plate handles Right A straight-fronted
mahogany chest the top crossbanded in rosewood
Below right A Sheraton
period mahogany secretaire chest of drawers, c. 1790, inlaid with obround panels on splayed bracket feet
SERPENTINE FRONT By the mid 18th century, French Rococo pieces, with a bulbous form of wavy sides and fronts, referred to as bombe chests, were fashionable. In England we often see large, heavily decorated and carved serpentine commodes, chests or presses in several design books, including Chippendale’s Director and Ince and Mayhew’s designs, but in this instance we see the lighter feel of George Hepplewhite or Shearer’s designs. English examples at the time were more restrained, with just a serpentine front. From the middle of the 18th century, it became more usual for the grain on the drawer bottom to run from side to side, rather than front to back as it formerly had. Cockbeading, a thin lip to the drawer front, was a popular moulding from the 1760s.
SECRETAIRE CHEST
AGE OF MAHOGANY In the 18th century, the next technical development was drawer bottoms which slid into place from the back of the drawer in a groove cut into the sides. The transition from walnut to mahogany gradually took place. By the 1730s, mahogany was increasingly imported from the Caribbean, along with more varieties of exotic timbers from South America. Dating from the third quarter of the century, this straight-fronted mahogany chest has the top crossbanded in rosewood, adding to its cache, as does a pull out brushing slide below the top and above the top drawer. Bun feet have now been replaced by bracket feet, with swan neck handles in fashion. Whether it was intended for a bedroom or a reception room is not known, but the rapidly expanding merchant class’s appetite for good quality, enduring furniture was huge with centres of manufacturing excellence in many large towns. It combined both requirements, with the top drawer having a hinged front opening to reveal a leather-lined writing surface with an arrangement of satinwood veneered drawers and pigeon holes behind. It was raised on more delicate, splayed bracket feet united with a bowed apron. The obround-shaped veneer panels are particularly decorative and help to date this from the last decade of the 18th century. David Harvey is the owner of W R Harvey & Co. Ltd., located at 86 Corn St, Witney, Oxfordshire. For more details go to www.wrharvey.com
As we progress closer into the 19th century, I am amazed by the ingenuity of the craftsmen. Working with only hand tools by daylight or candlelight, they were able to shoehorn any number of different attributes into an item. It would have been such fun to overhear a conversation between a maker and patron in George III’s reign maybe ordering a chest, but wanting a facility for writing in it as well. Not a bureau, then, but a chest! And so the secretaire chest of drawers was born.
‘Charles II brought over craftsmen from Europe who introduced continental techniques using readily available timbers such as oak and pine for the carcass, and then veneered over in fine walnut or similar, sometimes with panels of marquetry’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 31
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Century Guild
Arthur’s Feat The influence of Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo and the Century Guild on art nouveau is celebrated in an upcoming exhibition, writes its curator Roisin Inglesby
Arts and Crafts Movement (with Mackmurdo going on to help found the William Morris Gallery) as well as influencing art nouveau in Britain and Europe. Its publication, The Century Guild Hobby Horse which ran until 1892, pioneered the integration of graphic art, design and illustration, and covered a wide range of topics including art, design, music and poetry, with contributions from luminaries including Edward Burne-Jones, May Morris, John Ruskin and Oscar Wilde. While the influence of William Morris is evident in the journal, its experiments in typography would, in turn, inspire one of Morris’ most ambitious projects, the Kelmscott Press. Examples of the journal are one of the many pieces on show at the exhibition on the Century Guild starting on April 1 at the William Morris Gallery in east London.
MYRIAD INFLUENCES While the Century Guild did not consciously adhere to a particular artistic ‘style’, its work, which was inspired by influences as diverse as evolutionary theory, the art of William Blake, pre-Raphaelite painting, the Italian Renaissance, and the architecture of Sir Christopher Wren, includes sinuous curves and graceful, organic imagery that has long been associated with art nouveau. In comparison with Morris’s patterns, which are generally based on strict symmetry with movement flowing from discernible points, Century Guild designs tend to be asymmetrical, with energy created through the push and pull of motifs arranged in opposing directions. If Morris’s designs can be compared with roses growing on a trellis (right), Mackmurdo’s are more reminiscent of seaweed swaying in a gentle current. Like many of the Century Guild’s textile designs, Single Flower contains the Guild’s logo within the pattern itself.
F
ounded in 1882 by the London architect and designer Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851-1942), the Century Guild was established as a forum for designers and artisans to collaborate and sell their work. The scope of its design, which spanned architecture, painting, furniture, sculpture, textiles, wallpaper and metalwork, was extremely influential, both in Britain and internationally, making Mackmurdo one of the most significant figures in British design history. The guild’s aim – to champion artistic trade and the craftspeople behind it – was influenced by the
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Above Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo, embroidered screen, 1884-1885, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest Right Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo, armchair, 1885, upholstery designed by Herbert P. Horne made by Simpson and Godlee, Manchester
This organic influence is not coincidental: Mackurdo was interested in marine botany and theories of evolution and the natural world that were current in the late-19th century. His designs are evidence of his belief that natural organisms provided the design framework for the entire world around us. The Century Guild also incorporated figures into its wallpaper and textile designs, as can be seen in Horne’s Bay Leaf frieze, c. 1882, (below), which depicts a repeating pattern of kneeling figures in classical robes, playing musical instruments against a frieze of bay leaves, and his c.1884 design, Angel with Trumpet. The inclusion of figures was seen as highly innovative and novel for the time and, along with the guild’s use of sinuous natural forms, can be seen as foreshadowing the Art Nouveau Movement.
INFLUENTIAL ASSOCIATES Although the Century Guild only ever had two official members—Mackmurdo and Herbert Horne—in close collaboration with the designer Selwyn Image, a number of other figures were also associated with the group. The ceramicist William De Morgan (1839-1917) was invited to contribute work, as was the sculptor Edwin Roscoe Mullins (1848-1907). In keeping with the group’s ethos that artisans and craftspeople should be elevated to the status of artists, the names of everyone
‘Although the Century Guild only ever had two official members—Mackmurdo and Herbert Horne—in close collaboration with the designer Selwyn Image, a number of other figures were also associated with the group. The ceramicist William De Morgan (1839-1917) was invited to contribute work, as was the sculptor Edwin Roscoe Mullins (1848-1907)’
European influence
Above Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo, Wren’s City Churches, 1883, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest Right Henry van
de Velde, Tropon advertising poster, 1898, © Victoria and Albert Museum
Below left Herbert Horne/Century Guild, Bay Leaf frieze wallpaper, designed c.1882, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
As a result of various exhibitions and the success of The Century Guild Hobby Horse, the guild became known in mainland Europe, and proved particularly popular in Belgium. This was in part thanks to the advocacy of the painter, architect, designer and educator Henry van de Velde (1863-1957). Van de Velde was a member of the group Les XX, a group of internationally-minded artists and designers, who imported decorative arts from London, which may well have included Century Guild objects, as he is recorded as having made contact with the group during the 1890s. Certainly there are visual similarities between the guild’s aesthetic and Van de Velde’s own work (above). Van de Velde’s influence was international: he co-founded the Deutscher Werkbund in 1902, and was also head of the Weimar School of Arts and Crafts, the organisation that later became the Bauhaus. The Century Guild Hobby Horse was admired elsewhere in Germany, with prints being shown at an exhibition in Dresden in 1895. Left William Morris, Honeysuckle printed cotton, design registered 1876, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest Below Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo/Century Guild, Cromer Bird, cretonne, c.1884 © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 33
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR The Century Guild involved in the execution of work were included in the literature accompanying exhibitions. Lesser-known figures involved in the production of metalwork, sculpture and cloisonné include Charles Winstanley, George Esling, Benjamin Creswick, Clement Heaton, and Kellock Brown.
BRITISH ART NOUVEAU The undulating, asymmetrical lines, interest in natural forms and delicate yet forceful curves of the Century Guild’s work have been seen as a direct source of art nouveau, the ornamental style of decorative art that flourished in Europe and America at the turn of the 20th century. The guild retained the social values and ideals set out by Morris and John Ruskin, but it was this shift in emphasis towards aestheticism that inspired art nouveau, which separated artistic appearance from social concerns. Several objects in the William Morris Gallery’s collection showcase this distinctive aesthetic. One piece on show at the forthcoming exhibition, which the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner considered the first example of art nouveau anywhere in the world, is the title page for Wren’s City Churches, a book which Mackmurdo published in 1883 to highlight the importance of the churches of Sir Christopher Wren,
Right Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo/Century Guild, fretwork chair, c.1882, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
many of which were in danger of being demolished. The design, rendered in striking monochrome, is for a woodcut, likely cut by Mackmurdo himself. It shows a phoenix, symbolic of Wren’s role in rebuilding the city of London after the Great Fire of 1666, yet rather than triumphantly rising from the ashes, the bird is shown crushed and defeated at the bottom of the page, its wings floating in a breeze that also carries three stylized flowers. The whiplash curve, seen here in the phoenix’s feathers and the striking use of a dominant line are central features of art nouveau design. The book formed part of his successful campaign to save many of Christopher Wren’s baroque churches, considered deeply unfashionable at the time.
ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE
Above Cover of The Century Guild Hobby Horse, April 1884 Left Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo/Century Guild, mirror with fretwork support (detail), c.1882, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
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The Century Guild’s furniture was also instrumental in creating this art nouveau aesthetic. The William Morris Gallery owns a pair of chairs with remarkable fretwork backs that bring Mackmurdo’s undulating designs into the structure of the furniture itself (above). Designed in 1881 or 1882, the chairs were constructed by Collinson & Lock, one of the foremost producers of furniture in London during the period. The chairs are painted with the guild’s monogram and one of the pair is stamped with Collinson & Lock’s mark underneath the seat frame; an identical chair in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum also bears the Century Guild logo, as do the only other two examples known to exist, in the collections of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond (acquired 2003), and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The chairs were shown at an exhibition in Enfield
ANTI PRUDERY The Century Guild and its associates were socially progressive, as exemplified by Selwyn Image’s attendance of Oscar Wilde’s three-week trial for homosexuality in London in 1895. The group was connected to some of the era’s foremost thinkers, writers and artists, with its circle including fashionable society. Mackmurdo was a cousin of Richard D’Oyly Carte, owner of the Savoy, for which Herbert Horne designed balconies which can still be seen today. The exhibition includes a wooden settee (c.1886) created for the anti-prudery campaigner Stewart Headlam, who paid Wilde’s bail and offered the playwright a home after his release from prison in 1897.
in 1884, the first time the Century Guild’s work was publicly displayed. In addition, the group exhibited a secretaire and a mirror, alongside textiles and wallpaper. Like the chairs, the secretaire and mirror are made in mahogany and involve delicate fretwork that structurally underpin the piece. The secretaire is simply constructed and comprised of a cupboard with a drop-front and a writing flap beneath a single drawer topped with a moulded architrave. Its most remarkable feature is a shelf supported by fretwork brackets, which are painted green and resemble seaweed. The wall-mirror comprises a looking glass and a glove compartment with a hinged lid supported on fretwork brackets. Beneath the glass are three small panels (now faded), painted with a design of a flowering bush (centre) and scrolling branches (left and right).
