W&W Sale News Autumn 2020 - Winter 2021

SALE NEWS

Autumn 2020 – Winter 2021

AUCTION CALENDAR

TIMED ONLINE AUCTION

Including jewellery, silver, vertu, Asian art, ceramics and small collectable items just in time for Christmas

19th November to 2nd December – Christmas Gifts

NOVEMBER 2020

10th - Fine Chinese Paintings & Works of Art, Japanese Art

11th - Asian Art II

17th & 18th - Fine Jewellery

24th - English & European Ceramics & Glass

25th & 26th - Silver & Objects of Vertu

DECEMBER

9th - Modern British & 20th Century Art

16th - British Art Pottery

JANUARY 2021

13th - Furniture, Works of Art & Clocks

26th - Silver & Objects of Vertu

28th - Jewellery

FEBRUARY

16th - Tribal Art & Antiquities

17th - Fine Porcelain & Pottery

MARCH

3rd - Old Masters, British & European Paintings

17th - Clarice Cliff, Art Deco & Design

31st - Furniture, Works of Art & Clocks

APRIL

21st - Silver & Objects of Vertu

22nd - Fine Jewellery

28th - English & European Ceramics & Glass

MAY

6th - Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour

18th & 19th - Asian Art, Chinese Paintings & Japanese Works of Art

Dates may be subject to change.

FRONT COVER. A selection of items from a private collection of early English silver to be sold on 26th November including a rare Elizabeth I provincial silver communion cup, an Elizabeth I silver pomander and an Elizabeth I silver Chalice Estimates range from £5,000 – 8,000

OPPOSITE. A large Myochin articulated iron model of a snake, 18th or 19th century, 127cm Provenance: from a private collection of Japanese articulated animals Estimate £40,000 – 60,000

Together with a Japanese Komai-style inlaid iron model of a pagoda, Meiji period (1868-1912), 47.5cm Provenance: from an English private collection acquired in Asia c.1920 and thence by descent Estimate £4,000 – 6,000

BELOW. A selection of Jewellery to be offered in the Christmas Gifts timed online auction in December. See pages 27-30 for more information

ISSUE 129

CONTENTS

2 - FINE CHINESE PAINTINGS & WORKS OF ART

4 - JAPANESE WORKS OF ART

6 - FINE JEWELLERY

10 - ENGLISH & EUROPEAN CERAMICS & GLASS

12 - SILVER & OBJECTS OF VERTU

16 - MODERN BRITISH & 20TH CENTURY ART

18 - BRITISH ART POTTERY

20 - FURNITURE, WORKS OF ART & CLOCKS

22 - TRIBAL ART & ANTIQUITIES

24 - MEDALS & COINS, ARMS & ARMOUR

26 - VALUATIONS

27 - CHRISTMAS GIFTS TIMED ONLINE AUCTION

31 - SALE REVIEW

36 - NEWS

CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION

Our last newsletter featured important pieces from the collection of Edmund de Rothschild, a wonderful letter from King George VI to Lionel Logue and many other treasures (see pages 32-35). That of course was published “BC” and since then, like so many other businesses, we have had to adapt to the new world of Covid.

From the middle of March we closed the salerooms, retaining a skeleton staff of just two; we suspended all our auctions and waited.

I have never been keen to conduct sales with no physical viewing, and speaking to many of our vendors during lockdown, neither were they. I take a somewhat old-school view about artworks - for me, the feel of an item, its patina, its colour and particularly the scale of an object can only really be appreciated in the flesh. How many times have I heard “I didn’t realise it would be so big“ or for that matter “so small”?

Despite my reservations, as well as those of some vendors, online-only sales that went ahead elsewhere during lockdown met with success, which is reassuring given the continuing uncertainty. Undoubtedly, internet-only auctions work better with some objects than others and, for this reason, we are excited to launch our first ever Timed Internet auction of Christmas Gifts (see pages 27-30 for more details of this inaugural sale).

The series of sales Woolley’s have held since the middle of June, where people could come to view in person, have been incredibly successful. Despite few buyers in the rooms, there was a massive surge in online bidding, and both our Jewellery and Asian Art auctions each fetched over £2 million, and our sales of Furniture and Works of Art, and Modern British Art achieved new house records of over £977,000 and £918,500.

I am optimistic, people are keener than ever to buy and, I’m pleased to say, happy to sell.

John Axford