1. Regency library table
TV presenter and antiques dealer Drew Pritchard is to sell items from his personal collection at Dreweatts on March 5-6.
Among the lots is this Regency satinwood, Macassar and ebony library table by the well-known cabinet maker George Oakley (1773-1840). It is estimated at £12,000-18,000.
The sale comprises around 500 lots estimated to fetch more than £700,000 overall. Estimates range from £200-30,000.
2. Owl money box
The distinctive Rimini Blu ceramics were created in the early 50s by Aldo Londi, the former art director of Bitossi ceramics.
A collection of these mid-century animals, still made today by Bitossi, is included in the March 4 sale at Bolton Auction Rooms. This 8in (20cm) owl money box is guided at £100-150.
3. Pair of Roman gold rings
Dating to the 2nd century, this pair of Roman gold rings were made for a married couple.
The two matching solid hoops with expanding shoulders are each set with a dark blue nicolo intaglio, one bearing a profile bust of a young Hercules, and the other with a profile bust of a woman wearing a taenia or a wreath on her head.
They come for sale as part of the mammoth five-day dispersal of a London collection at TimeLine Auctions on March 5-9 with an estimate of £3500-4500.
4. Turner watercolour
A watercolour by JMW Turner (1775-1851) is to be offered at Minster Auctions in Leominster, Herefordshire, on March 6.
The 12¾ x 17in (32 x 43cm) work on paper laid down on card depicts a view of Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire, from the south east. Datable to c.1796, it is believed to be one of a group of works depicting the property and its parkland painted for Viscount Malden who lived there from 1781-99.
A preparatory drawing for this view can be seen in Turner’s 1795 south Wales sketchbook in the Victoria and Albert Museum and Andrew Wilton has confirmed that the Minster watercolour is the work listed as No 98 in his 1979 catalogue raisonné on Turner.
When Hampton Court Castle (which dates back to the 15th century) was purchased by Richard Arkwright in 1812 the watercolour passed to the Arkwright family as part of the contents.
It transferred with other contents to another Arkwright home, Kinsham Court, Herefordshire, in 1911-12 and has remained in the family since.
Estimate £30,000-50,000.
5. Chamberlain fairground carving
Sworders will sell 47 lots from the John Barker collection of late 19th and early 20th century fairground horses, carvings and regalia on March 7. Barker has collected fairground art for over half a century.
Among his favourite pieces in the sale is a torso mount from a famous ride created by the celebrated Burton-on-Trent carver Charles Spooner. This model of Joseph Chamberlain wearing a tam-o’-shanter and monocle was part of very topical carousel of 12 centaurs carved with the heads of Boer War leaders that debuted at the Neath fair in Swansea in September 1900.
Chamberlain, then secretary of state for the colonies, was not first choice with the punters who preferred to ride Kitchener, Roberts, Baden-Powell or other ‘war heroes’. Quietly removed from the ride and replaced, it was unlikely Spooner ever carved another.
This lot, the 2ft 5in (73cm) top half of the figure, is expected to bring £6000-8000.