Chinese export silver ‘dragon’ cup and cover, estimate £20,000-25,000 at Alastair Gibson Auctions.
The sale of Fine Asian Art at Alastair Gibson Auctions in London on March 23 includes this impressive Chinese export silver ‘dragon’ cup and cover.
Standing 2ft 60cm) high and weighing 215oz, The Celestial Cup carries an inscription reading: Presented to the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers by Old Members & Friends of the Corps Resident in China 1864.
Chinese export silver ‘dragon’ cup and cover, estimate £20,000-25,000 at Alastair Gibson Auctions.
It is thought to have been made in the workshop of Feng Zhao Ji of Canton and retailed by Lee Ching who was active in Canton, Hong Kong and Shanghai in c.1830-95.
The London Scottish Rifle Volunteers were formed in 1859, sponsored by the Highland Society of London and The Caledonian Society under the command of Lt Col Lord Elcho, later Lord Wemyss and March (1818-1914).
It comes for sale from the London Scottish Regimental Trust based in Horseferry Road, Westminster, with an estimate of £20,000-25,000.
London Transport poster titled Eastertide Spring Returns Bank Holiday 17 April 1933, estimate £300-600 at Antikbar.
This original 10 x 13in (25 x 33cm) London Transport poster titled Eastertide Spring Returns Bank Holiday 17 April 1933 features artwork by Dora M Batty (1891-1966). It has a guide of £300-600 as part of the vintage posters sale at London specialist Antikbar on March 23.
Late 19th century drop necklace featuring an array of circular and hexagonal Satsuma pottery panels, estimate £120-180 at Sworders.
Sworders’ March 27 Jewellery sale includes this late 19th century drop necklace featuring an array of circular and hexagonal Satsuma pottery panels. Mounted in white metal it has an estimate £120-180.
K Knitting by Colin Middleton, estimate €15,000-20,000 at Adam’s.
This oil by Irish artist by Colin Middleton (1910-83) titled K Knitting was exhibited in Belfast in January 1961.
It is one of a series of works he painted depicting his wife, Kathleen, in domestic situations that began in the late 1950s. The flattened picture space and geometric division recalls Middleton’s training and work as a damask designer.
At Adam’s March 27 auction in Dublin titled Important Irish Art it has a guide of €15,000-20,000.
An 18ct vari-coloured gold box by Cartier, estimate £6000-8000 at Kinghams.
This 18ct vari-coloured gold box by Cartier is on offer at Kinghams’ Silver & Objects of Vertu sale in Moreton-in-Marsh on March 22.
Shown to associate director Matthew Lafite at a local valuation day, the box is hallmarked for 1957 and made to a design by Rupert Emmerson (of Cartier Crash watch fame) and Jacques-Théodule Cartier, head of Cartier London. The push-piece to open the box is crafted from a cushion-shaped ruby.
“Even before I could see what was inside and discovered the distinctive, red-coloured leather and gilt tooled outer presentation box, I knew it would be special,” said Lafite. “An outer box like that says one thing – Cartier.”
Estimate £6000-8000.
Life-size Roman marble portrait bust of Pompeia Plotina c.110-120AD, estimate £25,000-35,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
Three over life-size Roman marble portrait busts with an 18th century provenance come for sale at Lyon & Turnbull as part of the firm’s first designated sale of Classical Ancient Art on March 21.
The trio of second century heads come by descent from John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767-1831), the Lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent. He employed the architect James Wyatt to remodel the interiors at Cobham Hall where the sculptures, each housed on 19th century stands, remained until the house changed hands in 1957.
Leading the group at a guide of £25,000-35,000 is this 3ft 3in (97cm) bust of Pompeia Plotina c.110-120AD.
Born c.70AD, Pompeia Plotina assumed the role of empress consort when Trajan rose through the ranks of the Roman military to become emperor in 98AD. She is shown here as an idealised beauty with an elaborate coiffure and corkscrew fringe and a palla draped over the back of her head and over the shoulders.
Doulton Lambeth stoneware architectural statue and birdbath modelled as Puck, estimate £1000-1500 at Gardiner Houlgate.
This Doulton Lambeth stoneware architectural statue and birdbath modelled as Puck seated by a pool is a design c.1900 by Harry Simeon.
Measuring 2ft (60cm) across, it carries an estimate of £1000-1500 as part of the March 21 sale at Gardiner Houlgate in Corsham, Bath.
Watercolour of fruit and flowers by Anne Redpath, estimate £3000-5000 at Thomson Roddick.
This watercolour of fruit and flowers by Anne Redpath (1895-1965) has old labels verso for dealership Aitken & Dott, Edinburgh, and for a 1959 Arts Council Scottish Committee exhibition, titled Six Scottish Painters at Nottingham University. It is expected to sell for £3000-5000 at Thomson Roddick in Carlisle on March 26.
Pilkington’s Royal Lancastrian lustre vase with the monogram of decorator Richard Joyce, estimate £1000-1500 at Semley Auctioneers.