SECOND EXHIBITION The Century Guild exhibited at a second exhibition in 1885. Known as the International Inventions Exhibition, it was one of a series of events staged annually in South Kensington with a different theme every year. In keeping with its belief in the importance of holistic interior design, the Century Guild displayed an entire room, including textiles, a spectacular wallpaper frieze designed by Herbert Horne, Mackmurdo’s fretwork chairs and a delicate, two-leaved fire screen inset with six embroidered panels (previous page). The satinwood framework has small, turned feet and carved finials above the upper rail in the form of stylised flower buds. The embroidered panels show a design of tall lanceolate fronds terminating in delicate flame-like flowers which incorporate the initials ‘CG’. The embroidery is worked in cream and yellow silks and gold thread on a blue silk ground.
Top left Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo/Century Guild, secretaire with painted fretwork (detail), c.1882, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
Top right Napoleon Sarony (1821-1896) portrait of Oscar Wilde, c. 1882 Right Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo/Century Guild, design for Single Flower textile, c.1882
Below right Single
Flower chintz, c. 1882, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
Roisin Inglesby is the senior curator at the William Morris Gallery, which is owned and run by Waltham Forest Council, and hosts the exhibition Within The Reach of All: The Century Guild from April 1 to August 31. The exhibition is accompanied by the book Arts and Crafts Pioneers: The Hobby Horse Men and their Century Guild by Stuart Evans and Jean Liddiard. ANTIQUE COLLECTING 35
COLLECTING GUIDE Magdalene Odundo CLAY SCHOOL Born and raised in Kenya, Odundo began her career at an advertising agency in Nairobi as a trainee commercial layout artist before moving to the UK to attend a foundation course at Cambridge School of Art. Her degree at Farnham in the 1970s was in 3D ceramics, printmaking and photography, and it was here that she met Cardew (a former student of Bernard Leach and his Japanese-influenced notions of the craftsman potter). Cardew encouraged her to visit the Abuja Pottery Training Centre that he had set up in the 1950s after his own pottery in Gloucestershire fell victim to a postwar slump. It was the third training school he had set up in then colonial West Africa (the first two being in Achimota and later at Vume in Ghana). His intention for the Abuja school was to establish an indigenous and self-sufficient pottery for domestic ware.
LADI KWALI
TRAIL GLAZERS
The ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, whose work achieved a record-breaking price in November, is one of 10 pioneering female potters in a new exhibition, some of whose work can be bought for a snippet
W
hile currently Covid-19-delayed, an exhibition of 10 ground-breaking women potters was due to have been unveiled this month. One of the stars of the show is the Kenyan-born ceramicist Magdalene Odundo (b. 1950), who now lives and works in Surrey, and her one-time mentor the Nigerian potter Ladi Kwali (1925-1984). Both are linked by being former pupils of the Abuja Pottery Training Centre set up in Nigeria in the 1950s by the renowned British potter Michael Cardew. But, while Odundo’s work is achieving stratospheric sums – last November a 37cm vase set a world record for a piece by a living potter when it sold for £240,000 – Kwali’s work can be bought for hundreds. Odundo’s piece, which was expected to make £30,000-£50,000, was in the style of her most recognised work, with a bulbous base and elongated neck reminiscent of a pregnant woman. With its burnished glaze, in earthen reds and blacks, her work pays homage to the African pot-making tradition, learnt alongside Kwali.
36 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above Magdalene Odundo (b.1950) in her studio, UCA, image courtesy of Magdalene Odundo Right Magdalene Odundo
(b. 1950) Angled Mixed Coloured, signed and dated 1988, sold for £240,000 in November, image courtesy of Maak
Some 20 years after it opened, and no longer run by Cardew, Odundo travelled to the northern Nigerian training centre and met its first female student, Ladi Kwali. Kwali had been encouraged to join the school by Cardew after he saw her work in the collection of the Emir of Abuja. By the time of her enrolment she was already a talented, professional potter having learnt the traditionally female skills of northern Gwari pottery from her aunt as a small child. Even as a teenager, news of her talent spread throughout the region with most of her pots selling before they reached the local market. At the school she expanded her skills to include new techniques, creating glazed dishes, bowls and beakers, with stylised animal sgraffito of snakes, scorpions, lizards, crocodile and birds.
Left Ladi Kwali (Nigerian 1925-1984) water jar, hand coiled, glazed stoneware with incised decoration through slip, wood fired (c. 1960s), image James Fordham Right The two-handled
dish by Kande Ushafa sold for £42, image courtesy of Toovey’s
Below A studio potter’s
workshop (workshop of Lucie Rie (1902–1995), Victoria and Albert Museum, London
FEAT OF CLAY On the podcast Bow Down by Frieze magazine Odundo acknowledged the debt she owned to the older potter. She said: “I was in total awe of her, she was an amazing presence, like royalty and would light up a room. Clay was her medium and she used it like a canvas, elevating the traditional Gwari designs into something else.” While not sharing a common language Kwali’s teaching approach was entirely hands on. Odundo recalled: “It was like a mother teaching a baby how to walk. The mother has to guess what the baby is trying to say. I would watch her and then add a lump of clay to my work, she would either hold my hand to guide me or kill herself laughing if I did it wrong. I tried to mimic her in the same way she would have mimicked her aunt when she taught her.” Odundo is also keen that Kwali should be known in her own right as opposed to via her links to Cardew. She said: “Sadly, she is hardly known outside the ceramic community in the West, and despite being on the Nigerian currency little known in her own country. Remember, she succeeded in pre-independent Nigeria at a school that was both colonial and male dominated.”
ABUJA ON TOUR It was certainly via Cardew that Kwali’s work became
Kande Ushafa
Ladi Kwali and Magdalene Odundo were not the only women students at Abuja. Kande Ushafa joined the centre in 1963. She came from the nearby village of Ushafa (20 miles east of Abuja) where she worked as a potter making hand-built domestic pottery for use by her family and for sale in the local markets. She became one of the leading female potters at Abuja. A Kande Ushafa studio pottery twohandled dish and cover, decorated in a tenmoku hare’s fur glaze, impressed marks to base, sold for £42 at the West Sussex auctioneers Toovey’s in 2018.
Below right Magdalene
Odundo (b. 1950) early vessel, hand built, terra sigillata, polished and carbonised terracotta clay, image Michael Harvey
known in the West. She was a popular member of the touring lecture team; her easy nature and ability to communicate made her well liked and appreciated in Europe, Britain and America. Ladi Kwali was probably the best known of the Abuja potters. There were exhibitions of Abuja pottery in London in 1958, 1959 and 1962, and another in Lagos in 1960. Cardew and some of the African potters, notably Kwali, gave lectures and demonstrations in various parts of the world and Philip Rosenthal sponsored a European tour for them in the mid-1960s. The exhibition Pioneering Women due to have taken place at Oxford Ceramics Gallery from February 14 to March 27 will now be shown later in the year due to the current Covid-19 restrictions. For more details go to www.oxfordceramics.com
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 37
COLLECTING GUIDE Magdalene Odundo
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leading female ceramicists As well as Ladi Kwali and Magdalene Odundo, the exhibition features the work of eight other artists, spanning three generations
Lucie Rie (1902-1995)
Viennese-born Rie, with her refined, thrown and glazed domestic vessel forms, brought the unmistakable aesthetic of European modernism to the UK when she fled Vienna in 1938. Her work today is some of the most sought after on the market.
Carol McNicoll (b. 1943)
The unusual aesthetic of the British artist, who originally trained in fine art, combines industrial ceramic techniques with collage and textiles to create patterned surfaces intended for everyday use. Carol McNicholl, Freedom & Democracy, 2011
Bodil Manz, slip cast porcelain, 2019, image Michael Harvey
Bodil Manz (b. 1943)
The Danish designer’s precisely constructed cylinder vessels make use of industrial ceramic techniques such as slip casting, mould making and transfer printing to create simple, translucent forms.
Akiko Hirai (b. 1970)
The Japanese-born artist, now based in London, re-interprets the traditional Korean Moon jar, which is so influential in the modernist school of studio ceramics. In doing so she gives the vase (originally an everyday storage jar) a contemporary twist.
Lucie Rie, bronze vase with sgraffito, image Michael Harvey
Akiko Hirai, Large Moon Jar, porcelain and stoneware Deirdre McLoughlin, Roll Sister, 2019, image Michael Harvey
Deirdre McLoughlin (b.1949)
The hand-built, hollow clay forms of the Dutch artist reflect her time in the 1980s working closely with the experimental Sōdeisha group of Japanese artists, founded in the late 1940s near Kyoto.
Inger Rokkjaer (1934-2008)
Alison Britton (b. 1948)
Japanese influences can be seen in works by the Danish artist, whose vessels meld a subtle use of raku with homage to the earthenware domestic pottery of her native Jutland, Denmark.
The British artist (who with Carol McNicoll) came to prominence as one of the 1970s group of RCA graduates known as ‘The London Ladies’. They were commonly identified with postmodernism due to their free juxtaposition of formal traditions.
Inger Rokkjaer, Lidded Jar, stoneware, image Michael Harvei
Alison Britton, Outridge, 2015, image Philip Sayer
Jennifer Lee, White Bowl, stoneware, 2015, image Michael Harvey
Jennifer Lee (b. 1956)
The winner of the 2017 LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize, Jennifer Lee studied Japanese traditions and techniques during residencies in Shigaraki, a period which deeply influenced her subtle, earth-toned works.
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COLLECTING WOMEN CERAMICISTS Marijke Varrall-Jones, founder of the contemporary ceramics auctioneers Maak reveals the most collectable female artists of the last 100 years Left Ladi Kwali (Nigerian
1925-1984) water jar, c. 1967, stoneware, with praying mantis design, impressed LK and Abuja Pottery seals, sold for £2,400 at Maak
Below right Mary Rogers
(British, b.1929) Striated Crinoid, 1983, sold for £16,800 at Maak in 2020
F
or living female ceramicists such as Jennifer Lee and Magdalene Odundo, their position in the market has never been stronger, with a vase by the latter achieving a new world record for a living ceramic artist last November. While these record-breaking prices make the headlines, the huge draw for many collectors to studio pottery is that you can easily acquire a unique work by many leading artists for a relatively modest price, making the market accessible to many.
potters such as the German-born, Anglo-American potter Ruth Duckworth (1919-2009), Eileen Lewenstein (19252005) and Mary Rogers (b. 1929) exploring new more organic influences. Indeed, a recent rise in interest for Rogers’ work saw a record for the artist in November 2020 when a bowl sold for an eyewatering £16,800.
AFRICA ALIVE Collectors might want to consider works coming from the Abuja Pottery, Nigeria, where Odundo spent time in the early 1970s learning from the renowned potter, Ladi Kwali. Kwali combined throwing and traditional African hand building techniques to produce functional forms that combined both African and European influences. While her large stoneware water jars, often incised with distinctive stylised animals, are highly prized and sell for several thousands of pounds, she also produced a wide range of other functional works from plates and bowls to tankards, all sharing a similar aesthetic and impressed with her clear LK and Abuja Pottery seals, which sell for a few hundred pounds.
