PRINKNASH ABBEY PARK, GLOUCESTERSHIRE GL4 8EU 01452 344499
SALEROOM NEWS JANUARY 2018
The Down House
COUNTRY HOUSE SALE 30 & 31 JANUARY 2018 The first sale of the year at Chorley’s on Tuesday 30 & Wednesday 31 January 2018 promises a wealth of fascinating items, mainly sourced from various country houses in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire including Treago Castle, Little Sodbury Manor, The Down House, Redmarley and a private country house close to Tetbury. The furniture section includes a fine late 18th Century mahogany serpentine front sideboard (Lot 936) which has an interesting provenance having been the property of Ethel Gordon Fenwick (nee Manson) 1857-1947. Fenwick was a British nurse and leading suffragist who played a major role in the history of nursing. She founded the Royal British Nurses’ Association in 1887 and campaigned for the state registration of nurses. This was
Little Sodbury Manor
Treago Castle
achieved through the Nurses Registration Act of 1919, when she became ‘Nurse No. 1’. In 1927, she opened the British College of Nurses of which she was President for life. In 1999 an English Heritage blue plaque was applied to her former home in Wimpole Street, London. The sideboard itself was on loan for some time to Wallington Hall, a National Trust house in Northumberland. There was a time when a piece of furniture of this quality would have achieved a huge sum of money at auction, perhaps now is the time to be buying pieces of this type with the estimate of £5,000-7,000.
Far East which was used as inspiration by silversmiths. Tea was introduced to England from China in the mid-16th century but its pivotal importance to British society did not become apparent until the mid-18th Century. Tea was expensive and at the time this caddy was made it was taxed at a whopping 119%! Thomas Heming was appointed principal goldsmith to King George III in 1760 and supplied the Coronation regalia and plate. He was removed from this post in 1782 for excessive charges. By contrast, the estimate on this caddy at £2,000-3,000 seems very reasonable for a piece of British craftsmanship which is over 250 years old.
A highlight from the silver section is Lot 64, a tea caddy by Thomas Heming, London 1753, which typifies the exuberant Rococo style which flourished in the mid-18th Century. The exotic Chinoiserie decoration reflects the growing interest in the
The country house is often good hunting ground for antique costume and textiles, and our sale includes top hats, riding boots, military swords and badges and even a suit of armour! There are several items of Coldstream Guards interest throughout the sale sections.
Lot 936
Lot 64
www.chorleys.com