As the home of spinster Jeanne Courtauld, who has recently moved to a nursing home, the elegant country house, with a garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll, was a treasure trove of good quality fresh goods, and the sale attracted interest from a good mix of dealers and wealthy private buyers.
The undisputed highlight was this pair of 18th century continental oval wall mirrors (one shown) with Boulle style red and gilt verre eglomise borders and gilt rims with scroll surmounts. The auctioneers felt the 2ft 9in by 211/4in (85 x 54cm) mirrors were most likely French in
origin and would at one stage have had girandole candle sconce insets. Bidding opened at the top estimate £10,000 and rose rapidly to £50,000 where four telephone bidders, two from London and two from New York, entered the arena.
Fierce competition from the four saw the price pushed up to a winning £190,000 plus premium from one of the London bidders.
18th century continental oval wall mirrors make £190,000
There has been a proliferation of genuine on-the-premises house sales in the provinces over the past few months, with the latest held by Strides (15% buyer’s premium) of Chichester on July 7 at Cooke’s House in West Burton, near Pulborough, West Sussex.
