Decorative Art

It is 40 years since 19th century potlids were the collectables of choice but there is still a very active market for them.

Keith Richards Antiques brings a selection of early 20th century silver modelled on historic pieces to the first 2019 staging of The Cotswolds Decorative Antiques & Art Fair at Westonbirt School.

A pair of William IV candelabra from the Pembroke service led Bonhams’ Important Design: 500 Years of Fine Decorative Arts sale on November 21, selling at £190,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium).

Believed to be unique, this grimacing stoneware dog jar and lid from the Martin Brothers pottery is up for auction at Salisbury saleroom Woolley & Wallis on December 12.

MADAM – Here is a medal whose origin I can’t figure out (above). It was found in northern Norway.

Jean Lurçat’s 'Sun Dancer', c.1955, is from a range of vibrant ceramics that the French artist produced during the 1950s, many of which are now on offer in Whitford Fine Art’s exhibition Poetry in Motion.

MADAM – Re: letters in ATG about sticky labels.

Among the most desirable of all Royal Doulton Lambeth productions are those depicting scenes of flora and fauna from Australasia.

One half of an extensive single-owner collection of novelty Victorian and Edwardian silver and glass animal objects went under the hammer at Reeman Dansie’s two-day sale in Colchester last week.

An unusual belt buckle by the Parisian jeweller and glass maker René Lalique which had been worn by the vendor throughout her nursing career has sold for £19,000 at a North Yorkshire auction.

An English provincial rarity, the 3½in (9cm) tall, c.1688 Norwich beaker below was a target for collectors at Henry Adams (20% buyer’s premium) of Chichester.

MADAM – I write this letter with three separate hats on but, in all three cases, addressed for the attention or our many auction houses.

Rare as Forres silver is, three pieces by the Highland town’s smiths John and Patrick Riach were on offer at Edinburgh auction house Thomson Roddick (17.5% buyer’s premium) on October 11 – the fiddle pattern dessert spoon, below, and two characteristic Scottish toddy labels.

This classical Guild of Handicrafts bowl, below, underlined the popularity of Arts & Crafts silver when offered by Essex auction house Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium).

Catalogued as a ‘travelling ensemble’ these two oak fitted cases of silver tableware, below, conjure up images of lavish inter-war era picnics.

Despite its size and various eras of occupation, Malta sustained a vibrant silver and gold-working tradition across several centuries.

IACF is expecting a buoyant antique and collectors’ fair at Alexandra Palace on Sunday, December 2, including items sourced from shipwrecks.

This pair of Commonwealth silver plates, London 1645, bear the contemporaneous arms of the Puritan Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-75).