LEACH TO HER OWN Other areas of interest for collectors might be the early 20th-century potters such as Katharine PleydellBouverie (1895-1985), Norah Braden (1901-2001) and Janet Leach (1918-1997), who were held in high esteem alongside male potters of their time. All three women worked closely alongside Bernard Leach at the Leach Pottery in St Ives. However, in spite of his towering reputation and dominance to the style of studio ceramics in the early 20th century, each women interpreted his teachings into a style that was uniquely their own. Their works are highly distinctive and usually clearly marked, which is always helpful for identification when new to collecting, and while significant works have seen a steady rise in prices, many can be picked up for well under £500. London-based auctioneers Maak specialises in 20th and 21st-century international ceramics. Its next sale of modern and contemporary ceramics is on May 10-13. For more details go to maaklondon.com
BEYOND RIE The significance of Lucie Rie to the development of studio pottery in the mid-20th century is unquestionable and she is widely regarded as one of the most important ceramic artists of all time. She has repeatedly held the accolade for the world-record price for a ceramic artist at auction – alternating in turn with her contemporary and friend, Hans Coper. While her major works – and her porcelain bowls in particular – can fetch upwards of £100,000, Rie produced a wide range of domestic ware intended for everyday use and these can still be acquired for a few hundred pounds on a good day. Women continued to play a large part in the shift to hand building in the late ‘60s and into the ‘70s, with ANTIQUE COLLECTING 39
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Puzzle TIME Peter Wade-Wright presents two pages of antiques-based questions to stimulate your little grey cells
Send your answers to Crossword, Antique Collecting magazine, Sandy Lane, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 4SD, UK. Photocopies are also acceptable, or email your answers to: magazine@accartbooks. com. The first three opened on February 10 will win a copy of 100 British Chairs by Adam Bowett, worth £25.
8 When was the German ‘Iron Cross’ originally instituted?
FEBRUARY QUIZ
(a)1810, (b) 1813, (c) 1816, (d) 1819
1 The most usual configuration of iron rings in chain-mail had each ring linked through how many others? (a) three, (b) four, (c) five, (d) six.
9 Which artist (right) said, “A portrait is a painting with something wrong with the mouth.” (a) Winslow Homer, (b) Edward Hopper, (c) John Singer Sargent, (d) James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
2 Glazing-bars are types of (a) wooden tracery to hold glass panes, (b) alms boxes, originally French, placed on the counters of absintheserving cafes, (c) glass ‘slides’ used in a variation of ale-house dominoes, (d) fortune-telling aids, cheaper to manufacture than crystal balls.
10 Which of the following is the name of a (real) cigarette card ‘series’?
3 Pennsylvanian Dutch refers to (a) a trumpetshaped flower once a popular motif on wooden furniture, (b) furniture, pottery etc. produced in N. America by a colony of immigrant Europeans, (c) a distinctively shaped barn in which tobacco was stored, (d) the name given to an early steam locomotive.
(a) Arf A Mo Kaiser!, (b) Oi! Hitler. No! (c) Leave it out Mussolini! (d) Hang About Hirohito! Finally, here are four anagrams SOB NOT!... RARE ICING… SEEN, I ERR…MAN’S OWN Rearrange them to form, in no particular order, (a) the name of perhaps the most noted French ébéniste (furniture/cabinet maker) of the second half of the 18th century, (b) a type of porcelain figure covered with a thick, semi-transparent glaze, (c) perhaps the most popular type of rocking chair ever produced, (d) a decoration used on Chinese porcelain in which small perforations are filled with transparent glaze.
4 Sharawaggi (a word of obscure derivation, but probably Chinese) was used in the 17th century to mean (a) a depiction in visual art of an Eastern dancer, (b) a simple drum-and-ball musical instrument that was played by rhythmic shaking, (c) a stamp with a wavy pattern used on official Chinese documents, (d) a sense of irregularity in Chinese design. 5 What shape is/was the usual one for a copetable? (a) circular, (b) rectangular, (c) semicircular, (d) wedge-shaped. 6 What does bombé mean? (a) flamboyantly (i.e. explosively) designed, (b) looking like a confection e.g. a meringue, (c) a term used to describe a stick or umbrella stand with side openings rather than just at the top, (d) an outward swelling on the vertical face(s) of some furniture. 7 Ignaz Bottengruber was originally an 18th-century (a) cabinet maker, (b) painter of miniatures, (c) glass-blower, (d) musical instrument designer and maker.
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For the answers turn to page 11.
SOLUTION TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD: The letters in the highlighted squares were rearranged give the answer COOKWORTHY. The winners are A. P. Lonton, Windermere; S. Gibson, Hull; Judy Fletcher, Dorchester
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Paradise as depicted by Hieronymus Bosch
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Across
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1 Centre of the Dutch pottery industry. Although dating from the late 16th c. it really flourished in the 17th. (5) 4 An individual impression taken from a worked plate or block. (5) 7 Small case or container traditionally for ladies’ use. (4) 8 A lower rank goddess of a province of nature (e.g. of water or forest) often depicted in art. (sing.) (5) 9 Paradisical place often depicted in Christian art. (It can be seen, for example, in the Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch.) (4) 10 Uncommon…hence often coveted and expensive. (4) 12 ____ and dart. Border ornament of Classical origin used by furniture makers, goldsmiths etc. (3) 13 A motif, again of Classical origin, much used by 21-Down. _____ Head. (3’1) 15. Elaborate table centre-piece in the shape of a ship often containing salt or spices. (3) 17 Very decorative and collectable shoemakers’ model of a foot. (4) 19 Neck adornment or, in architecture, a beam that gives stability to a structure. (3) 20 _____- house. A kiln for drying hops. (4) 22 Description of paper, the manufacture of which gives it a ribbed surface. (4) 23 Twelve equal periods in a Medieval, monastic day (sunrise to sunset, whatever the time of year) and used in the title of a Medieval ‘bestseller’. (pl.) (5) 25 Cloth woven from metal threads. (4) 26 In Jewish folklore, a human-shaped form that is brought to life. (5) 27 Superior or monarchical. Hence, for example, _____ pendulum i.e. an improved time-piece that combined a seconds pendulum and the anchor escapement. (5)
Down
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One of the tribes of Israel, or the forename of a British science-fiction comic hero. (3) 2 French city and principal centre of enamelling in the Middle Ages. Later famous for its porcelain. (7) 3 Capital of Iran and an original source of antique Persian rugs. (6) 4 Dog’s faeces used in tanning (unusual but accepted spelling*) (4) 5 Common name for any (usually) gold coin showing an equestrian figure e.g. the gold ____ of James VI and I (reigning overall 1567 – 1625). (5) 6 _____’s work. Description used as early as the 14th century for needlework. (3) 11 Italian porcelain manufactory (also known for fine faience and pipeclay). (4) 12 Measures (pl.) used for tapestry, and cloth in general. 1 English ____ (sing.) = 45 inches. (4) 14 Type of 18th-century Staffordshire pottery in which red and white clays are combined under a transparent lead glaze. (7) 16 Lord’s weathervane figure used in decorative ____ time clocks. (6) 18 The ‘solid’ part of the pattern in lace, for example. (5) 21 Robert _____ (1728 – 92) Eminent architect, furniture and fittings designer (as was his brother) (4) 22 Pope (_____ X: 1513 – 21). Patron of the arts who appointed Raphael to complete St. Peter’s (3) 24 ____ Invictus. Late Roman term, sometimes applied to Christ and, as a symbol, found on rings or seals. (3) Finally: Rearrange the letters in the eight highlighted squares to form machines (plural) that imitate the movements of a living creature. (The Bowes museum has a stunning example.) * Accepted spelling by The Chambers Dictionary.
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 41
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR National Trust collection
42 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
National Treasures Of the million pieces in the National Trust’s collection a new book highlights 125. Antique Collecting showcases the best of the best, and the stories behind them
2 UNUSUAL ‘HONG’ PUNCHBOWL The decoration on this exceptional punchbowl reveals that it was made at a very specific time and place as a souvenir for Western merchants working in China. Dating from around 1786–1788, the painted scene depicts a ‘hong’ – a stretch of dwellings, offices and warehouses along the river outside Guangzhou (Canton). At the period of manufacture, Chinese rulers wanted to control Western influence, by ensuring only licensed foreign merchants could work in secure trading compounds. Hence the flags of Denmark, Spain, France, Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the USA billow above the trading post. Nostell, West Yorkshire
1 GILTWOOD MIRROR For more than 250 years, the impressive giltwood mirror (left) has captured the reflections of faces of guests at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. It was made for Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Scarsdale (1726–1804), by a cabinetmaker from Derby and probably designed in collaboration with the architect and designer Robert Adam (1728–92). The tropical palm-tree design was also used on a set of matching candle stands and a state bed, creating one of the most impressive and elaborate ‘spare rooms’ in history. Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire
‘The painted unicorn heads are part of the crest of an unidentified Italian family. Once common in wealthier homes, few survive today and this example is one of the finest known to exist’ 3 ITALIAN BASIL POT This earthenware pot, dating from the 1400s, was designed to grow scented herbs, such as basil, which could help to mask any disagreeable odours in a room. Such pots were made in southern Spain and decorated with lustre glazes often to a commission and, hence, often included crests and coats of arms. On the pot shown here, the painted unicorn heads are part of a crest belonging to an unidentified Italian family. Once common in wealthier homes, few survive today, and this example is the finest known to exist. Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire ANTIQUE COLLECTING 43
THE EXPERT COLLECTOR National Trust collection
4 CHIPPENDALE LIBRARY TABLE The large, mahogany library table (above) was the most expensive piece the furniture-maker Thomas Chippendale (1718–1779) made for Sir Rowland Winn, the owner of Nostell in Yorkshire. Winn was so proud of the piece, made in 1766 and described on Chippendale’s invoice as ‘finish’d in the most elegant taste’, that it appeared in a double portrait of the homeowner and his wife, Sabine, painted shortly afterwards. The desk was made of mahogany, at the time of manufacture in high demand for all types of furniture because of its rich colour and ease of handling. Nostell, West Yorkshire
5 THE AGREEABLE LESSON The Chelsea porcelain factory, established around 1743– 1745, produced some of the most desirable ceramic figures of any period, often featuring pastoral scenes. Pieces were made from a soft-paste porcelain because European makers had not yet mastered the east Asian art of producing hard white porcelain. The Agreeable Lesson is based on a print after a painting by the French artist François Boucher (1703–70). The shepherdess’s hand on the shepherd’s knee, modelled by the Flemish maker Joseph Willems, (1716–1766), creates a heady sense of romance and sexual tension. Upton House, Warwickshire
44 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
6 TROMPE L’OEIL TABLE While this might look like a side table scattered with essential items, ranging from a quill pen to a folded sheet of music, it is, in fact, an example of trompe l’oeil. The table was made in France in the late 1700s and painted by Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845), whose father was a furnituremaker. The inclusion of very ordinary objects alongside decorative features, such as a plaster relief depicting children playing with a goat, appears both naturalistic and playful. Wimpole, Cambridgeshire
7 CHINESE WALLPAPER When Philip Yorke (1743–1804) and his wife, Elizabeth (1750–79), decided to redecorate their home at Erddig, near Wrexham, they chose a hand-painted Chinese wallpaper for their principal bedroom, lavishly decorated with birds and flowers. Towards the end of the 1700s, the fashion for Chinese products with naturalistic designs was at its height among well-heeled customers from the West. Wealthy buyers sought out porcelain, fabric, lacquer furniture and wallpaper, like this example from an unknown workshop, probably in Guangzhou, c. 1770, bursting with colourful images from the natural world. Erddig, Wrexham
8 SILVER TUREEN In wealthy households in the 1700s, lavish silver soup tureens were placed at the head of the table for the assembled diners to marvel at. In Georgian society, the ostentatious display of silver was an indicator of wealth, taste and judgement. This gem, dated 1752-1753, was commissioned for Ickworth in Suffolk by George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1721–75), who was a great patron to the most talented silversmiths. It is part of one of the most intact dinner services of this period, and its maker was a German émigré, Frederick Kandler (d.1778), who was adept at interpreting Continental fashions for an English market. Ickworth, Suffolk Taken from 125 Treasures – From the Collections of the National Trust published at the end of March and available through nationaltrust.org.uk/shop priced £10. Visitor details of all the properties mentioned, including current Covid-19 restrictions, can be found at www.nationaltrust.org.uk ANTIQUE COLLECTING 45
ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER London street signs
SALEROOM SPOTLIGHT
The thinktank included representatives from the new boroughs, motoring organisations as well as the Royal College of Art, represented by the Russian-born British architect and designer Sir Misha Black (1910-1977), the RCA’s professor of industrial design from 1959 to 1975. In 1942, with the graphic designer Milner Gray and the critic and poet Herbert Read, Black had set up the design firm Design Research Unit (DRU). In 1967, Westminster City Council commissioned it to come up with new signs, paying £540 for a new typeface, which had to be legible, suit a number of architectural styles, and be able to be condensed to suit smaller signs.
