Fine Interiors Journal 30 & 31 March 2001 by swordersfineart

FINE INTERIORS JOURNAL

30 & 31 March 2021

FINE INTERIORS JOURNAL

30 & 31 March 2021

Welcome to the Fine Interiors Journal, your companion guide to our 30th and 31st March auction. The Journal is a brand new venture for us, and while it may not be what you were expecting to receive through your letter box, we are now beginning to emerge from the fog of COVID with a proven ability to adapt and flourish in times of crisis, and carry forward a refreshing approach to the way we present our sale. This Journal lays the foundations of the sale, acting as a companion guide, offering an overview of the nearly nine hundred lots included, and aiming to make the experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible. Simply scan the QR codes using your mobile phone to be taken to relevant sections of the online catalogue where you can view more information and leave bids. Despite all the challenges and uncertainties of 2020, we have seen an increase in sold rates and prices achieved across all of our sales. New registrations to our SwordersLive bidding platform rocketed as bidders locked down around the globe, set their sights to improving their immediate surroundings and discovered all the fascinating items online auctions had to offer. In an effort to appeal to our clients adjusted buying behaviours, we have, for this sale, decided to try something new. Our usual printed catalogue is now purely online. Available as a page turning PDF, the catalogue bears all of the Sworders Fine Interiors hallmarks that you have come to know and love, with curated lots thematically laid out to their best advantage, spliced together with room shots, which have been carefully created by our team. Furthermore, with each digital catalogue listing, you will have at your disposal a host of additional high resolution online images that enable you to zoom in and explore each lot in detail, as well as comprehensive professionally prepared condition reports and supplementary information. Bidders can also now take advantage of the Sworders Delivery service, with automatic and custom quotes available for all lots ahead of purchase. Crucially, you have the ability to create wish lists, leave bids and settle invoices without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home. We hope that you embrace and enjoy the change as we and so many of our valued customers have.

S C A N T H E C O D E T O V I E W T H E D I G I TA L C ATA L O G U E

ORDER OF SALE

VIEWING

Lots 1-376

Furniture and Works of Art

Due to Government guidance around social distancing, we are unable to offer general viewing of all items in our auction rooms. All lots are extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports on our website www.sworder.co.uk

Lots 337-407

Garden and Statuary

Please check our website for the latest information.

Day One | Tuesday 30 March

Day Two | Wednesday 31 March

R E M O VA L O F LO T S

Lots 500-698

Paintings, Watercolours and Prints

All lots should be removed by 5pm on Friday 9 April 2021. Furniture lots remaining after this date will be removed to:

Lots 699-796

Furniture and Works of Art

Perry Removals, Chapel End, Broxted, Essex CM6 2BW.

Lots 797-846

Silver

Removal will be at a cost of £20 +VAT per lot and storage will be charged at £2 +VAT per lot, per day.

Lots 847-974

Furniture and Works of Art

ONLINE BIDDING Bid live at www.sworder.co.uk (0% surcharge)

SWORDERS’ DELIVERY SER VICE

We are able to provide a bespoke shipping cost based on the lot and delivery destination, anywhere in the world. Please see our website where you can enter the necessary information to obtain a quote.

C O N TA C T

James Pickup

Jane Oakley

Sarah Flynn

Alexander Hallett

Charlotte Lee-Finglas

Head of Department Fine Interiors

Head of Department Paintings

Head of Old Masters

Specialist

Sale Co-ordinator

T 01279 817778 E fineinteriors@sworder.co.uk

ONLINE BIDDING GUIDE In accordance with continuing government regulations, our saleroom remains closed to the public for viewing and on sale days. As a result, the March Fine Interiors will be a live online sale. This means that there will be an auctioneer on the rostrum, with proceedings broadcast live across the internet, allowing bidders from around the world to log on and participate in real time via the bidding platform. Bidding on costs no more than if you were to bid in the room. We aim to make the online bidding process as simple and as enjoyable as possible. Prospective bidders are required to register an account which can be done in advance of the sale on our website, or on the day of the sale via the ‘Bid Live’ button on the auction page. New users will need to be pre-approved in order to bid. To join us remotely on the day of the sale, please follow these simple steps:

