Boningtons

Three modestly valued works in regional sales, including a mini-sleeper at an Essex auction.

Following the wake of the influential 1862 International Exhibition in London (when Japanese art first reached a wide British audience), this tea service below would have been the height of fashion when it was made by Richard Martin and Ebenezer Hall in 1879.

The appearance of the 19th century Meissen figure based on Kaendler’s original Count Bruhl’s Tailor begins to bring to mind Monty Python’s Green Knight as he rides undaunted into UK auctions despite his increasingly battered state.

Just as fine English mahogany is selling below par, Chinese furniture, particularly in the desirable huanghuali hardwood, is booming.

A pair of trademark gouaches by Mary Fedden (1915-2012) drew strong bidding at auctions in Derbyshire and Essex.

Victorian landscapes can often be difficult to shift at auction, but a fine panoramic view near Redhill in Surrey by Edward John Cobbett (1815-99) gave a boost to the Boningtons (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Epping on August 21.

A 1920s-30s 18ct gold Cartier cigarette lighter-cum-watch with black enamel dial was offered at Boningtons (17.5% buyer’s premium) at Epping on August 21.

MADAM – Some would say ‘at long last’… Auctioneers throughout the country have started to take Boningtons’ lead and withdraw the two weeks – or, in some cases, 30 days – credit traditionally offered to many silver and furniture dealers in exchange for their regular attendance at sales.

Dreamy landscapes, fairies and classical female nudes fill many of today’s best-known canvases by the Victorian artist Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914). But it was his skills as a portraitist that impressed critics most while he lived.