This Pilkington’s Royal Lancastrian lustre vase decorated with a band of bulls between scrolling foliate bands has the monogram of decorator Richard Joyce. The property of a deceased estate, it carries an estimate of £1000-1500 as part of the March 23 sale at Semley Auctioneers in Shaftesbury, Dorset.
Meissen ‘Christie-Miller Service’ octagonal plate, estimate £12,000-14,000 at Keys.
A Meissen ‘Christie-Miller Service’ octagonal plate is estimated at £12,000-14,000 as part of Norfolk saleroom Keys’ spring Fine Sale from March 26-28.
Manufactured in c.1740, 61 pieces of the service were said to have been purchased by Samuel Christie-Miller in 1840 from a member of the Orléans family, and these were sold by his descendants in 1970.
The scenes depicted in the centre are closely related to engravings by Melchior Küsel after Johann Wilhelm Baur published in Augsburg in 1681.
Late 19th century ostrich egg cup and cover, estimate £4500-5500 at Curated Auctions.
The sale at Curated Auctions in London on March 21 includes, guided at £4500-5500, this late 19th century ostrich egg cup and cover. While these were first conceived by goldsmiths in the 16th and 17th centuries, this example in the Renaissance Revival style is thought to be made in Hanau, Germany.
This silver-mounted white ceramic hot water kettle is a rare variant of a much-reproduced Christopher Dresser design for Heath & Middleton (Hukin & Heath).
In addition to silver mounts for Birmingham 1904, are the retailer’s details for Wilson & Gill 139 Regent Street, London and the marked H&H to the ceramic body.
Bidding is expected to reach £700- 1000 as part of a timed online sale held by 1818 Auctioneers in Milnthorpe, Cumbria, closing on March 24.
Ensign Multex Model O Rangefinder camera, estimate £20,000-30,000 at Chiswick Auctions.
This Ensign Multex Model O Rangefinder camera was found in a box of old cameras and lenses the vendor had received as a gift from his in-laws.
Austin Farahar, head of cameras and photography at Chiswick Auctions, was recently contacted by a budding documentary photographer from Vienna who hoped the British precision camera was similar to another he had found online that has sold for thousands. Farahar was delighted to confirm his hunch and suggested an estimate of £20,000-30,000 for this west London auction.
The Multex was made in two models between 1936-38. Costing as much as many Leicas at the time, it was sold with a range of five lenses ascending in price from £19 10s to £40. The 53mm Ross Xpres lens included with this example was among the most expensive additions and it is highly-prized today.
It is part of the March 21 sale titled The Bigger Picture: Fine Photographica & Panoramas.
Pair of rare Portland stone groups of a nymph and satyr by Charles Sargeant Jagger, estimate £140,000-220,000 at Summers Place Auctions.
The first sales of the year at Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst - a live event on March 26 and a sealed bids sale on March 27 - includes this pair of rare Portland stone groups of a nymph and satyr by Charles Sargeant Jagger (1885-1934).
Each 3.5m (11ft 6in) high, they were created for Melchett Court, Hampshire, in 1927 and stayed in the Melchett family, although in different locations, until 1948 when Gilbert Beale bought them at auction for Beale Park, where they stayed until 2000. They are now expected to sell for £140,000-220,000.
The Melchett Court satyrs and nymphs with their mildly erotic overtones are the only known work by Jagger in which he explores a romantic classical style.
Henry Scott Tuke oil on board portrait of Lord Ronald Charles Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, estimate £1500-2500 at Bellmans.
Bellmans’ March 28 auction of Old Masters, British and European Paintings includes this Henry Scott Tuke oil on board portrait of Lord Ronald Charles Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1845-1916).
Ronald Gower, the seventh son of George, 2nd Duke of Sutherland (1786- 1861), was variously a liberal MP for Sutherland, a sculptor responsible for the Shakespeare memorial at Stratford-upon-Avon and an author who published biographies of Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette.
Much of what is known about his life comes from his diaries which are often remarkably candid regarding his attraction to men. He associated frequently with Oscar Wilde whose 1889 novel The Portrait of Mr WH is generally considered to be a comment on Gower’s immediate circle. He is also considered an inspiration for the character of Lord Henry Wotton in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The 9 x 6in (23 x 15cm) picture, acquired by the owner at auction in 2911 when the subject was unidentified, was once owned by Henry Scott Tuke’s grandniece.
Estimate £1500-2500.
Cased pair of 16-bore double-barrelled howdah pistols c.1840 signed by the London gunsmith Charles Lancaster, estimate £5000-7000 at Holts.
The Holts sale of Sporting Guns and Antiques Arms in Wolferton, Norfolk, on March 25-26 includes this pair of cased pair of 16-bore double-barrelled howdah pistols c.1840.
Signed by the London gunsmith Charles Lancaster, the bar-action locks and engraved with gaming scenes. Both pistols are in a good state of preservation with much original finish and come complete with the maker’s brass cornered mahogany case with relined tray and replacement trade-label.
Estimate £5000-7000.