Step 1 R E G I S T E R •

Sign in/register an account on our website - If you are registering with us for the first time, after completing the online registration form you will be sent an email with a link to verify your email address. Please click on this link to verify your account. If you do not receive your verification email, please call us on 01279 817778. If you have previously registered an account on our website but have not yet registered a bank card (necessary to be approved for live bidding), you can do so by: • Clicking on your username/name on the far right of the main menu bar (if you are not signed in this will show as ‘My Account’) • Clicking on the option for ‘Settings & Emails’ • Fill in your card details under ‘Register new card’. Once card details are registered, you will be approved to bid live in our sales.

Step 2 J O I N T H E A U C T I O N As soon as the auction is about to begin, a ‘Bid Live’ button will appear against the sale in the upcoming auctions list (both on our homepage and in our calendar of events). • Click ‘Bid Live’ • Accept the Terms and Conditions • Click the ‘Bid Live’ button on the auction catalogue • Switch on the audio and video buttons so that you can hear and watch the action

Step 3 B I D • • • • • • •

Wait for your lot to be offered Bidding increments are displayed under the lot detail on the left of the screen If you are happy to bid the ‘asking bid’ amount, press the blue bid button quickly If your bid is accepted, the bid button will turn green and you will see the message 'you are in the lead' If you are outbid, the blue bid button will reappear and you must decide if you are prepared to bid the next increment up If you win your lot, you will receive an invoice from us as soon as the auction has ended Please always remember, whether you are bidding in the room or online, bidding is a contractual commitment to buy

O U R FAV O U R I T E S James Pickup Head of Department | Fine Interiors It’s always hard to pick favourites from a sale that you have put together. Each lot has its own individual merits and often it ends up being a grouping of items that sit well together that hold most appeal, a dangerous situation come sale day when the temptation to buy is at its peak! However, looking back over the last three months, there are a trio of lots that I would very happily take home if money and space were no object. The first is an impressive six-fold Chinese lacquered screen (lot 970). In vivid red and highlighted with gilt, it has fantastic scale and presence which results in a strong visual impact when you first see it, but upon closer inspection, an intricate landscape is revealed with figures and buildings that really draw you in and tell a story. The second is a complete removal from the ostentatious colours and gilding of the screen, a perfectly drawn and beautifully proportioned oak dressing bureau (lot 712) that ticks all the boxes for me, being simultaneously elegant and unpretentious. There are interesting parallels that can be drawn between this piece and documented examples by Hugh Grainger, so it’s sure to appeal to academics and decorators alike. Lastly would be a Naïve English School oil landscape (lot 610). Formerly the property of Min Hogg, founding editor of The World of Interiors (somewhat of a departmental bible), it has a surreal quality that I really love and it would have been great to have the opportunity to treasure it, much as Min did, however, I suspect it will be out of my price range!

Lot 610

Lot 712

Lot 970

Sarah Flynn Head of Old Masters First up would be a beautiful study of a bay mare and foal in a landscape by a follower of John Nost Sartorius (lot 654). The picture bears an inscription verso suggesting the mare is Palm Flower, belonging to Sir Sitwell Sitwell, the Sitwells still live at Renishaw, Derbyshire. Another of my favourites in this sale would be Carl Wünnenberg’s portrait of a young lady in a blue dress, who is just beautiful, but who is she? We sadly do not know her name - an unknown German beauty. Wunnenberg was Professor of Art at the Kassel Academy, but tragically he lost his sight towards the end of his life and had to stop painting. Finally, I was drawn to the gorgeous blast of Mediterranean sunshine in George Owen Wynne Apperley’s ‘Ravello’. This is a highly-collectable artist and famed for his views of the Alhambra, Spain - I could happily live with this on the wall!

