Gillow & Co exhibition quality Victorian specimen wood, marquetry, parquetry and gilt metal-mounted side cabinet, estimate £5000-7000 at Tennants.
1. Gillow & Co side cabinet
The furniture in Tennants’ Spring Fine Sale on March 18 is led by a Gillow & Co exhibition quality Victorian specimen wood, marquetry, parquetry and gilt metal-mounted side cabinet, dating from the third quarter of the 19th century.
Featuring rich inlaid marquetry panels of birds, it is stamped Gillow & Co, R and HP.
Estimate £5000-7000.
2. Grace Darling commemoration snuff box
Early Victorian silver rectangular snuff box commemorating Grace Darling, estimate £1200-1500 at Gorringe’s.
This early Victorian silver rectangular snuff box, commemorating Grace Darling, is on offer in Gorringe’s Spring Sale on March 14.
It is engraved with a panel depicting the heroine in a lifeboat rescuing sailors from a sinking ship, within deeply chased scrolling foliate borders, the base with engine turned decoration. The snuff box measures 2½in (6.5cm) and weighs 85gms. The maker was Nathaniel Mills, Birmingham, 1838.
The box is offered with a copy of Grace Darling; or, The Heroine of The Fern Islands by GWM Reynolds, London 1839.
The estimate at the East Sussex auction is £1200-1500.
3. Fob seal
A c.1820 two-colour gold fine fob seal created for Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Hawkestone and of Hardwicke, estimate £600-800 at Noonans.
Noonans’ Jewellery auction on March 14 includes a highly decorative c.1820 two-colour gold fine fob seal created for Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Hawkestone and of Hardwicke (1772-1842).
The British general was one of Wellington’s chief military lieutenants during the Peninsular War, including at the Battle of Waterloo. He replaced Wellington as general commander in chief when the duke became prime minister in 1828.
The seal is inset with a carnelian intaglio engraved with an achievement of arms beneath a baron’s coronet, incorporating the collar chains of the Orders of the Bath and the Portuguese Tower and Sword.
Estimate £600-800.
4. Frink maquette
A maquette by British sculptor Dame Elisabeth Frink for a 1962 commission for Manchester Airport, estimate £10,000-15,000 at Dreweatts.
A maquette by British sculptor Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-93) for a 1962 commission for Manchester Airport is to be offered at Dreweatts’ Modern and Contemporary Art sale on March 15.
The full-scale bronze is dedicated to aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown, who made the first ever non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. The work is part of a series of bronzes inspired by photographs of French adventurer Leo Valentin.
Valentin attempted to achieve flight by strapping bird-like wings to his arms, but ultimately fell to a dramatic death at an air show in Liverpool in 1956 in front of 100,000 people.
Study for Alcock and Brown Memorial measures 14 x 15½in (36 x 40cm) and is estimated at £10,000-15,000. It is part of a private Frink collection being sold by Dreweatts in Newbury.
5. Cantonese platters
Pair of early 19th century Cantonese famille rose platters carrying the arms of Clerke (or Claerk), estimate £400-600 at David Duggleby.
As well as typical scenes of figures in gardens and river settings, this pair of early 19th century Cantonese famille rose platters carry the arms of Clerke (or Claerk) surrounded by a gilt ribbon reading the motto Munus et Monumentum Victoriae Henry VIII Spurs 1513.
This reference to a minor English victory against the French suggests the service was made (probably to mark the 300th anniversary) for a descendant of Sir John Clerke of Weston, who took the Duke de Longueville prisoner at the Battle of Spurs in 1513.
The pair carry an estimate of £400-600 in the Country House sale at David Duggleby in Scarborough on March 18.
