APRIL: What's on offer
Click here: April 2009 Newsletter - ....featuring the upcoming 30th April Sale and report on our new SALEROOM BLOG - an invitation for you to post your comments and thoughts!
Full April Sale Press Release:
The golden age of coaching was in the early 19th Century before the era of the railways; the lure of coaching ensures that even today there are many collectors. The average post-horn is not a hugely valuable item but if they have inscriptions then their historical interest can lead to fierce bidding. Lot 254, a copper post-horn is such an example and is inscribed ‘The Swan With Two Necks, Ladd Lane 1839’. Large Public Houses in London were used by the Post Office to provide horses and drivers for the Royal Mail coaches. William Chaplain, the proprietor of The Swan with Two Necks, was one of the best known publicans operating in this way. He stabled up to 200 horses at the Swan at any time, had other horses at stages outside London and at the peak of his operation in the late 1830s he owned 1800 horses. Estimated at just £80-120 this is an opportunity to acquire a piece of traditional English history.
Any budding coachman may also find Lot 264 useful; this is a walking stick containing a rule with which to measure horses. The ingenuity of it (it contains a small spirit level to ensure an accurate measurement) means that, even if you have no intention of using it for its original purpose, it remains a conversation piece. At £80-120 it seems good value for a quality item.
Traditionally apprentice cabinetmakers would make a piece to demonstrate their skills to their masters or a Guild. In this way they could become master craftsmen and in turn employ their own apprentices. These items often take the form of miniature pieces of furniture. Lots 207 to 209 are examples of this practice and carry estimates of between £150 and £400. Each is modelled as a miniature chest, so if you haven’t room for a full sized piece of furniture, or want a place to store keepsakes, one of these might prove to be a sound choice.
Lot 291 is a real gem and will appeal to a variety of collectors including Scots and militaria enthusiasts. This Victorian officer’s dirk is marked 79 for the 79th Regiment or Cameron Highlanders and the blade carries the battle honours from their first major engagement, Egmont-op-Zee 1799, until Sebastopol in the mid 1850s. With gilt metal mounts profusely decorated with thistles and foliage it is not only of historic interest but also beautifully designed.
Among the more decorative items in the April sale is Lot 212: a patinated bronze figure of a Tunisian Water carrier by Jean Didier Debut (1824-1893). This carries an estimate of £1,000-1,500 and makes a striking visual impact, standing 62cm (over 2ft) high. However, perhaps the most beautiful item in the auction is a translucent vase in purple, ochre and dark green glass with decoration of hazy mountains and dark fir trees, bearing the signature of one of the most widely known figures of the Art Nouveau movement, Emile Gallé. From his workshops in Nancy in France towards the end of the 19th Century, Gallé experimented with a variety of techniques in creating glassware in organic forms with nature as his decorative inspiration. The result was a series of vibrant glowing vases, lamps and chalices embellished with jewel-like dragonflies and flowers of extraordinary botanical accuracy. The motto over his studio door declared to the world ‘My roots are deep in the woods’ and this is exemplified by the stunning vase to be offered as lot 128 in the 30th April sale. The cameo glass technique - etching into two or more layers of glass to reveal a design in one colour against a contrasting background - was Gallé’s major innovation and he was able to successfully develop his business through mass-production of vases using this technique. Conservatively estimated to realise in the region of £1500-2000, this vase evokes the spirit of nature, from the soaring sky and mountains on the horizon to a darker side suggested by the brooding near-black fir trees, and interest from private collectors and the trade is expected to be high.