Lot 603

Lot 659

Lot 654

HIGHLIGHTS Works of Art and Furniture Two doll’s houses belonging to the celebrated costume designer Evangeline Harrison

Lot 274

A fine Regency doll’s house, c.1810 £7,000-10,000

Lot 275

A fine early Victorian doll’s house, c.1840 £7,000-10,000

A collection of Chinese bronze incense burners

Lot 108

A Queen Anne walnut cabinet on chest £5,000-7,000

A collection of fine 18th century English and Continental drinking glasses

Lot 880

A Dutch engraved royal armorial goblet, mid-18th century £1,500-2,500

Lot 920

A 19th century Italian grand tour marble vanitas bust £5,000-7,000

Lot 852

A Victorian oak metamorphic library table, in the manner of Richard Bridgens £3,000-4,000

Lot 12

An extraordinary and fine Louis XV-style rosewood and kingwood secretaire en chiffonier, by Hopilliart, Paris c.1880 £5,000-8,000

French & Continental Furniture, Works of Art & Pictures Included in the sale are a variety of pieces representing the zenith of Continental craftsmanship, decoration and design, including a Louis XVI-style commode after Jean-Henri Riesener, a figural oil on canvas by Bonaventure de Bar (French, 17001729), and an extraordinary Louis XV-style writing table and cartonnier.

C ountr y H o u s e St y l e From perfectly proportioned furniture to proud portraits, there is plenty to choose from for those in favour of the country house aesthetic. Particular highlights include a diminutive oak dressing bureau and the early 18th century portrait of a lady seen here.

THE BEGUILING BEAUT Y OF PSYCHE The story of Psyche, like many Greek myths, is one of great drama and passion. Psyche, a mortal princess, was famed in the ancient world for her unrivalled beauty; a beauty that has beguiled artists throughout history. Two 19th-century artists who were both clearly under her spell were Pietro Tenerani (1789-1869) and John William Waterhouse RA (1849-1917), and we are pleased to be offering examples of both of their works in our forthcoming sale. The story goes that Psyche’s mortal beauty awakens a jealous rage in the goddess Venus, who sends her son Cupid to shoot an arrow at her to make her fall in love with a monstrous creature. Instead, Cupid scratches himself and falls in love with Psyche, a scene depicted on a red lacquered and ormolu mounted pier cabinet also appearing in the sale. Abandoned by her family, Psyche is saved by Zephyrus, god of the west wind, and carried away to Cupid’s palace where she is waited on by invisible servants. There, Cupid visits her every night, but she is forbidden from seeing his face. One night, encouraged by her jealous sisters, she lights a lamp to see her lover’s face, injuring Cupid in the process by dropping hot oil on him and he flees. Psyche travels the earth searching for him and entreats Venus to help her. Venus instead sends her on a series of impossible tasks, the fourth of which is to take a golden box to the underworld to obtain a dose of beauty from Proserpine. She is told not to look in the box. Like Pandora, however, she cannot resist and opens the box, finding within it not beauty, but sleep, and she falls into a deep slumber. This sculpture by Pietro Tenerani - recently recovered from the garden of a country house in East Anglia, having been in the same family ownership for fifty years - depicts a scene from Apuleius' Metamorphoses, the moment that Psyche opens Proserpine's beauty ointment. The flask can be seen at the subject's feet, the cover falling from her hand. Tenerani revisited this subject on at least seven other occasions; he was fascinated with trying to capture the languid fluidity of the fainting body, setting a fleeting moment in stone. Other examples of this work can be found in prominent international collections, perhaps the most famous being the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

We continue the theme in this red and black chalk study by John William Waterhouse RA (1849-1917). Waterhouse painted many mythological subjects including several depictions of Psyche: Psyche Entering Cupid’s Garden, 1904 (Harris Museum and Art Gallery) and Psyche opening the Golden Box, 1903 (private collection). The finished picture shows Psyche, seated in a dark wood, bending her head low as she peers into the slightly open box. A small plume of smoke rises from the interior. Fewer than 150 preparatory sketches by Waterhouse are known. They consist mainly of models' heads – generally the most important element of the painting – in chalks. The present example is a typical preparatory sketch, confidently exploring the composition with fluid strokes, exquisitely modelling the flesh of the shoulder and back of the model. Not much is known about Waterhouse’s models and while it has been argued that he had a single muse who he returned to repeatedly over the decades (Miss Muriel Foster has been identified as a contender), it may also be the case that he chose a series of women with the same swan-like neck, doe eyes, modest features, full of understated grace that made his paintings both sensual yet innocent; a duality that has delighted viewers for more than a century. We anticipate this enduring fascination with Psyche’s beauty will be reflected in the performance of both of these lots in our March sale, appealing to the modern buyer/collector as much as it did to the artists who studied her.