More than 220 iconic London street signs go under the hammer this month and with estimates starting at £80 it could be a great opportunity to see your name in lights
A
sked to conjure up a London street sign, the chances are most people will bring to mind a white rectangle enamel sign with black lettering, a red postal district above a black line and the borough name in red just below. The iconic nameplate comes from just one London borough – the City of Westminster, and this month Kentbased Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers offers more than 220, consigned by the council, for sale in a two-week, timed online auction starting on February 17.
WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL The history of the street signs is married to that of the capital itself. In 1965, the county of Greater London was created replacing 28 metropolitan boroughs with 32 London boroughs, and ushering in an opportunity for new street nameplates across the capital. At the same time, road signage in general was being reviewed throughout the capital and, in 1966, the Ministry of Transport appointed a working party to oversee the revamp.
46 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
THE DRU AND PUBS
Top Catherine Southon
showcases the nameplates
Top right The street signs are as iconic as London telephone boxes (sign not in sale) Above far right Fifth Avenue W10, which may appeal to the American market and is expected to fetch £80-£120 Above right Pimlico Road
sign has an estimate of £100-£200
Left The Abbey Road sign has an estimate of £1,000-£2,000
One of DRU’s first brand makeovers was for the Watney Mann brewery in the 1950s and 1960s. At least 400 London pubs were destroyed during the Blitz – a quarter of them owned by Watneys – and from the mid ‘50s they were being rebuilt in cheap modern fashion, many of them for new housing estates. Watneys commissioned DRU to provide a coherent look for its premises across south-east England. The new pubs used what is known as a slab serif font – bold and modern, yet retaining the traditional tails on the letters. This was among the first signage to use pressure-formed plastic, which was soon to become a high-street craze.
NEW ALPHABET To fulfil Westminster’s criteria, the DRU had to effectively come up with a new alphabet. The final lettering was based on the bold condensed weights of Adrian Frutigers’ univers typeface family, designed in 1957. Some changes were made – the new alphabet had straight vertical sides on the ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘G’ and ‘Q’, while the ‘G’ has no spur (the small stroke at the bottom right-hand side). The signs were initially manufactured by Burnham & Co. in Sydenham, based on a set of instruction sheets from DRU. By 1993, they were manufactured by Garnier Signs in Willesden, costing between £30 to £60. From 2007 they were produced by A.J. Wells & Sons on the Isle
AUCTION fact file WHAT: 220 London street signs sold on behalf of Westminster City Council When: Timed online from February 17 until March 3 Where: Online from Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers, Chislehurst Business Centre, 1 Bromley Lane, Chislehurst, Kent, BR7 6LH Viewing: Online at www.the-saleroom. com and at www. catherinesouthon. co.uk
Above The nameplate for Westbourne Park Road W2 is expected to fetch £100-£200
of Wight who, lacking the original brief for the bespoke condensed block alphabet used the helvetica condensed, until an eagle-eyed employee spotted the error and reverted to the correct version. Since 2008, Westminster City Council has held the copyright to the nameplates’ original drawings and design briefs from Black’s estate. Anyone wishing to reproduce the signs, many of which mark London’s best-known locations, needs permission from the council. All of the street signs on sale at this month’s auction come with a signed letter of authenticity from the council.
Far left French interest?
The nameplate for Montpelier Street has an estimate of £80-£120
Above left The sign for
Charles Street has an estimate of £80-£120 Below left The City of
Westminster signs are on show across the West End (sign not in sale)
IN MY OPINION...
We asked Catherine Southon to share her sale highlights Why is the sale so special?
We are privileged to be selling a vast collection of iconic London street signs on behalf of Westminster City Council, which is upgrading its signs. This is a unique chance for buyers to own a rare piece of London’s history. As a south Londoner myself, these street and pole signs have great memories of places with so much history in one of the most famous capital cities in the world! The familiar black and red sans serif lettering are under copyright law, forbidden to be copied anywhere else in the world without permission from the council.
What are the highlights?
They range from Abbey Road NW8, which is estimated to fetch £1,000-£2,000, to Pimlico Road SW1, one of the premier destinations for antiques dealers and interior designers, which carries an estimate of £100-£200. Other signs include the prestigious Westbourne Park Road W2 at £100-£200, and Belgrave Place SW1, estimated at £80-£120, as is Circus Road NW2, and Dutchess Street, W1 for £100-£150.
Where are you expecting the interest to come? Across the board. Various names should appeal, such as Charles Street and Alexander Mews both estimated at £80-£120. Fifth Avenue W10 may appeal to the American market and is expected to fetch £80-£120, while Cambridge Street SW1 may attract royal fans (estimated at £100-£150), and then, for those born in Wiltshire, there’s Salisbury Street, which is expected to fetch £60-£120.
‘ i in
Top Royal interest – the Cambridge Road nameplate has an estimate of £100-£150 Above Personal touch – the Alexander Mews sign has a low estimate of £80
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 47
MEMORABILIA Famous underwear QUEEN VICTORIA’S BLOOMERS
Cool & Collectable
To lighten the lockdown and apropos of, well, nothing we could think of – Paul Fraser reveals the top 10 historical and celebrity undergarments ever sold
ELVIS’ RHINESTONE JOCKSTRAP
Elvis was swamped by gifts from fans, yet even the King must have been taken aback when this rhinestone-clad athletic support arrived in the post – complete with his initials. Whether worn or not, he later gave the starspangled pouch to his cousin Billy Smith’s son. The jockstrap subsequently was among the more outré exhibits at the Elvis Presley Museum in Memphis, curated by Elvis’ friend, Jimmy Velvet.
Top left Fully clothed, Elvis in Jailhouse Rock Above right A pair of large, silk bloomers once owned by Queen Victoria sold for £650, image courtesy of Hansons Auctioneers Right The former intern refused to give up her infamous blue dress Left You could own the King’s rhinestone jockstrap for £29,995, image courtesy of Paul Fraser Collectibles
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Much like a tree, you can determine the age of Queen Victoria’s underwear by their circumference. Which is why we can be confident that a pair of bloomers with a 52-inch waistband, which auctioned in 2015, were from the last years of the Queen’s reign. The royal family have traditionally offered their secondhand clothing as a gift to loyal members of staff. Victoria was more generous than most, which is why several silk, “VR” monogrammed bloomers have appeared on the market in recent years. The 2015 pair sold at Chippenham Auction Rooms for £12,090, which remains a record for Victoria’s underwear.
ROYAL UNDERGARMENTS
When Elizabeth II visited Chile in 1968, she left behind more than just warm feelings. The pilot of a plane chartered on the visit discovered the silk bloomers after Elizabeth had vacated the aircraft. They feature crocheted lace, an embroidered “E” and the Royal Crown cipher.
MONICA LEWINSKY’S NEGLIGEE
A black negligee once owned and worn by Monica Lewinsky in the 1990s came to auction in 2013. The negligee was one of 32 clothing items and notes submitted to the courts by a former lover of Lewinsky’s during Bill’s Clinton’s impeachment hearing. Andy Bleiler, Lewinsky’s former high school drama teacher, is believed to have been seeing Lewinsky during the same time-frame as Bill Clinton. The negligee failed to make its reserve. And since you ask, the infamous blue dress was not among the 32 items. Lewinsky turned down a reported $1 million to part with it in 2015. The interested buyer was a Las Vegas sex museum.
ADOLF HITLER’S BOXER SHORTS
Adolf Hitler’s striped, linen boxer shorts auctioned for $5,500 at Alexander Historical Auctions in 2017. Hitler left the undergarments in his suite at the Parkhotel Graz in Austria, following a two-night stay in April 1938 – just a year before WWII began. They bear his monogrammed initials to the right of the fly. This isn’t the first time Nazi underwear has sold at auction. A pair of Eva Braun’s knickers realised £2,900 at Philip Serrell Auctions in 2016.
JOHN F KENNEDY’S LONG JOHNS
Winters in Cape Cod can be mighty cold. So future president John F Kennedy doubtless got plenty of use out of these woolly long johns. The pair have excellent provenance: they were purchased by the late wellknown Maryland collector and dealer Richard Wilson at a highly publicised auction of Kennedy memorabilia in New York in 1998. They certainly look well-worn. Which likely explains why Jacqui Kennedy threw them out in the late 1950s. She used them to wrap a number of nicknacks that she sold to a Bethesda antiques dealer. The long johns sold for $6,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2010.
Above Hot stuff: Monroe’s bra as worn in Some Like it Hot sold for $28,000 in 2012 Above left A pair of JFK’s long johns sold for $6,000, image courtesy of Heritage Auctions Left Like all good boys, the president’s nametag was sewn into them Below right One lady owner: the pants worn by Madonna on her Who’s That Girl tour, image courtesy of Paul Fraser Collectibles
WALTER WHITE’S Y-FRONTS
MARILYN MONROE’S BRASSIERE
This writer thinks Some Like it Hot is Monroe at her very best. The film certainly resonates with movie collectors. A beige brassiere Monroe wore in conjunction with the flapper dress she sported in the film sold at a Julien’s auction in 2013 for $28,800. You can pick up a non-screen used Marilyn Monroe bra for around £2,000 – they are relatively common at auction.
MADONNA’S STAGE-WORN KNICKERS
Dame Edna Everage was the inspiration behind Madonna’s costume for the ‘Dress You Up’ song during her Who’s That Girl tour in 1987. Paul Fraser Collectibles has a pair of her stage-worn, pink knickers, with rhinestones and the word “kiss” on the rear. There is a large market for Madonna’s underwear, particularly stage-worn garments. A black bustier (complete with strategically placed tassels) worn during the same 1987 tour sold at Julien’s in 2011 for $75,000.
Having spent five seasons rooting for a violent meth dealer, Breaking Bad fans went crazy in 2013 when Walter White’s Y-fronts crossed the auction block. “Heisenberg’s” briefs, worn during the show’s first episode, sold during a ScreenBid sale of memorabilia for $9,900.
