A 19th century bronze cast of Mercury after Giambologna - estimate £8000-12,000 at Cheffins.
1. Bronze sculpture
The Fine Sale at Cheffins in Cambridge on June 22-23 includes 104 lots from Wood Hall in Hilgay, Norfolk. The contents of the 16th century manor have been collected by generations of the Stocks, Ellison and Charlesworth families over the last 140 years.
Leading the offering is this 19th century bronze cast of Mercury after Giambologna, which, including its stand, reaches 9ft 10in (2.7m) high and carries an estimate of £8000-12,000.
2. Fidel Castro cigar box
Fidel Castro cigar box with an estimate of more than £100,000.
Bristol auction house Paul Fraser Collectibles’ latest sale includes 39 lots related to Cuban history: items once belonging to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
Among the collection is Fidel Castro’s 1953 Upmann No.4 handmade cigar box with two secret compartments for smuggling messages to and from prison. It carries an estimate of more than £100,000 and is in the timed online sale ending June 23.
3. Shipping advertising sign
Early 20th century tinplate Cunard Line advertising sign - estimate £800-1000 at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood.
An early 20th century tinplate Cunard Line advertising sign is estimated at £800-1000 in the Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood auction in Exeter on June 21.
It features a central polychrome lithograph of RMS Aquitania after Burns within a simulated rosewood swept frame with title banner, and measures 2ft 7in x 3ft 5in (78cm x 1.04m).
4. FA Cup football medal
An 18ct gold 1910 FA Cup football medal presented to Robert Oliver (director) from Newcastle United FC - estimate £1000-1500 at Ryedale Auctioneers.
The Country House sale at Ryedale Auctioneers on June 23-24 includes this 18ct gold FA Cup football medal presented to Robert Oliver (director) from Newcastle United FC.
Although engraved English Cup it was made and awarded for the FA Cup final of 1910 between NUFC and Barnsley. The Oliver family were an important part of early Newcastle United history, and this medal has stayed in the family since that time.
By Vaughton & Sons, Birmingham 1910, it is estimated at £1000-1500 in this North Yorkshire auction.
From the same vendor, guided at £500-800, is a Newcastle Utd souvenir photograph album, Season 1905-6. 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11. The leather-bound photo album contains 62 silver gelatin photographic prints mounted on card including a photograph of Oliver.
Ryedale says it is believed these photograph albums were presented to the players and the support staff c.1910-11. This example was given to Oliver.
5. Stone plaques
Known as ‘The Tehidy Plaques’, formerly belonging to Lord Dunstanville (the Basset family), a pair of large 18th century relief stone plaques inspired by Pompeii - estimate £12,000-14,000 at Lodge and Thomas.
Known as ‘The Tehidy Plaques’, formerly belonging to Lord Dunstanville (the Basset family), this pair of large 18th century relief stone plaques depicts cherubs in a chariot race. They were inspired by the frieze at the oecus (main hall) of the Casa del Betti in Pompeii, dating from c.50-79AD.
The plaques are provenanced to Tehidy Manor of Ilogan, Camborne, Cornwall. In 1734 John Pendarves Basset began building and landscaping a large country seat in the Neo- Palladian style. In 1739 Francis Basset inherited the seat and nearly finished the house. In 1861 John Francis Basset again started a rebuild, completed in 1863.
By 1888 Arthur Francis Basset had inherited the estate but because of diminished income from the mining industries it was difficult to finance. In 1915 the mansion was vacated and after 700 years of Basset ownership, the estate was sold in 1916. In 1918 the house became a hospital for tuberculosis sufferers. On February 23, 1919, the house was destroyed by fire, but by January 1922 the house had been completely rebuilt.
These plaques, each measuring 2ft x 3ft 11in (60.5cm x 1.2m), came from the famous sunken Italianate garden and were purchased by Architectural Heritage.
They are now estimated at £12,000-14,000 at the Lodge and Thomas auction in Truro on June 23-24.
6. German reconnaissance images of Britain
Queensferry shown in a pre-Second World War German reconnaissance photo, from a collection estimated at £2000-3000 by Ewbank’s.
In the early to mid 1930s, when the Luftwaffe first started to plan its prolonged assault on British cities, it created a unique historic record: the first aerial survey of many cities and landmarks (Queensferry with the Forth Bridge is shown here).
Part of a large specialist collection of those German reconnaissance images, amassed by an expert who wrote a book on the subject, is coming to auction at Ewbank’s in Surrey on June 24.
Nigel Clarke, author of 2013 book Adolf’s British Holiday Snaps, also explores the subject via his dedicated website, hitlersukpictures.co.uk. The selection is estimated at £2000-3000.
