Tunbridgeware writing slope – estimated at £200-400 at Swan Fine Art in Tetsworth.
1. Tunbridgeware writing slope
A single-owner contents sale at Swan Fine Art in Tetsworth on March 10 includes, estimated at £200-400, this Tunbridgeware writing slope decorated with architectural scenes and vignettes of flora and fauna.
Complete with a fitted interior including two ink bottles, a pen holder, original red velvet slope surface, it is the work of Henry Hollamby (1842-91), one of the Tunbridgeware exhibitors at the Great Exhibition in 1851 and the London International Exhibition in 1862. View this Tunbridgeware writing slope via thesaleroom.com.
2. Tennis match painting
‘The Tennis Match’ by Josef Oppenheimer – estimated at £5000-7000 at Bonhams.
This oil on board, The Tennis Match, by the German artist Josef Oppenheimer (1876- 1966) was given to the present owner by the sculptor Dame Elisabeth Frink.
As part of the British & European art sale at Bonhams on March 9, it is pitched at £5000-7000. View this Tennis Match picture via thesaleroom.com.
3. John Betjeman picture
A watercolour and pencil work by John Betjeman which is dedicated and inscribed with the original draft of the poem A Bay in Anglesey – estimate £4000-6000 at Parker Fine Art Auctions.
A watercolour and pencil work by John Betjeman (1906-84) which is dedicated and inscribed with the original draft of the poem A Bay in Anglesey is estimated at £4000-6000 at Surrey saleroom Parker Fine Art Auctions on March 10. Dated 1963, it was produced for a family with whom Betjeman was staying in Anglesey.
The poem was first published in the Cornhill Magazine’s winter 1964-65 issue (a literary journal with some renowned contributors) and subsequently in a collection of poems titled High and Low, 1966. The first print run was 16,100 copies, with more printed the same month, and yet more in January 1967, 1969 and 1975. It is one of a number of his poems to be set to music (voice and piano) by Madeleine Dring.
The 7¾ x 9in (19.5 x 23cm) sketch of Anglesey Bay is annotated in Betjeman’s hand with details of colours such as grey and green, yellow, gold-grey and green.
It includes a signpost saying To the Meyricks. Betjeman believed he was a descendant of the Meyrick family, who lived at Bodorgan Hall in south-west Anglesey.
View this Betjeman watercolour via thesaleroom.com.
4. Gold solidus coin
A private collection of Roman coins will be offered by Stroud Auctions in Gloucestershire on March 9-11. This gold solidus issued in Constantinople for Honorius (393-423AD) is estimated at £250-350. View this gold solidus via thesaleroom.com.
5. Ladi Kwali pot
A c.1962 incised earthenware water pot by the Nigerian potter Ladi Kwali – estimated at £6000-8000 at Maak.
Studio ceramics from the collection formed over 40 years by New York art dealer Dr John P Driscoll set many new benchmarks when sold as a joint auction by Maak and Phillips in 2021. The Art of Fire sale generated more than £5m.
Driscoll (whose dealing speciality was Hudson River School pictures) owned more than 1600 pots and a further 230 lots will be offered by Maak in a timed online sale titled East Meets West closing on March 10.
It includes this c.1962 incised earthenware water pot by the Nigerian potter Ladi Kwali whose work reached new highs in The Art of Fire (a record £105,000). This 15in (38cm) high pot with zoomorphic designs is estimated at £6000-8000.
6. Frank Shenton picture
Early Morning, Abney Church, Mossley by Frank Shenton – estimated at £300-500 at Wilson.
Frank Shenton’s oil on board Early Morning, Abney Church, Mossley, signed and dated ‘63, has a guide of £300-500 at the sale of Northern Art at Wilson 55 in Nantwich on March 10.
Shenton (British 1920-99) taught art at Tameside College for 30 years, occasionally exhibiting at the Royal Academy. His watercolour of Ashton War Memorial was adopted by Manchester Museum in 1991.
View this Frank Shenton picture via thesaleroom.com.
7. Advertising sign
An advertising enamel sign Agent For Collinsons Tea – offered with a starting bid of £160 at GW Railwayana.
This advertising enamel sign Agent For Collinsons Tea measures 12 x 8in (30 x 20cm). In good condition, it has a starting bid of £160 at GW Railwayana in Evesham on March 11-12. View this advertising sign via thesaleroom.com.