CHINOISERIE & T H E I N F LU E N C E OF ASIA Reflecting the effect of the art of China, Japan and the East on the modern European decorative tradition, the sale boasts some fantastic lacquered, gilded and enamelled furniture and works of art, and paintings from both Asia and the West. Particular highlights include a George III scarlet lacquered tripod table, a Chinese six-fold screen and a large portrait of Mary Dowie.

We catch up with Sworders’ new Delivery Service Manager Adrian Granger, and shipping expert Greg Bradley from Bradley’s Antique Packing Services on an exciting new venture… Tell us a little bit about your latest project AG Towards the end of last summer, the logistics team and I sat down to look at how we could improve upon our customer experience. The implementation of a Sworders Delivery service had been on our priority list for some time. We wanted to make the process of buying at auction as seamless and as enjoyable as possible, with a full end to end service for our clients. So we set to work selecting a professional transit company to work with on the project. We already had a great track record working with Bradleys Antique Packing Services, and their co-operative and friendly nature and high level of service, made them the obvious choice. How did you feel when you got the call about the project? GB I always like a new venture, and the chance to apply our expertise to a new model of packing and shipping with upfront costs online seemed like a great idea. We had been involved with Sworders in other aspects of the business previously, so we had a good understanding of the level of service they needed and were keen to get started.

Not forgetting our important international customers, we are also able to supply a bespoke international delivery quote both pre-sale and post-sale by using the link found either on the specific lot webpage, or in the invoice email. Post-sale, a customer will be able to see the associated shipping cost in the ‘My Account’ section of our website. They can then decide to accept the shipping cost by clicking on the shipping icon. This cost is then automatically added to their invoice. Items of jewellery delivered to the UK are typically sent via Royal Mail Special Delivery and other smaller items are couriered via DPD. Larger items will be shipped via Bradleys Antique Packing Services by their experienced, capable and friendly staff. International deliveries are professionally packed by Bradleys and shipped by recognised, trusted couriers who deliver on behalf of Bradleys. Importantly, if customers purchase multiple lots from the same auction, we will combine packaging/deliveries to reduce the shipping costs. How has the pandemic affected the way you operate?

AG COVID-19 has created significant challenges for our customers. Whilst we have been able to operate a click and collect system, we fully respect and support the reasons why some are choosing to delay collecting their lots. One of the major challenges faced by our industry is the pressure on storage. So the ability to create a bespoke delivery service for customers, particularly in these strange times, was a no brainer.

GB The pandemic has been, and still is, such terrible time for many businesses. Fortunately for our industry, with many people house bound and with good internet access, there has been an increase in the number of people buying online at auction so our services have been in high demand. We have taken on more staff, purchased new vehicles and also taken over a superb new warehouse. We operate as many one man deliveries as possible but where larger deliveries require two members of staff, our employees are kitted out with the appropriate PPE and are trained to carry out Covid-safe deliveries.

How does the service work?

What do you love most about your job?

AG We automatically apply a shipping quote to almost every lot prior to the auction (predominantly all smaller items). So a customer can see how much it will cost to have the lot delivered to any UK address before they bid. For items that we are unable to provide a pre-sale shipping quote for (typically larger lots such as furniture) customers can easily request a bespoke shipping quote – based on the item and the final destination. If the bidder is successful in purchasing the lot, this quote will be linked to their invoice.

GB Ever since I was a young boy I was dragged around auction rooms and junk shops. I worked with my father clearing houses from the age of 12, moving fireplaces, cast iron baths and architectural items. I suppose I was destined to move antiques for a living one way or another! Every day is different. I’m in a Country House in England one day and a finca in Mallorca the next. I love seeing wonderful homes full of rare and unusual items.

What drove the initiation of the Sworders Delivery service?