‘When Elizabeth II visited Chile in 1968, she left behind more than just warm feelings. The pilot of a private plane chartered by the Queen discovered the silk bloomers after Elizabeth had vacated the aircraft’
Paul Fraser is the founder of Paul Fraser Collectibles, for more details go to www. paulfrasercollectibles.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 49
Our next Fine Art & Antique auction will be held on
Wednesday 17 th March 2021 Inv i ti ng entr i es unti l 22 nd Febr u a r y 2021
CONTACT T: +44(0)1948 800 202 E: info@trevanion.com
w w w. t r e v a n i o n a n d d e a n . c o m
A pair of mid 19th century Copeland & Garrett ‘New Blanche’ twin handled urns or coolers c.1840
We are currently accepting entries of ceramics, silver and decorative works of art for our Fine Antiques Auction on April 21. If you have an item or collection that you wish to sell, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Tom or Catherine on 0208 468 1010 or email thomas@catherinesouthon.co.uk
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EXPERT COMMENT Lennox Cato LENNOX CATO
Without RESERVE The dining room is rarely updated so it’s important to choose its centrepiece – the table – well, writes Lennox Cato Left By the second half of the 18th century, large-scale dining was popular, as seen in the dining room of Holyrood Palace Below right An early
19th-century Regency mahogany twin pedestal dining table, courtesy Thakeham Antiques
Bottom right A midVictorian mahogany extending table with bulbous legs, courtesy Lennox Cato
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s a rule, we only have one formal dining table in our homes so take your time when choosing. One of the main factors will naturally be the size of your room and how many people you would like to accommodate. When buying antique dining tables the same rules apply as other antiques, originality is always important. If, for example, you are considering an extending table, ask if the extra leaves are original. The top may not be associated (original) to the base, a factor which will affect the price considerably. Also check the table has not been altered by being made smaller or cross-banded later and, although I never suggest buying for investment, buying something that is not totally original will effect the long term value.
at a quality, vetted antique fair, but as long as you are aware of its history (and you have not paid an ‘original’ price), it is a perfectly acceptable buy – although will never have the investment potential of an original piece. Over the years, late 18th-century mahogany D-end tables have become popular. These comprise of a central cottage diner section and a pair of D-ends which allow the user to have versatility in the use of the table. I personally find this design not so practical due to its many legs and quite often a deep frieze. For smaller dining areas, 18th-century mahogany drop-leaf tables work extremely well, especially as the flaps allow them to be put aside when not in use. The better ones are supported on cabriole legs but you will find them, more often than not, on a turned, tapering leg on a pad foot. Understated and practical, they can be bought very reasonably today.
VICTORIAN STYLE In the Victorian period, extending dining tables became much heavier in design and extra legs were added for strength. Be aware of friezes underneath the table which can be difficult for diners to fit their legs. The further into the period, the bigger and bulkier the legs become, which are not so attractive, but these kinds of tables can be bought today at very competitive prices if they suit your requirements. Circular or oval tables, often known as breakfast tables, are great tables for conversation, with six- or eight-seaters perfect for entertaining. Late 18th or 19thcentury designs are usually supported on stylish tripod platform bases. The bases may be extremely elaborate, with carved, lion-paw feet and scrolling acanthus leaves. 19th-century versions can be found in exotic woods such as rosewood and amboyna – a great centre table for a large hallway. Lennox Cato is a specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and owns Lennox Cato Antiques, for more details go to www.lennoxcato.com
REGENCY ELEGANCE For large dining rooms Regency period (late 18th to early 19th century) mahogany pedestal-supported dining tables (with two or more pedestals) remain one of the best designs for large-scale entertaining. The legs being situated in the centre of the table means you and your guests’ legs are not competing. As they generally have one or more leaves, the table can be adjusted to the size of your party very easily. A completely original table such as this comes at a high price, less so one with an associated top. Vetting procedures mean you would never find this type of table
‘In the Victorian period, extending dining tables became much heavier in design and extra legs were added for strength’ ANTIQUE COLLECTING 51
COLLECTING GUIDE C F Tunnicliffe
NATURAL PHENOMENON After decades in the doldrums, the work of C F Tunnicliffe, one of the UK’s best wildlife painters, is back in vogue, writes Holly Johnson
ON THE FARM Born in Langley, Cheshire, the son of a clog makerturned tenant farmer, Tunnicliffe was raised on a farm, which, with its surrounding landscape, gave the youngster endless inspiration, with subjects ranging from farmyard animals to the nearby Peak District. While his instinct drew him towards artistic endeavour, the demands of a working farm steered him towards hard graft (a direction encouraged by his father who was wary of his son’s artistic skill). Despite this, and supported by his village school teacher, aged 14, Tunnicliffe was enrolled at the Macclesfield School of Art in 1916. His talent was then fostered by Royal College of Art-trained principal, Thomas Cartwright, who helped the 19-year-old protégé win a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London. Here he spent the first term yearning for the countryside and finding solace visiting Regent’s Park Zoo and the Natural History Museum. Sketchbooks were soon filled with all manner of wildlife, including birds, both live and stuffed. Even the pigeons of Trafalgar Square proved to be lively and interesting subjects.
OUTBREAK OF TALENT At the RCA Tunnicliffe’s tutors included the renowned portraitist Sir William Rothenstein and wood-engraver Paul Nash. During the early 1920s, regarded by many as a ‘golden age’ of British art schooling (which Rothenstein famously described as an “outbreak of talent”), the college was home to immense artistic ability, with fellow
F
ew people alive in Britain in the 20th century could fail to be aware of the work of Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe OBE (1901-1979). Whether illustrating Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter, his iconic drawings for Penguin and Puffin, or in countless advertising campaigns, Tunnicliffe’s work was at the heart of mid-century Britain. So much so, in fact, that it eclipsed his work as one of the UK’s foremost 20th-century wildlife artists and printmakers. While seen as old fashioned in the 1990s, Tunnicliffe’s work is starting to resonante among today’s wildlife-aware ‘Attenborough’ generation. Now his work is being increasingly appreciated for its accurate portrayal of animals, with Tunnicliffe’s knowledge of their natural habitats providing lively and captivating compositions.
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Above C F Tunnicliffe’s wildlife paintings suit a number of interiors both traditional and modern, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques Right C F Tunnicliffe’s
painting of geese, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques
The Farm
A generation of British schoolchildren learnt about the countryside and how to identify flora and fauna from Tunnicliffe’s illustrations for Ladybird Books and Puffin. His association with Ladybird began in the late 1950s with illustrations for The Farm, a learning-to-read book. It was followed by What To Look for in Winter, the first in a series of nature and wildlife books covering the four seasons.
students including Douglas Percy Bliss, Eric Ravilious (with whom he shared rooms), Enid Marx, Barnett Feedman, Edward Bawden and Charles Mahoney. Tunnicliffe was also befriended by the ‘Leeds group’, which included Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Raymond Coxon. One of Tunnicliffe’s first public exhibitions was at the Redfern Gallery with RCA contemporaries Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Vivian Pitchforth, Percy Horton and Edward Burra. Rothenstein, who would invite students to Sunday evening gatherings at his home in Airlie Gardens, added a School of Engraving to the RCA’s four existing schools (Painting & Drawing, Architecture, Sculpture, Design) to which Tunnicliffe was offered a further year’s scholarship.
LONDON LIFE It was at the RCA that Tunnicliffe met fellow student and future wife, Winifred Wonnacott. She came from Hollywood, near Belfast, and together the pair shared a common love of nature. After both gaining a teaching diploma, Tunnicliffe took on a job as a part-time teacher at Woolwich Polytechnic while honing his skills as an etcher. At the
Above C F Tunnicliffe Playful Leopards, watercolour, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques Below C F Tunnicliffe’s
set of six watercolours of pigeons, c. 1960, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques
same time he was introduced to Malcolm Salaman who acted as a broker for students’ etchings, which, at the time, were in high demand. But towards the end of the 1920s the financial climate worsened and the demand for etchings fell away. When his father died in 1925, Tunnicliffe’s time in London came to an end, and he looked towards a future in his native Cheshire. In 1929, he returned to Macclesfield to marry his fiancée, Winifred, whose chance reading of Henry Williamson’s 1928 book Tarka the Otter was to provide a turning point in the young artist’s career.
‘At the Royal College of Art, his fellow students included Douglas Percy Bliss, Eric Ravilious (with whom he shared rooms), Enid Marx, Barnett Feedman, Edward Bawden and Charles Mahoney. Tunnicliffe was also befriended by the ‘Leeds group’, which included Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Raymond Coxon’
Below Tunnicliffe also
illustrated Negley Farson’s popular fishing book Going Fishing
Above Tunnicliffe’s illustration of Henry Williamson’s 1928 book Tarka the Otter put the young illustrator on the map
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 53
COLLECTING GUIDE C F Tunnicliffe
Right Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo/Century Guild, fretwork chair, c.1882, © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
made a start with one of Winifred’s wood blocks. The resulting realistic depictions of otters playing and swimming soon established Tunnicliffe’s reputation as an illustrator and, with his star in the ascendency, he went on to illustrate more than 120 other books.
COMMERCIAL WORK
OTTER PROPERTY Though the book won the prestigious Hawthornden prize for literature, it was not then illustrated and Winifred encouraged her husband to submit a series of trial aquatints of the water mammal to the book’s publishers Putnam’s. While the publisher leapt at the idea of an illustrated book, it requested wood engravings rather than aquatints. Despite being relatively inexperienced in the medium, Tunnicliffe
Top right C F Tunnicliffe,
painting of an elephant, pencil, watercolour and crayon on paper, c. 1960, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques Above right C F Tunnicliffe, black-tailed godwit, watercolour, pencil and ink, c. 1960, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques Above Wildlife pictures are back in vogue, especially among the ‘Attenborough’ generation, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Antiques Left C F Tunnicliffe one of a set of six watercolours of pigeons, c. 1960, image courtesy of Holly Johnson Right One of Tunnicliffe’s biggest early commissions was for Bob Martin’s condition papers
54 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Work as a book illustrator dovetailed with Tunnicliffe’s ongoing high-profile commercial commissions, with his first large commission in the spring of 1935 to promote Bob Martin condition papers for which he was requested to show dogs before and after treatment. His trial block of an Alsatian, for which he was paid £10, was rejected because it showed “too much of a country residence.” (The new powders were marketed at urban, well-heeled dog lovers.) Other commissions included work for companies ranging from Shell to Mackeson Stout and Harris Tweed. Tunnicliffe also designed tins for Frears biscuits and calendars for Boots the Chemist.
Collecting Tunnicliffe Throughout his career, Tunnicliffe worked in several media, including watercolours, etching and aquatint, wood engraving, woodcut, scraperboard (sometimes called scratchboard), and oils. In 1995, the RSPB sold 114 works of art at a Sotheby’s auction, raising £210,000, the most expensive of a partridge, making a total of £6,440. His characterful oils, often depicting traditional farming themes, are rarer than other mediums and command a higher price, generally ranging from £5,000 to £8,000, while more numerous watercolours sell for between £4,000 to £6,000 dependent on theme and size, with original works particularly sought after. Tunnicliffe’s original sketches and etchings, many of which carry inscriptions, make a great addition to any collection. It is important to check carefully for tears, and foxing to see if there have been discolorations, and other forms of deterioration. These are valued at around £1,500 to £3,000. At the more affordable end of the market, signed prints are becoming very collectable with prices on the increase, expect to pay £300 to £500.
