1. Sir James Jebusa Shannon portrait
A portrait by Sir James Jebusa Shannon (1862-1923) of Henry Vigne, the master of the Epping Forest Harriers, has emerged at Criterion in Islington.
The auction house said it is “painting is undoubtedly original as it has been in the family of the subject of the portrait since it was donated to him in 1889”. It has been consigned along with some furniture by the sitter’s great nephew who died earlier this year.
Records show that the artist, after receiving some favourable reviews in the early-to-mid-1880s, considerably enhanced his reputation after exhibiting two paintings at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1888, one of which was a full-length portrait of Vigne in hunting attire – a description that clearly matches this picture.
Offered at Criterion’s timed sale closing on August 3, it is estimated at £3000-5000.
View and bid for this painting on thesaleroom.com.
2. Elizabethan painted roundels with verses
A set of 12 Elizabethan sycamore painted roundels or fruit trenchers in original turned beech box c.1600, estimate £8000-12,000 at The Pedestal auction on July 28.
The Pedestal will hold a Fine Interiors sale on July 28 at a new auction venue: The Old Dairy, on the Stonor Park estate, just outside Henley-on-Thames.
Among the top-estimated lots, pitched at £8000-12,000, is this set of 12 Elizabethan sycamore painted roundels or fruit trenchers in original turned beech box c.1600. Each is centred by a different verse or ‘poesie’.
Purchased by the current owner from a London auction house in the late 1960s, an earlier provenance is to the mathematician Charles Babbage (1792-1871) – inventor of a Calculating Machine, now on display in the Science Museum, South Kensington.
View and bid for this set of Elizabethan painted roundels on thesaleroom.com.
3. Vintage Southern Railway poster
A c.1926 poster for Southern Railway: The Londoner’s Leisure is estimated at £1200-2400 in the August 1 Antikbar auction.
The sale of original posters at Antikbar in London on August 1 includes this c.1926 poster for the Southern Railway: The Londoner’s Leisure.
Promoting these cheap day tickets to up-river resorts from Waterloo, it is a stylised view of elegant Londoners enjoying boat trips on the Thames by the artist, metal worker and designer Frederic Gregory Brown (1887-1941).
Estimate £1200-2400.
View and bid for this vintage poster on thesaleroom.com.
4. Second World War Allied Nations flag
The July 29 sale of militaria at Bishop & Miller includes this rare Second World War joint Allied Nations flag estimated at £300-500.
The sale of militaria at Bishop & Miller in Stowmarket on July 29 includes this rare Second World War joint Allied Nations flag combining the national flags of the UK, the US, China, the USSR and the Cross of United States, China, and the Cross of Lorraine, symbol of the Free French.
In 1944 it was flown shortly after the liberation of the French port of Le Havre and taken as a trophy by Able Seaman Peter Tooley of Motor Torpedo Boat 757.
Tooley, now 95, also ‘liberated’ a Kriegsmarine torch and mirror from the E-Boat pens at Le Havre that is offered as part of the lot. Estimate £300-500.
View and bid for this Allied Nations flag on thesaleroom.com.
5. Massacre of the Innocents painting
Catalogued as ‘‘Flemish School, first quarter 17th century’, this depiction of the Massacre of the Innocents is estimated at £8000-12,000 at Dominic Winter.
This Old Master depicting the Massacre of the Innocents has an intriguing history. It was apparently pulled from a skip in the Portobello area in 1960.
At the time it was ‘rescued’ it was completely unidentifiable due to years of grime but, having been cleaned up in subsequent years, it was valued for insurance purposes by Christie's at £1000 in 1970.
It was purchased by the present owner in 2019 and it will now appear at Dominic Winter’s sale in South Cerney, Gloucestershire on July 31. It has been catalogued as ‘Flemish School, first quarter 17th century’ – a date that would make it contemporaneous with Rubens.
The 3ft 10in x 5ft 8in (1.17 x 1.72m) oil on canvas still has some significant condition issues however, including a central vertical split with old restoration, several small circular piercings to the canvas, and a few other small closed tears and defects, as well as an old re-lining.
The estimate is £8000-12,000.
View and bid for this Old Master on thesaleroom.com.