FROM THE COLLEC TION OF

Min Hogg

FOUNDING EDITOR OF THE WORLD OF INTERIORS

We are extremely proud to include in our 30 and 31 March Fine Interiors sale, several pieces from the collection of Georgina ‘Min’ Hogg (1938-2019), the founding editor of The World of Interiors. The magazine’s first edition was released in 1981 as Interiors, before it was bought by Condé Nast in 1982, when it gained the name that has now become synonymous with style and sophistication, and which has done so much to educate a whole generation of interior designers and tastemakers. In her twenty years in charge of the publication, Hogg diverted from the industry norms of text-heavy content and formulaic layouts, instead advocating the effectiveness of simple and salient imagery. She tailored The World of Interiors to her own taste, rather than to those of the advertisers, or indeed its readership, focusing on things that she believed to be beautiful and enduring, and, as Veronica Horwell writes, 'Hogg rejected perfection to show dusty attics, flaking frescoes, crowded shelves, worn carpets, the kitchens of the schloss or the potting shed of the palazzo. Her curiosity was ethnographic, about how landscape, society and history shape local habitations and living, and she realised that, by the 1980s, national styles could travel: a Gustavian country house glimpsed in an Ingmar Bergman film led her to pursue such Swedish buildings, and people are still painting their walls the Scandinavian blue-greys she promoted'. The lasting influence of Min Hogg and her style on The World of Interiors and its readers is vast. Today, hundreds of thousands of people look to

the publication, both in print and via its flourishing social media accounts, for inspiration, instruction and escape. Nowhere was her attitude to interior design more evident than in her Kensington home, which over forty years, she imbued with a seemingly effortless blend of colour, pattern and texture. As Carolina Irving points out in Phaedon’s Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century, 'the living room at her two-bedroom London flat is quintessential Hogg: far from minimalist, infused with a deep understanding of art and decorating history, with eclectic pieces that just seem to synergize perfectly. Paintings above the sofa are suspended in tight rows as they were in galleries of the past. Textiles are nonchalantly mixed, such as a chintz and a stripe. Colours are deployed subtly and cleverly'. Min Hogg’s outlook on decorative technique and interior style, exemplified by the pieces included in the first of this year’s quarterly Fine Interiors sales, is in direct alignment, and through The World of Interiors, has influenced the spirit in which we try to curate each sale. We firmly believe that, when put together with a little bit of care and attention, furniture, paintings and works of art of all periods and styles can sit together to create an inspiring interior. Modern buyers are always drawn to a well-assembled private collection, and we are in no doubt that wherever Min’s pieces end up, their new owners will treasure them just as much as she did.

HIGHLIGHTS Painting, Watercolours and Prints 678

621

678 *William Bowyer RA (1926-2015) 45 St Peters Square, Chiswick £2,000-3,000 660 *William Lee-Hankey RWS (1869-1952) ‘Les Arches, Dieppe’ £2,000-3,000 621 George Percy Jacomb-Hood MVO RBA (1857-1929) ‘A very gallant gentleman’ £10,000-15,000

677 *Norman Blamey RA (1914-2000) ‘A bay window in West Hampstead’ £3,000-5,000

662 *John Miller (1931-2002) Santa Maria della Salute £3,000-5,000

666 Serge Marshennikov (Russian, b.1971) Odalisque £4,000-6,000

650 Yuliy Yulevich Klever (Russian, 1850-1924) A wooded lake by moonlight £3,000-5,000

620 William Logsdail (1859-1944) A mother and child on a donkey on a Mediterranean road £800-1,200

620

660 677 666

662

650

606 Ralph Peacock (1868-1946) Portrait of Mary Dowie, daughter of Colonel L A Dowie £2,000-3,000 613 Adolphe Monticelli (French, 1824-1886) A group of figures by a waterfall in a forest glade £2,000-3,000

606

622 Circle of George Leslie Hunter (1877-1931) ‘Champs-Élysées’ £3,000-5,000 628 Louis Tessier (French, 1719-1781) A still life of tulips, roses and other flowers in a Delft vase £4,000-6,000 687 *Lionel Bulmer (1919-1992) Untitled £1,500-2,000 629 Nicholas Condy (1793-1857) A first rate Man-o-War at anchor £2,000-3,000 651 Ivan Fedorovitch Choultse (Russian, 1874-1939) Harvest £4,000-6,000 663 Julius Olsson RA (1864-1942) A beach with waves breaking £1,800-2,500

