It was a textbook example of an 18th century armoire or kas; foliate carved to an overhanging cornice and comprising a configuration of two small and two large panelled cupboard doors flanked by architectural columns.
Standing 6ft 3in tall by 3ft wide (1.9m x 90cm) – not as big as some examples – it was in fine condition and a Dutch dealer beat a Belgian rival to secure it at £7800.
Another Continental offering in the 400-lot furniture section was an Austrian bentwood two-tier jardinière stand bearing the label Jacob & Joseph Konn, Wien, Austria. Standing 4ft 21/2in (1.28m) high, it took £1650 from a Shropshire dealer.
Georgian furniture in good condition appeared to be in high demand.
First up was a George III mahogany card table on cabriole legs which took £850 from a local trade buyer, while a George III oak bureau on ogee bracket feet fetched £850 against a £300-500 estimate.
Regency offerings included a rosewood desk standing 2ft 6in (76cm) tall, of davenport form but with a flat top rather than a sloping surface. It was rather distressed but it sold to a London dealer at £780.
Pick of the ceramics was a 19th century blue and gilt Sevres porcelain vase decorated with a courting shepherd and shepherdess within a classical landscape. Standing 281/2in (72cm) high, the vase appeared in fine condition and was bought by an East Sussex
dealer at £2000.
John Bellman, Billingshurst, April 22-23
Buyer’s Premium: 10 per cent
Dutch undeterred by strong sterling
UK: OVERTLY Continental pieces of furniture are not the most commercial proposition in the current trading environment (the strength of sterling have limited the overseas presence for many months now), but Bellman’s West Sussex rooms had no difficulty in selling a fine example of Dutch/Flemish cabinetmaking at their April sale.
