Lalique Caravelle table centrepiece in clear and frosted glass – £60,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
A particularly rare piece of Lalique at the October 27 sale with a £60,000-80,000 estimate was the so-called Caravelle table centrepiece in clear and frosted glass.
The 2ft 4in (72cm) design, centred by a 17th century style man-of-war gunship, was first produced in 1931 (the galleon is an emblem on the coat of arms of Paris) but this piece was one of three created for the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1938.
To complement the gift of a large dinner service featuring seagulls, a series of 13 gulls in flight (three on the front, 10 to the reverse) was added to the general production model. Only two other examples are known to exist: the example in the Royal Collection and another version held in the Musée Lalique. This one found a new home at the lower end of expectations.
Another seldom seen piece is the Chrysanthéme vase and cover. It featured in the 1932 catalogue where it is pictured on a dark base. The example here in clear, frosted and sepia stained glass came with a carved stained walnut base that was thought not to be the original but made £15,000.
To the north
Over the Forth to the North, a poster by Henry George Gawthorn – £10,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
A classic Scottish scene for the London and North Eastern Railway topped the 50 lots of vintage posters, selling above estimate for £10,000. Over the Forth to the North from 1928 depicts the famous railway bridge crossing the Forth estuary in Scotland that had the world’s longest span when it opened in 1890.
Henry George Gawthorn’s bold Art Deco style scene in shades of blue conveys the industrial aesthetic and structural impact of this remarkable feat of engineering.
Art Deco poster by Dorothy Braddell for Imperial Airways – £4200 at Lyon & Turnbull.
Another Art Deco travel sheet, this time created in 1926 for Imperial Airways, depicted a large passenger biplane en route across the Channel to France. Designed by Dorothy Braddell (1889-1981), a British writer and designer of kitchens and domestic appliances, this rare poster sold just above hopes for £4200.
