Henry Moore figural group sculpture, Mother and Child – estimate £30,000-50,000 at Dreweatts.
1. Henry Moore sculpture
Dreweatts is offering a market-fresh Henry Moore (1898-1986) figural group sculpture, Mother and Child (pictured above), on March 16.
The Berkshire saleroom says: “After two years of working with the Henry Moore Foundation and the family of the owner, former publisher and editor of The Architectural Review magazine, Hubert de Cronin Hastings (1902-86), the sculpture has now been authenticated.”
The foundation was able to link the work to a 1939 sketch of the sculpture by Moore already held in its records, titled Eighteen Ideas for Sculpture.
The sculpture is believed to have been gifted to Hastings directly by Moore, as they met through The Architectural Review, via Moore’s friend Jim Richards, assistant editor of the magazine at the time. He had befriended the artist after writing an article on his work for the magazine in 1934. It was passed down by Hastings to his son John in the 1970s, remaining on his mantlepiece among an eclectic mixture of objects until he died in 2019.
The work is cast in lead, which was a material Moore used only for a short period in the 1930s, during a time when he was experimenting with other materials such as string and wire for his series of stringed sculptures. Mother and Child is believed to be a preliminary design for one of these.
Estimate £30,000-50,000. View this Henry Moore sculpture via thesaleroom.com.
2. Chinese bowl
Eighteenth century Chinese imari pattern barber’s bowl – estimate £300-500 at Lyon & Turnbull.
The Asian Art sale at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on March 16 includes this 18th century Chinese imari pattern barber’s bowl from a private collection in London.
Estimate £300-500. View this Chinese bowl via thesaleroom.com.
3. Della Robbia panels
A 19th century set of four large Barbedienne-cast high relief bronze plaques after Luca Della Robbia – estimate £3000-5000 at Rogers Jones.
This 19th century set of four large Barbedienne-cast high relief bronze plaques after Luca Della Robbia (1400-82) is estimated at £3000-5000 at Rogers Jones in Cardiff on March 16.
Provenanced to a deceased estate, they comprise ‘the lute players and dancers’, ‘the zither players and dancers’, ‘the drummers and dancers’ and ‘the trumpeters and dancers’. Each 21 x 19½in (54 x 50cm) panel is signed F Barbedienne and set with twin suspension rings.
They are modelled after the figure panels in the Cantoria (singing loft) produced in 1431-38 (Della Robbia’s first known commission) at the Mueso dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence. View these bronze plaques via thesaleroom.com.
4. Trout and salmon flies
Farlow & Co, London, oak fly reservoir with four lift-out fly trays and a quantity of more than 70 trout and gut-tied salmon flies – estimate £2000-3000 at Duke’s.
A single-owner collection of field sporting memorabilia at Duke’s in Dorchester on March 17 includes this Farlow & Co, London, oak fly reservoir with four lift-out fly trays and a quantity of more than 70 trout and gut-tied salmon flies.
Estimate £2000-3000. View these fishing flies via thesaleroom.com.
5. Picture books
Two moveable picture books by German illustrator Lothar Meggendorfer are on offer at Keys on March 16-17 estimated at £400-600 and £100-150.
Two moveable picture books by German illustrator Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925) are on offer at Keys’ Book Sale in Aylsham on March 16-17.
This third edition of Aus dem Leben, Lustiges Ziehbilderbuch (‘Taken From Life, An Amusing Picturebook’) is dated 1885, and features eight full-page cold tab-operated moveables, all of which are in working order. The volume has its original cloth-backed pictorial boards and has a contemporary inscription on the front pastedown.
The second volume, the sixth edition of Neue Thierbilder, Ein Ziehbilderbuch (‘New Animal Pictures’), dated 1887, also includes eight full-page cold tab-operated moveables. Most are in working order, although one or two moving parts are detached.
Aus dem Leben… has an estimate of £400-600; Neue Thierbilder… £100-150. View these picture books via thesaleroom.com.
6. Rex John Whistler picture
Pilgrims Hall, Essex by Rex John Whistler – estimated at £5000-7000 at Tennants.
Tennants’ British, European and Sporting Pictures Sale on March 19 includes Pilgrims Hall, Essex by Rex John Whistler (1905-44) estimated at £5000-7000.
The picture was commissioned in 1936 by JFN Lawrence, whose family lived at the Essex house from 1913-68, and it has passed by descent in the same family.
According to accompanying documents, Whistler – “a pale, dark-haired young man, friendly but evidently shy” – captured the house in preparatory drawings on a cold June day. However, he filled the finished picture with warmth and golden light.
Whistler, a key figure among the Bright Young Things and British high society between the wars, was killed by a mortar attack in the Second World War while serving in the Guards Armoured Division. View this Whistler picture via thesaleroom.com.
7. RAF poster
Poster designed by Dora Margaret Batty promoting an RAF at the Hendon Aerodrome in 1932 – estimated at £300-600 at Antikbar.
The sale of original posters at Antikbar in London on March 19 includes a large number of small format London Underground posters advertising a variety of inter-war events.
This sheet, designed by Dora Margaret Batty (1891-1966), features an elegant Art Deco image of a plane leaving a contrail as it loops in the sky. Made by the Dangerfield Printing Company, it promotes an RAF display that took place on June 25, 1932 at the Hendon Aerodrome.
Estimate £300-600. View this poster via thesaleroom.com.
