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New Era Dawns For Auctions In Surrey

Customers past and present are expected to turn out in force to support the final auction of fine art and antiques at Sussex Barn, Loseley, Guildford, which takes place on Tuesday April 28. Following the merger of the Fine Art Division of Clarke Gammon Wellers with Ewbank Fine Art Auctioneers, all future sales will be held at the latter’s Burnt Common Auction Rooms in London Road, Send.

Said Chris Ewbank: “We look forward to welcoming all Clarke Gammon Wellers auction clients to Send where we intend to deliver the same professional service that our customers have come to expect from both firms.

“The merger will enable us to stage bigger, better twice monthly general sales and enhanced sales of fine art and antiques, which will continue to be held quarterly. This is the start of a new chapter in the history of our two firms and the union marks the beginning of an exciting era for auctions in Surrey, where we are the pre-eminent force in the profession.”

The 500-plus lot Loseley sale contains many moderately priced but no less desirable objects, the most intriguing among which is an unusual penknife, with a mother of pearl handle carved with a standing figure of Napoleon. The knife is contained in a leather sheath inscribed “Boiven 1815” and it is tempting to speculate that it was once the property of a French prisoner of war, incarcerated in Britain during the Napoleonic Wars which culminated with the defeat of the French Emperor by Wellington at Waterloo.

History records that many hundreds of French prisoners were captured during the conflict and held in prisons and the hulks of prison ships at many places around the UK. Many were conscripts skilled in the arts and crafts and in order to supplement their meagre rations, they made objects from the straw from their beds and bones from their food to sell as souvenirs. Trusted prisoners were allowed into towns to purchase materials and sell what they made at weekly markets including such things as bone boxes, toys, dominoes, and also intricate models of the ships on which they served. The penknife has eight blades and would have been the perfect tool for carving such objects. It is estimated at £80-120, but its historical significance could be much greater.

The sale includes a number of other carved ivory objects, notably a Chinese bird feeder inlaid with tortoiseshell figures, which is estimated at £800-1,200 and an oriental okimono carved with figures and birds sheltering under a tree, which is estimated at £250-350.

Pick of the oriental ceramics is a Chinese Kangxi period porcelain pen box painted with dragons, which is estimated at £800-1,200. A large 19th century Chinese export Canton punchbowl decorated in famille verte colours with figures, birds and foliage is in contrast with, at the other extreme of age and decoration, a conical bowl by doyenne of the Pottery Ladies, Clarice Cliff, whose gaily coloured Art Deco geometric designs are eagerly sought after. The two pieces may be separated by 150 years, but each is estimated at £400-600.

Two good Georgian pearlware buusts of the 18th century philosophers Voltaire and Rousseau respectively are together estimated at £200-300, and in continental porcelain is a set of five Meissen cabinet plates, each with a pierced border, cartouches of flowers and a hand-painted portrait. The set is estimated at
£100-150.

A good selection of jewellery, the majority of it from a local deceased estate, is another feature of the sale, a diamond and ruby ring; a four-string cultured pearl choker necklace and a diamond-set and enameled pendant modelled as a leopard’s head being among the highlights. Each is estimated at £500-800. For the discerning gentleman wristwatch collector is a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust wristwatch estimated at £1,500-2,000 and another by Cartier retaining its original strap, which is estimated at £400-600.

In oil paintings, a portrait of the Madonna del Cardelline, or Madonna of the Goldfinch, after the masterpiece circa 1505 by Raphael now in the Uffizi in Florence, is estimated at £1,500-2,000. The picture, which is in its original carved giltwood Florentine frame, shows the Madonna holding a book to signify her wisdom, while at her knee are the figures of the Christ child and the young John the Baptist who holds a goldfinch, which is the symbol of Christ’s brutal death. Another good painting is John Petersham’s coastal landscape with rocks and seabirds, which is estimated at £1,000-2,000.

The sale also includes a good selection of useable Georgian, Victorian and later furniture; silver and silver plate; collectors’ items and works of art. This latter section provides an imposing and fine George IV Meerschaum pipe, embellished with a pierced silver-gilt mount, dated 1829, and contained in a fitted brass-bound rosewood case, which is estimated at £700-1,000; an 18th century gold-mounted Chelsea porcelain bodkin holder painted with flowers and a pair of continental ormolu three-light candelabra, each of which is estimated at £400-600.

The sale is on view at the Loseley saleroom on Friday April 24 from 10am - 4pm; Saturday April 25 from 9am - 12 noon and Monday 27th April 27 from 9am - 5pm. For further information, please contact Sarah Moran on 01483 207570.