Above C F Tunnicliffe, one of three ink and wash drawings of Anglesey, c. 1960
WELSH RETREAT
Above C F Tunnicliffe, one of three ink and wash drawings of Anglesey, c. 1960
Above C F Tunnicliffe, one of three ink and wash drawings of Anglesey, c. 1960
Throughout the war years, when Tunnicliffe was an art master at Manchester Grammar School, he made regular visits to Anglesey to record its birds, flora and magnificent coastal landscapes. On one trip, the couple fell in love with a bungalow called ‘Shorelands’ on the island. They moved there in 1947 when Tunnicliffe was at the peak of his career with his entries to the annual Summer Exhibition regularly selling on the opening day. It was here he continued to take on commissions well into his sixties, despite the pressures of old age and the death of Winifred in 1969. In 1972, his long-time friend, Sir Kyffin Williams, tried to persuade the Royal Academy to mount an exhibition championing Tunnicliffe’s importance and magnitude. Initially reluctant, with the genre out of vogue, in 1974 the RA president Sir Thomas Monnington agreed. In an exhibition catalogue in the 1980s, Sir Kyffin Williams paid tribute to his friend: “Every day he worked; in the fields, on the shore, in the Anglesey marshes and in his studio overlooking the sea. When the world of art was arguing to decide what was art and what was not, Charles Tunnicliffe just lived and worked. Pleasure to him did not lie in recognition but in something as simple as a woodcock’s feather or the sight of a heron from his studio window.” After his death aged 78, from a heart attack at Shorelands, much of his work was bequeathed to Anglesey Council and can today be seen at Oriel Ynys Mon (The Anglesey Gallery) showcasing his skill as a scientific naturalist and artist. Holly Johnson of Holly Johnson Antiques, has a large collection of Tunnicliffe paintings for sale at her showroom in Knutsford, Cheshire. Find out more at www.hollyjohnsonantiques.com ANTIQUE COLLECTING 55
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FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN 1951
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Due to the current crisis there may be some delay in sending out books. For more details, or to order a copy, email georgina.street@accartbooks.com 56 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
PRE-PUBLICATION
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ANTIQUE COLLECTING 57
ANTIQUES UNDER THE HAMMER Lots in February
TOP of the LOTS
Left A blend of functionality and style, makes the Submariner iconic
Queen memorabilia and the cover of an historic Arctic magazine go under the hammer this month
Did you know?
The cover of The South Polar Times, produced on the ice in Antarctica by members of Scott’s British National Antarctic Expedition on the ‘Discovery’ trip of 1901-1904, is expected to make £4,000£6,000 at Bonhams’ travel and expedition sale on February 10. Mostly produced in the dark months of May to August, it was Edward Wilson, the expedition’s zoologist and junior surgeon, who contributed the majority of the illustrations, including the polar coat of arms used on the cover. Wilson was later one of Scott’s doomed fiveman Polar party of 1912. One of the famed explorer’s favourites, when the team’s final camp was found, Wilson’s frozen body was discovered with Scott’s left arm extended over him. Above Dr Edward Wilson (1872-1912) designed the cover of the magazine’s second volume
A late 18th-century south Staffordshire or Bilston enamel tea caddy and cover has an estimate of £600-£800 at Catherine Southon Auctioneers’ sale on February 24. By the early 18th century, workers in the metalworking town of Bilston, near Wolverhampton, had turned to enamels to meet the rising demand among Georgians for containers, ranging from tea caddies to patch boxes.
Above Dated c. 1770, the rectangular caddy is decorated with a watery, Italianate landscape.
A rare proof of an Irish copper halfpenny showing George III with long hair is expected to make £3,000 at Dix Noonan Webb’s online sale on February 2. Dated 1774, it was bought for the equivalent of $2 by the late American numatist Eric Newman. In 1766, six years after coming to the English throne, George III produced an issue of copper halfpennies for Ireland with a number of proofs. However, as the issue was too small to provide change for the Irish economy, contemporary copies were made in Ireland. Above The fine copper coin dates from 1774
58 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
The “perpetual” in an Oyster Perpetual Movement refers to the ability of the watch to run on the energy provided by the motion of the wearer’s wrist, rather than manual winding. It was invented by Rolex in 1931. A Rolex Submariner watch in 18ct yellow gold, with an oyster bracelet, has an estimate of £10,000- £15,000 at Fellows’ sale on February 15. Despite the design being the first Submariner to be waterresistant to 300m (1000ft) it is unlikely to be worn by the divers for whom it was developed in the 1950s. While original versions were made in stainless steel suitable to be worn underwater, this later model – in more malleable yellow gold – is aimed at luxury buyers rather than sportspeople.
A 5.5cm oval brooch depicting the Doves of Pliny in micro mosaics has an estimate of £600-£800 at Charterhouse’s sale on February 4. The brooch, which comes in its original box from Charles Frodsham in Bond Street, London, originated in Italy c. 1905. The original Doves of Pliny came from a Roman floor mosaic discovered in 1737 at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, with the pattern believed to be a copy of a lost ancient Greek mosaic at Pergamon. Charterhouse’s Richard Bromell, said: “The market remains strong for silver, jewellery and watches despite being in a national lockdown. Collectors and dealers are always hungry for good lots such as this beautiful brooch.” Above The doves are depicted in micro mosaics
There’s a chance for music fans to get their hands on some original rock memorabilia this month, when photographs signed by the roadie who chronicled Queen go under the hammer. Items from the collection of Peter Hince, who toured with the band for 11 years, will be sold by Woking-based auctioneers Ewbank’s, with estimates for some iconic images starting at just £40. An A2-size, signed, limited-edition print of Freddie Mercury titled Royal Robes has an estimate of £40-£60. Peter Hince said: “The print of Freddie in his crown and robes has become iconic. It was done on a whim of Freddie’s in early 1987 when he wanted a ‘fun’ photo. He liked it because it contrasts his grandeur with the nuts and bolts of the studio environment.” Peter Hince met Queen in 1973 when they were opening for Mott the Hoople, began working full-time for the band in 1975 and stayed with them until their final concert in 1986. Employed as a roadie, he recalls picking up his camera to record life on tour. He said: “Because I was Freddie’s personal roadie for 11 years we had a close relationship and he trusted me when I had a camera. He was a great subject and would react to the camera well, when he was in the right mood. You didn’t get long, so some of the snatched candid images I took capture him well.” As well as photographs, an unworn T-shirt from the 1984 Sun City tour is up for sale with an estimate of £150.
1
Video stars
An original 10 x 8in back and white print of Freddie Mercury on the set of Crazy Little Thing Called Love has an estimate of £50-£80 in this month’s online sale. Peter said: “At the video shoots, I was often the only photographer. It wasn’t my job, I just took photos for fun. The ‘Crazy’ video, shot in a studio in Soho, was good fun and marked the start of a change in style for Queen. Fred was in his leathers with the moustache to come shortly afterwards. The song resonates with me as I was with Freddie when he wrote it, very spontaneously as we travelled from London to Munich.” A black and white photo taken on the set of I Want To Break Free, has the same estimate of £50-£80. Peter said: “The ‘Break Free’ video, shot in a Battersea studio in 1984 was a lot of fun with Queen dressed up in comedy drag. The band could make fun of themselves at times – but never the music, that always came first.”
2
4
3
5
The photos and T-shirt are part of Ewbank’s online entertainment, memorabilia and movie props sale on February 25. 1 The signed Royal Robes photograph taken by Peter Hince, 1987, signed and stamped has an estimate of £40-£60 2 An original 10 x 8in back and white silver gelatin print showing Freddie Mercury on the set of Crazy Little Thing Called Love, taken by Peter Hince, signed and stamped, framed and glazed has an estimate of £50-£80 3 A T-shirt from the 1984 Sun City tour, size medium, has an estimate of £120-£140. 4 An original 10 x 8in black and white silver gelatin print showing Freddie Mercury on the set of I Want To Break Free, 1984, taken by Peter Hince, signed and stamped, framed and glazed, has an estimate of £50-£80 5 The roadie-cum-photographer Peter Hince with Queen’s Brian May in the foreground © Peter Hince (image not in sale)
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 59
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FAIRS Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the fairs listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend a fair especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
B2B Events 07886 501931 www.b2bevents.info Detling Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Market Kent County Showground, Detling, Nr Maidstone ME14 3JF, 27-28 Feb
LONDON: Inc. Greater London Sunbury Antiques 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Sunbury Antiques Market, Kempton Park Race Course, Staines Road East, Sunbury-onThames, Middlesex, TW16 5AQ, 9, 23 Feb 9 (tbc)
TIQUES CENTRES
SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: including Beds, Cambs, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex. Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fairs www.dovehousefine antiquesfairs.com 07952689717 Antiques Fair, Dorking Halls, Reigate Road, Surrey, 28 Feb (tbc).
Galloway Antiques Fairs 01423 522122 www.gallowayfairs.co.uk Antiques Fair, Stonyhurst College, Nr Clitheroe, Lancashire, BB7 9PZ, 19-21 Feb (tbc)
ARMS
SOUTH WEST: including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire.
Rutland
IACF 01636 702326, www.iacf.co.uk Newark, Antiques and Collectors’ Fair, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY 4 Feb Runway at Newark Antiques and Collectors’ Fair, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY, 22 Feb NORTH
Sunbury Antiques 01932 230946 www.sunburyantiques.com Sandown Antiques Market, Sandown Park Racecourse, Portsmouth Road, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9AJ, 14 Feb (tbc)
The
EAST MIDLANDS including Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland.
ANTIQUES
ADVERTISE TODAY PLEASE CALL
Malvern Flea & Collectors Market
Three Counties Showground, Worcestershire, WR13 6NW.
7th February Sunday 7th March
CANCELLED
Entrance: 7.30am-3.30pm - £5
Detling Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Market The Kent County Showground, Detling, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 3JF.