628

651

622

613 687

629

663

VERNACULAR FURNISHINGS The characterful designs and simple construction of many vernacular furnishings can add depth, rusticity and heritage to both traditional and modern settings. Our catalogue has a plethora of charming pieces spanning over four-hundred years, such as an early 17th century oak cupboard, an unusual ash and elm Windsor chair and a French zinc bath tub.

Flora Danica Among the highlights of the sale are dinner, coffee and part-cutlery services in the highly coveted Flora Danica pattern by the Danish factory Royal Copenhagen. The very first Flora Danica service of 1,802 pieces was created between 1780 and 1802 and largely painted by one man, Johann Christoph Bayer. Although the Danish king initially ordered the service as a gift for Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, she died before completion and the service never left Denmark. Today, the original Flora Danica is one of the most important Danish cultural treasures and is held at Rosenborg Castle, Christiansborg Castle, and Amalienborg Palace. Each Flora Danica piece is hand-painted after the original botanical encyclopedia from the 18th century, with the Latin titles inscribed to the reverse. Although each flower painting is inspired by the same copper print, the artist makes subtle variations making each piece entirely unique. Featured will be a porcelain dinner service, estimate £10,000-15,000, a coffee service, £2,000-3,000 and a part canteen of porcelain and silver-gilt cutlery, £3,000-5,000.

Maximalism

Bright Colours & Bold Patterns Looking to inject a bit of maximalism into your interior? There are plenty of peppy pictures, characterful carpets and vibrant veneers in the sale that are sure to stand out. Top lots include a Syrian mother-of-pearl inlaid chest of drawers, a Persian Qum carpet, and a set of botanical prints after Maria Sibylla Merian (Swiss/German, 1647-1717), from the collection of Germaine Greer.

Wallpaper kindly provided by

ELIZABETH MAURICE Interior Design

S I LV E R , C LO C K S & O B J E T S D ’A R T Among our usual strong showing of antique and decorative silver are several 17th and 18th century bleeding bowls, two seal top spoons and a collection of Georgian sugar tongs. As well as this, there are numerous clocks, including a French gilt-bronze carriage clock by Paul Garnier, and a wide variety of objets d’art.

O U R FAV O U R I T E S Jane Oakley Head of Department | Paintings

Lot 639

Firstly, I would pick Albert Goodwin’s scene of Peter and John at the Gate of the Temple, St. Mark’s Square, Venice (lot 550). Goodwin was a fine watercolourist, his atmospheric light effects show a debt to Turner and he was an excellent draughtsman. Throughout his lifetime he travelled extensively to places as far afield as Canada. This is a great subject with a very unusual intricate border around the edge, giving it the appearance of a panel painting and giving the illusion of depth. Another favourite lot would be a pair of landscapes of sheep (lot 639) by Charles Jones (1836-1892), the animal painter affectionately nicknamed Charles ‘Sheep’ Jones due to his skilful portrayal of sheep, a subject to which he devoted much of his output. He captures the fleece of the animals perfectly, and his works have a fresh, clean and bright palette that makes them less susceptible to the brown discolouration that sometimes afflicts works from the 19th century. This small pair are particularly jewel-like, a great size to hang and within possibly their original frames. Last but not least, Valeri Shishkin’s meticulous technique in ‘Still life with mandarins’ (lot 668) creates a very realistic depiction of his subject. Often we will see a silver coffee pot glinting. Here we have a wonderful contrast of materials in the still life – the grainy wood of the kitchen table, the waxy orange peel, the table cloth and the metallic crinkled foil. I also like the cabbage – glistening with water droplets suggesting its freshness. This is the perfect picture for a kitchen.

