A newly discovered early watercolour by JMW Turner depicting the entrance to Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel in St David’s, Wales, is guided at £20,000-30,000 at Cheffins.
A newly discovered early watercolour by JMW Turner is guided at £20,000-30,000 in the Cheffins auction in Cambridge on March 20 (pictured top).
Depicting the entrance to Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel in St David’s, Wales, the painting is signed W Turner and can be dated to the artist’s 1795 tour of Wales. It has been held in a private Suffolk collection for the past 30 years. The watercolour was purchased in a group lot of paintings at a regional auction house in Suffolk for approximately £100 in the early 1990s, having been previously unidentified.
The painting’s owner says: “The painting was hanging in our dining room for over 30 years - we periodically discussed that the picture could be by Turner but did not take it any further.
“After a trip to Wales in the autumn of 2022 visiting St David’s Cathedral, our interest in our picture was rekindled. At this point, we turned to the TATE Clore Gallery website and discovered the Turner sketch relating to our watercolour. As we were aware of the recent sale of a Turner at Cheffins, we decided to contact them.”
Cheffins sold a painting of Chepstow Castle overlooking the River Wye to the Chepstow Museum in March 2023 for a hammer price of £75,000.
The painting has been verified by Andrew Wilton, leading scholar on Turner and the first Curator of the Clore Gallery for the Turner Collection at the Tate Britain.
A first edition and author’s presentation copy of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species from 1859 leads Bonhams, Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale in Knightsbridge estimated at £150,000-250,000.
A “very rare” first edition and author’s presentation copy of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species from 1859 leads Bonhams, Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale in Knightsbridge on 20 March.
Only 1250 copies of the British naturalist’s study in evolution were initially printed in 1859. He gifted one of them to the distinguished British-born botanist and physician, Dr Hugh Weddell, whom he greatly admired.
A first edition and author’s presentation copy of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species from 1859 leads Bonhams, Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale in Knightsbridge estimated at £150,000-250,000.
Dr Weddell’s name appeared on the manuscript list of persons to receive copies of the first edition of On the Origin of Species drawn up by Darwin sometime between August and October 1859. Just a few dozen copies were presented by Darwin to his circle.
Estimate £150,000-250,000.
Naval General Service medal awarded to a James Rowe with a clasp is for Syria (1840), estimate £1000-1500 at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood.
The Sporting & Collectors auction at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood of Exeter on the March 19-20 offers collections that include this Naval General Service medal. The NGSM was approved in 1847 and awarded retrospectively for various naval actions during 1793- 1840, marked by clasps.
This example was awarded to a James Rowe and the clasp is for Syria (1840).
Estimate £1000-1500.
The silver sale at Anderson & Garland in Newcastle upon Tyne on March 19 includes this rare James I seal top spoon by William Bayrheed (Barehead) of Durham. Dated c.1610, it ranks among the earliest known pieces of north-east silver.
A silver mounted bowl of a similar date known as the Bayrheed Mazer is in the Laing Art Gallery collection.
The spoon, which comes from a Durham source, is estimated at £600-800.
Dunhill ‘Aquarium’ table lighter, estimate £1000-1500 at Lay’s.
Featured in Lay’s next Antiques & Interiors auction is an example of the highly collectable Dunhill ‘Aquarium’ table lighter.
By 1924, Alfred Dunhill had expanded his tobacco business to include accessories and the most successful of his lighters was the ‘Aquarium’.
They were produced by the craftsman Ben Shillingford between the 1950s-60s. The ornate, handcrafted designs within were meticulously painted by hand so each is unique. Other designs can be found, including scenes displaying birds, butterflies, ships.
They were made from lucite, a synthetic acrylic resin which was used as an alternative to glass. This gives the lighter a transparency, enabling the viewer to look within the aquarium.
When Shillingford retired, Dunhill could not find a replacement craftsman with the same strong level of skill or imagination and the production of Aquarium lighters ended despite their popularity.
The estimate in Penzance on March 14 is £1000-1500.
Victorian military officer’s silver-mounted presentation sword, estimate £3000-4000 at Andrew Smith & Son.
Andrew Smith & Son is offering this Victorian military officer’s silver-mounted presentation sword on March 19 in Alresford, Hampshire.
It has a 2ft 9in (83.5cm) etched steel blade on finely chased silver basket hilt with wired fishskin grip and silver bullion knot, and comes with silver scabbard, Firmin & Co, London 1883, and a blue velvet-lined fitted oak case, set with engraved plaque: Presented to Lt. Col Comdt H. Cooper Gleadow by the Officers of the 2nd East York Artillery Volunteers.
