Emblazoned in pietra dura with the full armorial of the Galton and Strutt families, its decorative appeal and unusual subject matter attracted interest from the London and Midlands trade and it sold at £13,000.
The table was one of a number of entries consigned from a local deceased estate. In particular, a group of Japanese Imari porcelain attracted interest from the London trade. Of note was a pair of 19th century Imari square chargers with chamfered corners and brightly enamelled with a basket of flowers. With only a minute nick to one rim, they were taken in the room at £2900 by a London dealer who also secured an Imari koro and heavily restored cover, 20in (50cm) at £950. An indication of the vendor’s refined taste was an eagerly contested George IV silver wine funnel by Rebecca Emes and Edward Barnard, London, 1823, which sold at £750. Another good price was achieved for a 19th century Imari fish tank enamelled with pine trees, chrysanthemums, bamboo and birds. It was bought by a London dealer at £1750.
A brass-barrelled blunderbuss – a single entry from a Gloucestershire consignor – also drew considerable interest. The highly collectable 18th century bell-mouthed Irish flintlock gun was stamped Rigby, Dublin and was bought by a London-based collector of Rigby guns at £1020. The collector outbid an American and a local private buyer after trade dropped out at the £700-800 mark.
An unusual late 19th/early 20th century lacquered papier-mâché box also created a stir. Inlaid with Masonic emblems – clasped hands, measuring instruments, a star, an altar and an eye – in mother-of-pearl – it was made in Japan and sold to a London collector on the telephone at £730.
Foremost amongst the furniture was a number of Victorian entries. An early Victorian rosewood four-tier whatnot brought £1350 while a Victorian rosewood veneered fold-over tea/card table fetched £740. And a rosewood work/games table of similar date made slightly less at £720.
Short, Graham, Gloucester, January 23
Buyer’s premium: 10 per cent
Heraldic table draws big buyers to church hall
UK: THERE was no doubting the piece that drew major buyers to this event at St Barnabas Church hall – the flamboyant early 19th century heraldic Italian table.