27th - 28th February
Sat: Early Entry: 8.30am - £6 Sat: Entry: 10am-4.30pm - £5 Sun: 10.30am - 3.30pm - £4 PLEASE CHECK that this event will go ahead as a two day market
Please check www.b2bevents.info in case these dates have changed or been cancelled
Tel: 01636 676531 • www.b2bevents.info Rugs on show at Emily’s House London, one of the exhibitors at this month’s online version of the London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair, from January 26 to February 14, for more details go to www.larta.net
GEORGINA WROE on 01394 389952 or email:
georgina.wroe@accartbooks.com
ANTIQUE COLLECTING 61
AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
LONDON: Inc. Greater London Bonhams, New Bond St., W1 020 7447 7447 www.bonhams.com Japanese Paintings from a London Collection (To Be Sold Without Reserve), ends Feb 4 The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair, Online Auction, ends Feb 12 Fine and Rare Wines, Feb 18 Legends of the Road, Feb 19 British. Cool, Feb 27 Bonhams, Knightsbridge, SW7 020 7393 3900 www.bonhams.com The Chanel Auction, Feb 5-16 Travel and Exploration, Feb 10 The Gentleman’s Library Sale, Feb 23 Watches and Wristwatches, Feb 23 Chiswick Auctions, 1 Colville Rd, Chiswick, W3 8BL 020 8992 4442 www.chiswickauctions.co.uk Asian Art, Feb 17 Interiors, Homes & Antiques, Feb 18 Christie’s, King St., London, SW1 020 7839 9060 www.christies.com Patrick Moorhead - Hidden Treasures, Feb 4-25 Dix Noonan Webb, 16 Bolton St, Piccadilly, W1J 8BQ 020 7016 1700 www.dnw.co.uk Coins and Historic Medals, Feb 2 Orders, Decorations and Militaria, Feb 17 British, Irish and World Banknotes, Feb 24 Dreweatts London 16-17 Pall Mall, St James’s London SW1Y 5LU 020 7839 8880 www.dreweatts.com See Newbury listing Elmwood’s Auctioneers 101 Talbot Road, London, W11 2AT
62 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
0207 096 8933 www.elmwoods.co.uk None listed in February Forum Auctions 220 Queenstown Road, London SW8 4LP 020 7871 2640 www.forumauctions.co.uk Books and Works on Paper, Feb 4 Online Sale: Modern Literature, Private Press and Illustrated Books, Feb 18 Forum Auctions @ Artsy, Feb 25 Hansons Auctioneers The Normansfield Theatre, 2A Langdon Park, Teddington TW11 9PS, 0207 018 9300 www.hansonsauctioneers.com Fine Art and Interiors, Feb 27 Lyon & Turnbull 22 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AF 0207 930 9115 www.lyonandturnbull.com See Edinburgh listing Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX, 020 7318 4010 www.phillips.com Design, Feb 10 Wired, Feb 18 Roseberys, Knights Hill, SE27 020 8761 2522 www.roseberys.co.uk A Private Collection of Silver & Judaica, Feb 2 Modern & Contemporary British Art, Feb 16 A Single Owner Collection, Feb 24 Sotheby’s, New Bond St., W1 020 7293 5000 www.sothebys.com Detective Fiction Including The Alexis Galanos Collection, end Feb 4 Important Picasso Ceramics, Feb 11-23 Distilled | Whisky + Whiskey, Feb 10-26 Vine | Finest & Rarest, starts Feb 17 Contemporary Art Day Auction, starts Feb 24
Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale, starts Feb 25 SOUTH EAST AND EAST ANGLIA: Inc. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex Beeston Auctions, Unit 12, Paynes Business Park, Dereham Road, Beeston, Norfolk, PE32 2NQ, 01328 598080 www.beestonauctions.co.uk Antiques, Collectables with Sporting & Automobilia, Feb 10 Bishop and Miller, 19 Charles Industrial Estate, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5AH 01449 673088 www.bishopandmiller auctions.co.uk Mr Bishop Interiors, Feb 5 Mr Bishop Asian Art, Feb 12 Mr Bishop Jewellery, Feb 12
Durrants Auctions The Old School House, Peddars Lane, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 9UE 01502 713490 www.durrantsauctions.com The Contents of William Bents Beccles Town House, Feb 5 General Antiques, Silver, Jewellery and Furniture, Feb 12 Toys and Collectables, Feb 19 A Private Collection of Antique Firearms and Militaria, Feb 26 Ewbank’s, London Rd, Send, Woking, Surrey 01483 223 101 www.ewbankauctions.co.uk Antique and Collectors’, Including Silver, Feb 17 Toys & Models, Feb 24 Entertainment, Memorabilia & Movie Props, Feb 25 Vintage Posters, Feb 26
Burstow & Hewett, The Auction Gallery, Lower Lake, Battle, East Sussex,TN33 0AT 01424 772 374 www.burstowandhewett.co.uk Antiques, Feb 24 Fine Art, Feb 25
Excalibur Auctions Limited Unit 16 Abbots Business Park Primrose Hill Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8FR 020 3633 0913 wwwexcaliburauctions.com Advertising & Travel and Railwayana, Feb 11 Comics and Comic Books, Feb 20
Catherine Southon Auctioneers Farleigh Court, Old Farleigh Road, Selsdon, Surrey CR6 9PE 0208 468 1010 www.catherinesouthon.co.uk Antiques, Feb 24
Lacy Scott & Knight, 10 Risbygate St, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3AA, 01284 748 623 www.lskauctioncentre.co.uk Toys & Collectors Models, Feb 5 Homes and Interiors, Feb 20
Cheffins Clifton House, Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA 01223 213343, www.cheffins.co.uk Art and Design, Feb 11 The Interiors Sale, Feb 25 Art Auction in aid of Art Therapy at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, Feb 25-March 6
Reeman Dansie No. 8 Wyncolls Road Severalls Business Park, Colchester, CO4 9HU 01206 754754 www.reemandansie.com Antique & Modern Furnishings, Feb 9 Fine & Affordable Art, ends Feb 14
Clarke and Simpson Campsea Ashe, Nr. Wickham Market, Suffolk, IP13 0PS 01728 746323 www.clarkeandsimpson.co.uk The Monday Sale, Feb 1, 8, 15, 22 Rural Bygones, Feb 6 Antiques and Fine Art, Feb 24
Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, CM24 8GE 01279 817778 www.sworder.co.uk Homes and Interiors, Feb 2, 16 Jewellery, Feb 24
T.W. Gaze, Diss Auction Rooms, Roydon Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 4LN, Norfolk 01379 650306. www.twgaze.com Blyth Barn Furniture Auction, Feb 3, 24 Antiques & Interiors, Feb 5, 12, 19, 26 Vintage Fashion & Furnishings, Feb 9 SOUTH WEST: Inc. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire British Bespoke Auctions The Old Boys School, Gretton Rd, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, GL54 5EE 01242 603005 www.bespokeauctions.co.uk Antiques, Feb 3 Charterhouse Auctioneers and Valuers, Long Street, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 3BS, 01935 812277 www.charterhouse-auction.com Silver, Jewellery & Watches, Feb 4 Antiques & Interiors, Feb 5 Wine, Whisky, Port & Spirits, Feb 5 Chorley’s, Prinknash Abbey Park, Gloucestershire, GL4 8EU 01452 344499 www.chorleys.com None listed in February David Lay Auctions Penzance Auction House Alverton, Penzance, Cornwall 01736 361414 www.davidlay.co.uk Asian, Feb 18 Dawsons Kings Grove Estate, Maidenhead, Berkshire | SL6 4DP 01628 944100 www.dawsonsauctions.co.uk Ethnographia and Tribal Art, Feb 4 Dominic Winter Auctioneers, Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 5UQ 01285 860006 www.dominicwinter.co.uk Printed Books, Maps & Documents, Military & Aviation History, Feb 17
Dreweatts Donnington Priory Newbury Berkshire RG14 2JE 01635 553 553 www.dreweatts.com Space Exploration, Photography and Ephemera, Feb 18 Fine and Rare Wines and Spirits, Feb 25 Duke’s, Brewery Square, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1GA 01305 265080 www.dukes-auctions.com Fine Art & Antiques, Feb 11 The Newton House Collection, Feb 11 Coins, Militaria, Sporting and Tribal Art, Feb 25 East Bristol Auctions, Unit 1, Hanham Business Park, Memorial Road, Hanham, BS15 3JE 0117 967 1000 www.eastbristol.co.uk Antiques and Collectables, Feb 11, 12 Jewellery, Feb 18 Fine Art and Antiques, Feb 19 Gardiner Houlgate, 9 Leafield Way, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9SW 01225 812912 www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk Specialist Watches, Feb 24 Fine Clocks, Feb 26 Miscellaneous Clocks & Horology, Feb 26 HRD Auction Rooms Ltd The Auction Rooms, Quay Lane Brading, Isle of Wight PO36 0AT 01983 402222 www.hdrauctionrooms.co.uk Antique & Modern, Feb 16 Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd. Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 8AB, 01460 703041 www.lawrences.co.uk General Sale, Feb 10 Mallams Oxford, Bocardo House, St Michael’s St, Oxford. 01865 241358 www.mallams.co.uk The Oxford Library Sale, Feb 17 Mallams Cheltenham, 26 Grosvenor St, Cheltenham. Gloucestershire, 01242 235 712 www.mallams.co.uk Country House Sale, Feb 18
Mallams Abingdon, Dunmore Court, Wootten Road, Abingdon, OX13 6BH 01235 462840 www.mallams.co.uk The Home Sale, Feb 15 Philip Serrell, Barnards Green Rd, Malvern, Worcs. WR14 3LW, 01684 892314 www.serrell.com Interiors, Feb 4, 25 Stroud Auctions, Bath Rd Trading Estate, Bath Rd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 3QF 01453 873 800 www.stroudauctions.co.uk Pictures & paintings, books, stamps, ephemera, ceramics, glass, scientific instruments, cameras and weights, scales & measures, Feb 3-4 The Pedestal, The Dairy, Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 6HF, 01491 522733 www.thepedestal.com Fine Interiors, Feb 9 Wessex Auction Rooms Westbrook Farm, Draycot Cerne Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 5LH 01249 720888 www.wessexauctionrooms.co.uk Antiques, Collectables & Furniture, Feb 6-7, & 20-21 Toys, Feb 26-28 Woolley & Wallis, 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, 01722 424500 www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk None listed for February EAST MIDLANDS: Inc. Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Sheffield Batemans, Ryhall Rd, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XF 01780 766 466 www.batemans.com Jewellery & Watches, Silver & Gold, Feb 19 Gildings Auctioneers, The Mill, Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough, LE16 7DE 01858 410414, www.gildings.co.uk Antiques and Collectors, Feb 2, 16 Aero Model Engines and Kits, Feb 23
Golding Young & Mawer The Bourne Auction Rooms, Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9LE 01778 422686 www.goldingyoung.com The Bourne Collective Sale, Feb 3 The Bourne Collective Sale, Pt. II, Feb 4 Golding Young & Mawer The Grantham Auction Rooms, Old Wharf Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 7AA01476 565118 www.goldingyoung.com The Grantham Collective Sale, Feb 10 The Grantham Collective Sale Pt. II, Feb 11 Grantham Asian Art & Ceramics Sale, Feb 24 Golding Young & Mawer The Lincoln Auction Rooms, Thos. Mawer House Station Road, North Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 3QY 01522 524984 www.goldingyoung.com The Lincoln Collective Sale, Feb 17 The Lincoln Collective Sale, Pt. II Feb 18 Lincoln Fine Art Sale, Feb 24 WEST MIDLANDS: Inc. Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Bigwood Auctioneers, Stratford-Upon-Avon Warwickshire, CV37 7AW 01789 269415 www.bigwoodauctioneers.com Furnishings, Interiors and Collectables, Feb 5, 12 Antiques and Collectables, Feb 26 Cuttlestones Ltd, Wolverhampton Auction Rooms, No 1 Clarence Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 4JL, 01902 421985 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Antiques and Interiors, Feb 17 Cuttlestones Ltd, Pinfold Lane Penkridge Staffordshire ST19 5AP, 01785 714905 www.cuttlestones.co.uk Antiques and Interiors, Feb 10, 24 Hansons at Bishton Hall Bishton Hall,Bellamour Ln Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST17 0XN 01889 882397 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk ANTIQUE COLLECTING 63
AUCTION Calendar Because this list is compiled in advance, alterations or cancellations to the auctions listed can occur and it is not possible to notify readers of the changes. We strongly advise anyone wishing to attend an auction especially if they have to travel any distance, to telephone the organiser to confirm the details given.