Estimate £3000-4000.
Gobelins tapestry, estimate £25,000-35,000 at Sworders.
This monumental Gobelins tapestry, which carries an estimate of £25,000-35,000 at Sworders’ Fine Interiors auction on March 19-20, is thought to be part of a series weavings based on ‘Raphael’ drawings owned by Louis XIV.
The first sets known as Les Sujets de la Fable d’après Raphaël (The Subjects of the Fable after Raphael) were woven by the Gobelins manufactory in the 1680s.
This composition depicting the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche is based on a drawing in the Louvre that today is described only as ‘school of Giulio Romano’. It is referenced in a Gobelins 1690 inventory where it is called L’himen de Psiche et de l’Amor.
Several other versions of the tapestry are known with this one thought to have been a private commission made in the early 18th century.
It was previously part of the collection at Bantry House in Country Cork and was photographed there alongside another with the same monogrammed border in the early 20th century. The Bantry House collection was formed by the second Earl of Bantry, Richard White (1800-68) who travelled frequently throughout Europe.
George II bullet form teapot marked for London 1734 and the maker Thomas Parr II, estimate £2000-3000 at Chiswick Auctions.
The March 19 Silver and Objects of Vertu sale at Chiswick Auctions includes this George II bullet form teapot marked for London 1734 and the maker Thomas Parr II.
The engraved arms are for Thomas Erskine, Lord Erskine (1705-66), son of John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar (1675-1732) who was issued a writ of attainder for his role in the 1716 Jacobite rebellion. The Jacobite title of Duke of Mar was bestowed only by titular King James III and VIII (of Scotland) and the title of Earl of Mar not restored until 1824.
Estimate £2000-3000.
Menu signed by Albert Einstein at a meal to raise money to support impoverished Jewish communities in Europe, estimate £1200-1800 at Lawrences of Crewkerne.
The spring auction of Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photography at Lawrences of Crewkerne on March 21 includes this menu signed by Albert Einstein (1879-1955) at a meal to raise money to support impoverished Jewish communities in Europe. It has been consigned from a private collection of autograph documents collected by the vendor’s grandfather during the 1980s.
Lawrences consultant Robert Ansell said: “By mid-October 1930, the Nazi party had taken sufficient seats in the Reichstag to form the second-largest voting bloc in the German Parliament, foreshadowing the escalating oppression of the Jewish people. Against this tide, the Joint British Committee of the Societies Ort-Oze for promoting the Economic and Physical Welfare of East-European Jewry was established.”
Einstein was invited to London as the guest of honour at a special appeal dinner at the Savoy organised by The Rt Hon Lord Rothschild, chairman of the committee. More than 370 people attended with Einstein seated between HG Wells and Lord Rothschild.
Offered framed together with an invitation requesting the company of Mr J Jung Esq to join Lord Rothschild and Einstein for this dinner, the estimate is £1200-1800.
Jean Després Modernist silver box and cover, estimate £800-1200 at Woolley & Wallis.
Counting Andy Warhol and Josephine Baker among his collectors, the jewellery designer and silversmith, Jean Després moved in illustrious circles. The French designer was apprenticed to a silversmith at 16 and studied design in Paris where Georges Braque became a particular friend.
His Cubist influence can be seen in a collection of Després silver that features in the March 20-21 sale of Clarice Cliff, Art Deco and Design at Woolley & Wallis.
This 4in (10cm) Modernist silver box and cover has a guide of £800-1200.
Applique Etna, a Clarice Cliff ribbed charger c.1930, estimate £10,000-15,000 at Fieldings.
The next specialist sale on March 14-15 at Fieldings of the West Midlands features 300 lots of Clarice Cliff.
Some of the key pieces in the sale are returning to market after 30 years. Shown here is Applique Etna, an 18in (45.5cm) ribbed charger c.1930, hand painted with a stylised landscape with trees to the foreground and a mountain below a deep orange sky with black and orange banding, partial Bizarre mark to the reverse.
This exact charger was used by Clarice Cliff in a period promotional photograph where she appears to be painting the piece; however, it would have already been fired otherwise the enamels would have smudged on her coat.
Sold at Christie’s in November 1994, it is now estimated at £10,000-15,000 at the auction house in Stourbridge.
