Demand for 19th century Black Forest furniture – a decorative favourite with UK, European and American buyers looking to furnish hunting lodges – has fallen off in recent months but the carving on a hall stand at Cheltenham was particularly animated.
It featured a large grizzly bear, teeth bared, clutching at the trunk of the tree with a small bear perched on the upper branches. Given the softening of the market, the 2ft 8in (2.03m) high stand always looked likely to struggle against an ambitious £5000-6000 estimate, but it did get away at £4000.
A more tricky work to estimate was an antique stuffed crocodile which carried hopes of £80-90. On the day, the 4ft 11in (1.4m) long reptile attracted the interest of several interested parties who contested it to £390.
More traditional auction staples included a Regency rosewood and brass inlaid sofa table that realised £2300.
Among the most soughtafter entries from the previous month’s 525-lot outing on December 2, was a Louis Vuitton cabin trunk covered with the LV monogram canvas and bound in leather, wood and brass. Whether or not the 3ft 4in (1.02m) wide trunk was bought for its decorative potential to be mounted with glass and used as a coffee table or bought by a specialist vintage luggage buyer, it tripled the mid estimate to sell at £1800.
Among the furniture was a William IV mahogany, double-sided, library open bookcase which fetched £2500 while the most expensive lot was a 7ft 1in x 5ft (2.16m x1.53m) Caucasian rug with two star designs enclosed within a geometric border which made £2900.
Black Forest piece sells in a bear market
Mallams, Cheltenham. January 6 - Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent WILD animals and ferocious reptiles were major features at this 430-lot Gloucestershire sale.
