The items – some with later decoration – were being deaccessioned by the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, also Connecticut, to benefit future acquisitions.
Pick of the offering, at least in terms of price, was a pair of 90oz, 20in (51cm) high wall sconces by Anthony Nelme (d.1723).
Nelme was perhaps the leading English-born goldsmith during the period of Huguenot prominence (he was a signatory to a Goldsmith Company petition protesting the presence of ‘necessitous strangers’ in London) and his considerable output included many large-scale pieces for municipal and domestic use.
Although assuming an earlier model, these single-arm sconces – topped by addorsed CR monograms and crowns – carry Britannia standard marks for 1713. Estimated at $5000-8000, they sold for $30,000/£23,700 (plus 22/25% buyer’s premium).
Detail of the Britannia standard marks for 1713.
