Silver ‘spitting’ donkey’s head walking stick – estimated at £600-800 at Sworders.
1. Donkey head walking stick
Sworders’ Fine Interiors sale at Stansted Mountfitchet on March 22-23 includes, estimated at £600-800, this silver ‘spitting’ donkey’s head walking stick. Marked for Charles Henry Dumenil, London 1905, it was possibly made for Brigg.
The head unscrews to reveal an internal hollow rod and reservoir. Pressing the lever at the back of the donkey’s head squirts out the liquid. It was probably for scent or water – although the vendor was told long ago that it was for poison. View this walking stick via thesaleroom.com.
2. CRW Nevinson etching
Etching of Dieppe harbour by CRW Nevinson – estimated at £3000-5000 at Modern Art Auctions in Scarborough.
This rare etching of Dieppe harbour by CRW Nevinson (1889-1946) is dated 1923. Signed in pencil and inscribed with the title, it is one of only a handful of proofs pulled and was first exhibited at Alex Reid and Lefevre Gallery, London 1927.
It has a guide of £3000-5000 at Modern Art Auctions in Scarborough on March 22. View this CRW Nevinson etching via thesaleroom.com.
3. Lightning picture
Amelia Struck by Lightning dated 1763 by William Williams of Norwich (1727-97) has an estimate of £3000-5000 at Cheffins.
Cheffins will offer 12 paintings from the Asbjorn Lunde Foundation as part of the Fine Sale in Cambridge on March 23-24. All proceeds will go to support the foundation, established by the US collector Asbjorn Lunde (1927-2017), and its activities throughout the arts and music sectors.
The paintings to be offered are primarily 18th century British works.
Amelia Struck by Lightning dated 1763 is by William Williams of Norwich (1727-97). The subject is inspired by a passage from Summer in James Thomson’s cycle of poems The Seasons which was hugely popular throughout the 18th century. TA picture of the same subject, but of different composition, dated 1784, is in the collection of Tate Britain.
The picture has an estimate of £3000-5000. View this William Williams picture via thesaleroom.com.
4. Suffragette hunger strike medal
A hunger strike medal awarded by the WSPU to Edith Downing in 1912 – estimate at £10,000-15,000 at Bonhams' Women Through History sale.
A new auction, Women Through History, will take place on March 23 at Bonhams Knightsbridge.
A large section is dedicated to items relating to the Women’s Suffrage Movement, including the hunger strike medal awarded by the WSPU to Edith Downing in 1912 (estimate £10,000-15,000) and a photograph of the moment Emily Wilding Davison was struck by the King’s horse on Derby Day, 1913, becoming a Suffragette figurehead as a martyr to the cause (estimate: £2000-3000).
Downing (1857-1931) was an artist and sculptor. She joined the more radical Women’s Social and Political Union in 1908. In March 1912 she was arrested after throwing a stone through the window of a fine art dealer in Regent Street and sent to Holloway Prison where she took part in a hunger strike and was force fed.
View this suffragette hunger strike medal via thesaleroom.com.
5. Avengers comic
Avengers #1, rated 4.0 – estimated at £3000-4000 at Sheffield Auction Gallery.
Sheffield Auction Gallery is selling a single-owner collection of 250 lots of rare and collectable comics in a specialist sale on March 24.
Many of these are third-party graded examples including this ‘slabbed’ example of Avengers #1 that, rated 4.0, has an estimate of £3000-4000.
View this Avengers comic via thesaleroom.com.
6. Bristol sparrow beak jug
A Bristol porcelain sparrow beak jug c.1770-75 expected to bring £400-600 at David Duggleby.
This large 9in (22cm) Bristol porcelain sparrow beak jug decorated with hand painted floral sprays and sprigs, c.1770-75, has a paper label for the Bayley Collection Bristol.
At the Country House Sale at David Duggleby in Scarborough on March 26, it is expected to bring £400-600.
View this Bristol jug via thesaleroom.com.
