George Stubbs’ Mares and Foals will be offered at Christie’s with an estimate of £7m-10m.
Large Stubbs work has a hefty estimate
One of the largest pictures that George Stubbs (1724-1806) ever painted is coming to auction with a £7m-10m guide.
Christie’s will offer Mares and Foals at the first part of its Old Masters sale on July 2. According to the saleroom it is one of the “last two on this scale of any subject to remain in private hands”.
Dated to c.1769, the work is regarded as the “grandest statement” in a series of paintings executed in the 1760s and is believed to have been painted for Augustus Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735- 1811), the British Prime Minister from 1768-70. The duke was part of a group of ‘Whig’ statesmen that provided Stubbs with his most important patrons of that time.
During this decade Stubbs painted Whistlejacket for Lord Rockingham (c.1762), now in the National Gal lery, and Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, painted for Lord Bolingbroke in c.1765, which set an auction record for the artist when it sold at Christie’s in 2011 for £22.4m.
Mares and Foals has appeared at auction only once before – in 1976, when it sold for £170,000 – and has since been part of a private collection in Illinois.
Haughton seminar theme announced
The theme for the next Haughton International Seminar, from June 26-27, is ‘Mystery, Beauty & Preciousness’. Held at the Society of Chemical Industry in Belgrave Square, London, it features 14 international speakers and welcomes professionals and enthusiasts in the ceramics world.
Schatzkammers (imperial treasuries), regalia, church treasuries, rare jewels, snuff boxes, Saint Porchaire ware and Vezzi porcelain as well as princely arms and armour made by the Helmschmid Dynasty of Renaissance Augsburg are among the topics.
Speakers include Caroline de Guitaut, surveyor of the king’s works of art at the Royal Collection Trust, Dora Thornton, Goldsmiths’ Company curator, and Julia Weber, director of the Dresden Porcelain collection.
Rings taken during Dorset burglary
More than £40,000 worth of stock has been stolen from Sherborne Antiques Market.
The centre was broken into at around 2.35am on May 1. The intruder is described as a man aged 30-50, about 5ft 9in, of large build, who wore a cap, gloves, dark-coloured clothing and a face covering.
Stock was taken from three different dealers, and among the items were several high-value antique rings.
Dealer and co-founder of the centre Craig Wharton told ATG that the local response was “fantastic” and that the whole town “pulled together” following the burglary. He added that a local joiner had fixed the door which was damaged during the break-in and another had put in a new lock both free of charge.
Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police on 101 or via the website quoting crime reference 55240064275. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously by contacting Crimestoppers on 080 555 111.
Conference focus on Barker silver
A conference on the topic of the history of silver in the Caribbean islands will be held by the Silver Society at Goldsmiths’ Hall on June 3.
The event celebrates the life and work of the late silver researcher Robert Barker (1960-2018). Barker made two bequests: to the National Museums of Scotland he left his collection of 57 items of 18th-century Jamaican silver, and to the Silver Society he left a generous legacy to encourage original research.
The conference will focus on Barker’s collection and on recent research and show the Caribbean islands ‘to have been a significant and hitherto understudied area of silver patronage and craft’.
In-person participation (including sandwich lunch and refreshments) costs £60 per person or participation by Zoom is £15. Contact events@thesilversociety.org
Kent auction house starts fashion sales
Fenella Primrose Muldoon of C&T.
C&T Auctioneers has hired Fenella Primrose Muldoon to head its new vintage fashion and luxury goods department.
“As much as we all love antiques, we have to accept that as time goes on, many of the younger generations are not as interested in the traditional items”, C&T director Matthew Tredwen said. “So, we’re looking to the future markets over the next few years to complement our already established specialist departments.”
Primrose Muldoon ran her own vintage fashion business before joining the Kent auction house. She joins two other new C&T members, Robert Wilkin and David Kavanagh-Spall. Wilkin is a retro and modern toys/collectables specialist, while Kavanagh-Spall will be an auction house assistant in the shipping and logistics department.
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1 ‘British School’ waterfall scene takes 60 times estimate after bidders identify artist
2 Christie’s website down, victim of apparent cyberattack
3 Furniture given by Mouseman to his daughter emerges in Yorkshire
4 Damascened casket linked to Henry VIII’s metalworker comes to auction
5 Battersea Decorative fair welcomes celebrity shoppers and weathers train strike woes
In Numbers
9d
The Incredible Hulk (1962) copy offered at Comic Books Auctions.
The cover price of issue one of The Incredible Hulk (1962), a copy of which is offered with no reserve in Comic Books Auctions’ timed online sale ending on June 2. At the time of going to press bidding had already exceeded £3000 on thesaleroom.com. Colour consistency issues led to The Hulk appearing grey in the first edition. He became green in subsequent issues.
