Latest News Articles by Terence Ryle
Modest but marvellous Mouseman
09 March 2020This set of table and chairs by the ever-popular Mouseman had been bought from the Kilburn workshops in the 1970s by the vendor’s parents.
Early lantern clock shines through the dust to spark saleroom excitement
09 March 2020Battered and dust-engrained when found in a basement during a Lake District house clearance, an early unsigned brass lantern clock generated great excitement at Penrith Farmers’ & Kidd’s (18% buyer’s premium).
Second chance for works from Spetchley Park offered at Chorley’s
02 March 2020Second-dibs sales at regional salerooms – those that follow after a major London auctioneer has cherry-picked the contents of a stately country house – can sometimes acquire the slighting epithet of ‘crumbs from a rich man’s table’.
Great sports: 1911 football shirt and cycling souvenirs
02 March 2020With tripartite appeal to football fans of England, Wales and – most importantly as it turned out – of Millwall FC, a historic shirt was a winner at Hansons’ ( 20% buyer’s premium) sporting sale.
Decorative furniture and lighting in flamboyant style forms core of single collection
02 March 2020“A fabulous example of how an auctioneer can sell these collections so successfully outside of London,” said Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) managing director Jonathan Pratt in the wake of Donnington Priory’s latest auction of European furniture and works of art.
Napoleon: his majesty and tragedy depicted
02 March 2020Napoleon Bonaparte’s magnetism remains as forceful as ever in UK salerooms.
Brid buffet serves up vintage treats
02 March 2020The vintage contents of a railway station buffet offered in East Yorkshire were not the most upmarket pieces – nothing made more than £2000 – but more than 400 people packed the room and online bids came from India, the US and Finland. It gave veteran auctioneer Andy Spicer only his second white-glove sell-out in 35 years on the rostrum.
Art Deco duo dance into North Shields
02 March 2020Briefly catalogued, but accurately estimated, this bronze and ivory dancing couple was the outstanding star at Featonby’s (18.75% buyer’s premium) recent sale in North Shields.
Bell to announce ships in Ceylon stands proud in Scotland
02 March 2020This 14in (25cm) diameter bronze bell shown here bears the insignia of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (the Dutch East India Company or VOC), the date 1747 and the name Jaffanapatnam. It is suspended in a wrought iron frame and mounted to a large stone mill wheel.
Modern design delights from husband-and-wife architects behind the new British Library
17 February 2020The recent auction of 20th century design at Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) in Stansted Mountfitchet was underpinned by more than 60 consignments from the estate of MJ Long.
Lalique touch of glass in Glasgow
17 February 2020Many familiar names were represented in a concentrated 145-lot specialist sale of British and Continental glass at McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium), but the winner by a distance was Lalique’s Formose green glass vase.
Whiskey mirrors galore reflect high demand
17 February 2020The first specialist pub memorabilia sale of the year held by Co Cavan auction house Victor Mee (19% buyer’s premium) showed no drying up of demand in a lively market niche.
Cardiff City cup memories
17 February 2020When buying back their heritage, Cardiff City FC and supporters may not be in the same financial league as Manchester United, but they were a welcome factor at Lockdales (19.5% buyer’s premium).
Nelson bust sails high to top sale
17 February 2020While furniture and books fully justified its title, The Oxford Library Sale at Mallams (22.5% buyer’s premium) was led by a surprise star: a rather lowly regarded gesso bust of the sort that would have been a minor decoration to such a room.
Single-owner Moorcroft sale gives a market overview
17 February 2020A single collection of 490 pieces of Moorcroft dating from the 1890s to modern limited editions offered an overall view of the market when sold at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium).
Simple but sophisticated chest boasts ingenious woodworking technique.
03 February 2020Although outwardly simple objects, cedar ‘bent corner’ chests, still made today by the indigenous people of the Pacific North West, employ a number of sophisticated woodworking techniques.
English Golden Age longcase clock fails to meet great expectations
03 February 2020Falling short of ambitious hopes but leading the day at Duke’s (25% buyer’s premium) first sale of 2020 was a fine English Golden Age longcase clock.
French cabinets head to an Eastern buyer
03 February 2020Among the gems spotted in 2092 mixed lots at Stroud Auctions’ (18% buyer’s premium) year-opener on January 8, the best-seller was the final lot.
Portrait miniature marking naval battle bravery sold in Yorkshire
03 February 2020This early 19th century portrait miniature offered for sale at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) in Leyburn is widely believed to depict the Irish naval officer Sir Henry D’Esterre Darby (1749-1823). To the reverse is a crystal retaining a lock of hair.
Global selection offered at Exeter sale
03 February 2020With an Irish silver ‘seal salver’ gleaming at the first Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (23% buyer’s premium) sale of the year (ATG No 2427), Italy, China and Russia provided other highlights.