The Residual Contents of St Mary’s Chapel; Together with the Staffordshire Winter Attic Auction, Feb 18-19 Fellows, Augusta House, 19 Augusta Street, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6JA 0121 212 2131 www.fellows.co.uk Jewellery, Feb 11, 25 The Luxury Watch Sale, Feb 15 Fieldings, Mill Race Lane, Stourbridge, DY8 1JN 01384 444140 www.fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk The February Sale including Back to the Future, Feb 18-19 Halls, Bowmen Way, Battlefield, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 3DR 01743 450700 www.hallsgb.com/fine-art Antiques, Interiors & Books, Feb 3 Hansons, Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST18 0XN, 0208 9797954 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk The Curated Ceramics Sale, Feb 10 Asian Art & Works of Art, Decorative Arts & Modern Design, Clocks & Furniture, Feb 12 The Kate Bliss Curated Silver, Jewellery and Watch Auction, Feb 15 Kingham & Orme, 01386 244224 www.kinghamandorme.com Davies House, Davies Road, Evesham, Worcestershire WR11 1YZ. Jewellery and Watches, Feb 19 Potteries Auctions, Unit 4A, Aspect Court, Silverdale Enterprise Park, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6SS, 01782 638100 www.potteriesauctions.com 20th Century British Pottery, Collectors Items, Household items, Antique & Quality Furniture, Feb 12-13 Trevanion & Dean The Joyce Building, Station Rd, Whitchurch, Shropshire,
64 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
SY13 1RD, 01928 800 202 www.trevanionanddean.com None listed for February NORTH: Inc. Cheshire, Co. Durham, Cumbria, Humberside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Sheffield, Yorkshire Adam Partridge Withyfold Drive, Macclesfield, Cheshire, 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Two Day Auction of Ephemera with Furniture and Interiors, Feb 18-19 Adam Partridge The Liverpool Saleroom, 18 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 OBP 01625 431 788 www.adampartridge.co.uk Maritime with Antiques, Feb 3 Anderson and Garland Crispin Court, Newbiggin Lane, Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 1BF0191 432 1911 www.andersonandgarland.com Town & County Auction, Feb 10, 24 The Collectors’ Auction, Feb 11 The Comics & Toys Auction, Feb 25 Capes Dunn The Auction Galleries, 40 Station Road, Heaton Mersey, SK4 3QT, 0161 273 1911 www.capesdunn.com Interiors, Vintage & Modern Furniture, Feb 8, 22 Music and Cameras, Feb 9 Jewellery, Silver, Watches & Gold Coins, Feb 23 David Duggleby Auctioneers Vine Street Salerooms Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 1XN, 01723 507 111 www.daviddugleby.com Jewellery, Watches and Silver, Feb 18 Decorative Antiques and Collectors, Feb 19 Affordable Art, Feb 20 The Furnishings Sale, Fen 20
David Duggleby Auctioneers The Saleroom, York Auction Centre, Murton, York, YO19 5GF 01904 393 300 www.daviddugleby.com Jewellery, Watches and Silver, Feb 25 Antiques, Fine Art and Collectors, Feb 26 Furniture, Clocks and Interiors, Feb 26 Elstob & Elstob, Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1AJ 01677 333003 www.elstobandelstob.co.uk Fine Art and Antiques. Feb 20 Hansons, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derby, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS 01283 733988 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Four-Day Antiques Auction: To include The Contents of Caemawr, Feb 1-4 The Toys, Trains and Live Steam Auction, Feb 5 Virtual Charity Auction, hosted by Charles Hanson, for the Derby Museums’ Endowment, Feb 11 One-Day Antique & Collectors Auction; to Include a Collection of Motorbikes & Motorcycle Memorabila, Feb 23 The Derbyshire Fine Art Auction, Feb 24 The Historica Two-Day Sale to include Artefacts, Antiquities, Coins & Banknotes, Feb 25-26 Peter Wilson Fine Art Victoria Gallery, Market St, Nantwich, Cheshire. 01270 623 878 www.peterwilson.co.uk Coins & Banknotes, Feb 4 Northern Art, Feb 11 20th Century Art & Design, Feb 18 Arms, Militaria & Firearms Feb 25 Wines & Spirits, Feb 28 Tennants Auctioneers, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, 01969 623780 www.tennants.co.uk NameScientific & Musical Instruments, Cameras & Tools, Feb 10
Antiques & Interiors, Feb 13, 27 Costume & Textiles, Feb 13 Coins & Banknotes, Feb 17 Natural History & Taxidermy, Feb 26 Vectis Auctions Ltd, Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton on Tees, TS17 9JZ www.vectis.co.uk 01642 750616 TV & Film Related Sale, Feb 16 Specialist Sale, Feb 18, 23 General Toy Sale, Feb 19 Military, Civilian Figures, Feb 23 Equipment and Accessories Sale, Feb 26 Model Train Sale, Feb 26 SCOTLAND Bonhams, Queen St, Edinburgh. 0131 225 2266 www.bonhams.com None listed in February Great Western Auctions 1291 Dumbarton Road Whiteinch, Glasgow G14 9UY, 0141 954 1500 greatwesternauctions.com None listed for February Lyon & Turnbull, Broughton Pl., Edinburgh. 0131 557 8844 www.lyonandturnbull.com Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings & Works of Art, Feb 10-11 Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps and Phtographs, Feb 24 A Celtic Vision: A Private Collection of Scottish Paintings, Feb 24 WALES Anthemion Auctions, 15 Norwich Road, Cardiff, Wales, CF23 9AB 029 2047 2444 www.anthemionauction.com General Sale, Feb 3 Fine Art and Collectors’, Feb 17 Peter Francis, Towyside Salerooms, Carmarthen, SA31 1JN, 01267 233456 www.peterfrancis.co.uk Antiques, Furnishings & Collectors, Feb 3, 17
LENNOX CATO ANTIQUES & WORKS OF ART EST: 1978
•WANTED•
for epic East Yorkshire Georgian townhouse restoration.
Signed and unusual furniture. Georgian, Regency, William IV. Sofa / Pembroke / side tables, library furniture / bookcases. Also Victorian campaign chests, armchairs etc. Ross of Dublin, Morgan & Sanders, Williams & Gibton, James Winter, Hill & Millard and many others. J Alderman. Daws and George Minter reclining chairs. Shoolbred/ Hamptons / Cornelius Smith Victorian armchairs. Marble fire surrounds. Georgian / Regency/ William IV. Bullseyes etc. Exceptional Georgian / Regency fire grates Sash windows x 4 identical. Georgian reclaimed. Approx 58” high x 36” wide. Wide reclaimed floorboards. Approx 100 m2. Early decorative oil / gas / electric light fittings. Ceiling, wall or table. Early gasoliers. Colza lamps. Gimble lamp.
1 The Square, Church Street, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 5BD 01732 865 988 cato@lennoxcato.com
www.lennoxcato.com
Roland Ward, Van Ingen taxidermy. Human skull. Hippopotamus skull. Stuffed crocodile / alligator. Quirky architectural features. Regency columns, corbels, marble and stone pieces, over door pediments, folding/rolling multi part Georgian room dividing doors. Victorian canopy shower bath. Decorated toilets etc Unitas, Simplicitas, Deluge etc. Decorated basins x 3.
vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk or tel 07958 333442
•WANTED•
VINTAGE WRISTWATCHES Omega Seamasters and pre-1980s Omegas in general. IWC and Jaeger LeCoultres, all styles. Looking for Reversos. American market filled and 14k pieces possibly, at the right price. Breitling Top Times, Datoras and 806 Navitimers. Pre-1960s Rolex models, with a focus in pre-war tanks, tonneaus etc. Gold or silver/steel. Also World War I Rolex 13 lignes etc. Princes.
Longines, Tudors and Zeniths, pre-1970. Even basic steel models in nice condition. All the quirky oddities like Harwoods, Autorists, Wig Wag, Rolls etc, and World War I hunter and semi-hunter wristwatches. Early, pre-war ladies’ watches also wanted by Rolex, Jaeger LeCoultre etc. Prefer 1920s/30s deco styles, but early doughnuts also considered.
PM Antiques & Collectables are a modern and innovative antiques retailer based in Surrey. Specialising in a wide array of collector’s items, including contemporary art, entertainment and memorabilia, vintage toys, decorative ceramics, watches and automobilia.
We Buy & Sell pm-antiques.co.uk Contact us: phil@pm-antiques.co.uk 01932 640113
Yorkshire based, but often in London and can easily collect nationwide.
vintagejewellery@yahoo.co.uk or tel 07958 333442
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ANTIQUE COLLECTING 65
LAST WORD Marc Allum Voices of experience: the Antiques Roadshow team
Marc My Words
I
Marc enters the age-old debate over what defines an ‘antique’ and wonders if it’s time to widen the brief?
’m always rather surprised about the severity of the debate that centres on the term ‘antique’. Take the title of this magazine. Should it preclude the inclusion of items that don’t fit the generally-accepted ‘100-year-old’ definition? Most dictionaries define antique as something ‘old’ and indeed the Latin from which the word derives means exactly that, something ‘old’ or ‘ancient’. So what, then, is the problem?
FLOAT YOUR BOAT I’m not sure whether it doesn’t just centre around an obtuse sense of inferred respectability and perceived competence, if one’s knowledge is defined as dealing in just ‘antiques’. But isn’t it snobbery to say anything that doesn’t fit this definition is just rubbish?
What this leads to – in my opinion – is a general intolerance for what many other people like and are interested in. A quick flick through a back edition of this venerable magazine readily illustrates the rich and diverse world that we inhabit and features everything from highly soughtafter wristwatches and toy locomotives to high-end jewellery. Indeed, if the contents were defined by the word ‘antique’ the magazine would be far slimmer and far less interesting. If it doesn’t float your boat, that’s fine. You don’t have to like it.
GOOD EYE When I was younger, I made a decision about specialisation. My early entry into the auction world meant that I had to become a jack of all trades – and fast! Having a
‘What I think is important is the idea that any publication, television programme, sales outlet or auction house, is allowed to use ‘that word’ with the pragmatic tolerance and leniency that our world of trading and collecting deserves’ 66 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
‘good eye’ – an often contested euphemism for what I interpret as a natural aptitude, good deal of common sense and intuitive skill – can be a valuable asset, and doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to know the square route of two. It can quite simply mean that you have enough knowledge to do the right thing and go and find out! After all, isn’t this how we all learn? Of course, many of us oldies didn’t have the internet when we started out, we had to use books. It’s also easy to deride the Google window but I love the internet and it has – without doubt – been a powerful learning tool for me, as it has for many others.
TOLERANT ATTITUDE So what I think is important is the idea that any publication, television programme, sales outlet or auction house, is allowed to use ‘that word’ with the pragmatic tolerance and leniency that our world of trading and collecting deserves. It should not be derided for providing a platform for material with a rich variety of interest, that an ever-changing cultural and historical society demands and requires. Be it a very expensive Star Wars figure or a piece of Chippendale furniture, the world of art and ‘antiques’ is invigorated by both. The creation of novel markets and new collecting fields keeps us fresh and, indeed, has kept many of us in jobs. Live and let live – that’s what I say. Marc Allum is an author, lecturer and specialist on the Antiques Roadshow, for more details go to www.marcallum.co.uk
Fine Art & Antiques
20th February at 10am
Signed & Designed 5th March at 10am
Deadline for entries 5th February
JOHN PIPER (BRITISH, 1903-1992), EASTNOR CASTLE, silkscreen, unsigned, printed by Kelpra Studio, with their blindstamp, framed. Image 45.5cm by 67.5cm
To include a single owner collection of over 250 lots of Gordon Highlanders Militaria
Elstob & Elstob Limited The Ripon Saleroom, Ripon Business Park, Charter Road, Ripon HG4 1AJ
To include a large collection of Artist’s Proof prints from the family of Chris Prater (1924-1996), co-founder of the world-famous Kelpra Studio
Live bidding available on our website www.elstobandelstob.co.uk
t: 01765 699200 e: info@elstobandelstob.co.uk
Paul Feiler (British 1918-2013) Horizontal Yellow, 1964 oil on canvas £15,000 – 20,000 Rudolf Belling Cubist Composition bronze £3,000-5,000
29th October at 10am
Sale
Art & Design The
Thursday 25th February 2021 Next Sale: Thursday 13th May 2021 Further Entries Invited Please contact: Martin Millard (Objects and Furniture) 01223 271983 martin.millard@cheffins.co.uk
Brett Tryner (Paintings) 01223 271981 brett.tryner@cheffins.co.uk
Cheffins Fine Art, Clifton House, 1-2 Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA T 01223 213343 E fine.art@cheffins.co.uk
cheffins.co.uk