Lot 668

Lot 550

Charlotte Lee-Finglas Sale Co-ordinator As this is my first Fine Interiors sale, seeing the breadth and diversity of the lots has been supremely enjoyable! One of my early favourites was a mid-19th century tortoiseshell tea caddy in the shape of a sarcophagus (lot 103). It has a gorgeous colour and pattern, and I love the idea of making my daily tea ritual a little bit more special because let’s face it - we need all the excitement we can get at the moment! My second pick is an Ottoman Iznik pottery jug (lot 714) as I’m hugely influenced by the art of other cultures and enjoy seeing how antique motifs are adapted and go in and out of fashion. The floral and foliate patterns instantly caught my eye and I love how the remnants of gilt allude to a past glamourous life for this little jug! Finally, I really like the fine George III Sheraton period Pembroke table (lot 763), whose characteristically slender legs give it a delicate and elegant appearance. The intricate inlay, including tied ribbons and foliate swags, shows real craftsmanship and make it a good example of the Sheraton style.

Lot 714 Lot 763 Lot 103

O U R FAV O U R I T E S Alexander Hallett Specialist This has been one of my favourite Fine Interiors sales that we have put together so far. Despite extreme logistical difficulties, lots of really interesting, decorative and high-quality pieces have come through the door, which have created a really exciting catalogue that I think will appeal to all sorts of people! One lot that has really captured my interest is the Maori mere pounamu (lot 905); made from a vibrant green-coloured nephrite jade, its craftsmanship is superb and it is incredibly visually appealing. It has been fascinating to be able to learn more about the history of such pieces and their place in Maori culture. Another favourite is the George III yew tripod table (lot 105), which is just a really simple and functional little thing! It is nice to see one in yew - something which doesn’t turn up all that regularly - and it has a tight grain and waxy surface, which develops a lovely rich colour over time. There is also a sweet little diorama of The Prospect of Whitby in Wapping (lot 354), which is my favourite pub in London. I can’t wait to get back there and enjoy a pint in the garden overlooking the Thames!

Lot 354

Lot 105

Lot 905

Sylvia Ewen Paintings Department Assistant I love this pair of watercolours by George Goodwin Kilburne because they are tiny yet beautifully executed. Each painting shows a group of people seated around a table playing cards, and each figure is skilfully depicted in their own individual stance and costume. I can feel the conviviality and light-heartedness of the people in the scenes, sharing their friendship through a simple game of cards. Next is Alexander Mark Rossi’s scene of a fisherman and his daughter on a quayside. This painting is full of contrasts; young and old, male and female, father and daughter. It is a mixture of busy and sedate, noisy and peaceful, and it works very well. My final choice would be Keeley Halswelle’s oil on panel of Canterbury Cathedral. Not to my usual taste, I like this picture because it is dramatic and unusual. The steam train roaring past looks almost like a little ghost train, all lit up in red. The cathedral, illuminated by moonlight, looms up in the centre of the piece in a very theatrical way.

Lot 543 Lot 546

Lot 644

RUGS & LIGHTING From small fine silk rugs to large sprawling carpets, there are a wealth of well woven examples from the Middle East and Europe with which to furnish your home, such as a North-West Persian runner, as well as large Ziegler Sultanabad and Aubusson carpets. By way of lighting, there are a variety of decorative antique and modern options, including a pair of ‘Parrot’ wall lights attributed to Maison Bagues, a pair of Gothic-style examples, and two large George III-style cut glass chandeliers.

Garden & Statuary As the warmer months approach, it is the perfect time to adorn your outdoor spaces with useful and beautiful garden items. Chief among our selection is a superlative Italian marble sculpture of Psyche in a Faint by Pietro Tenerani (1789-1869), as well as a blush terracotta fountain and a pair of bronze heads modelled after the Medici Riccardi Horse.

BEDROOM & SITTING ROOM DÉCOR For those looking for a bit of comfort, our sale boasts a multitude of bedroom furniture, sofas, armchairs and soft furnishings. Among the selection are a French mahogany double bed by Francois Linke, a 17th century Brussels tapestry and a mahogany armchair in the manner of Paul Saunders.

T H E S A L LY H U N T E R & I A N P O S G AT E C O L L E C T I O N BADGEMORE GRANGE TUESDAY 18 MAY 2021 janeoakley@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778