An early 20th century mahogany bureau cabinet in the George III Rococo style from the set of The Crown and first seen in Season 1. It is estimated at £3000-5000.
1. Mahogany bureau cabinet
Bonhams’ auction of props from Netflix’s The Crown on February 7 features 150 lots. This is accompanied by an online auction of around 300 lots ending on February 8. The 450 costumes, sets and props are on display at Bonhams New Bond Street until today (February 5).
Among the lots is this early 20th century mahogany bureau cabinet in the George III Rococo style. It comes with a collection of porcelain decorated figures, a desk lamp, a leather writing blotter, photograph frames and other accessories. It was first seen in Season 1, in the Queen's bedroom set at Buckingham Palace and also for the Clarence House set. It is estimated at £3000-5000.
Proceeds from the live sale will go towards establishing the Left Bank Pictures –The Crown Scholarship programme at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) which has training sites across the UK.
2. Roman marble head
Roman marble portrait head of Emperor Commodus, c.late 2nd century AD, estimate £25,000-35,000 at Mallams.
The Oxford Library Sale staged by Mallams on February 7 includes this Roman marble portrait head of Emperor Commodus, c.late 2nd century AD. Measuring 9½ wide x 6½ deep x 11½in high (24 x 17 x 29cm), the surface is weathered and fragmented with rounded articulated eyes, framed with heavy upper and lower lids, with an aimless gaze into the distance, giving the sitter an entranced expression.
It has a provenance to property of the Countess of Hardwicke, then by descent.
Estimate £25,000-35,000.
3. Lalique vase
René Lalique Senlis vase made c.1925, estimate £20,000-30,000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
This design known as Senlis and listed in the catalogue raisonné as model 962 is one of only two glass vases created by René Lalique to incorporate bronze handles.
Made c.1925 in the archaeological revival style, the bifurcated handles are modelled as branches of foliage and fruits against a bulbous body of smoky grey glass. The vase takes its name from the northern town where the monarchs of the early French dynasties lived.
The vase is one of the highlights of a private collection of Lalique glass that comes for sale at Lyon & Turnbull in London on February 8. It has a guide of £20,000-30,000.
The other Lalique vase to incorporate bronze handles is model 961 known as Cluny. This design, also around 10in (25cm) high with patinated mask handles and a green-gray glass bowl, is also represented in the 137-lot collection. It is estimated at £60,000-80,000.
4. RAF Battle of Britain ‘Book of Heroes’
Battle of Britain ‘Book of Heroes’ containing the signatures of 107 RAF officers including Douglas Bader, estimate £10,000-20,000 at The Cotswold Auction Company.
Included in the February 6 sale at The Cotswold Auction Company is a group the saleroom describes as a “charming and eccentric collection of memorabilia”.
Among the lots is an RAF Battle of Britain ‘Book of Heroes’. It contains the signatures of 107 RAF officers – many of whom flew in the Battle of Britain and did not survive the war. They were collected in 1941 by Norman Phillips, a mess steward at RAF Martlesham Heath. It is contained in a brass-mounted glass casket.
The book’s leather cover was cut from a mess chair by renowned RAF pilot Douglas Bader, whose signature and photo feature inside.
According to the auction house, Winston Churchill, in conversation with Bader, called the book “not a book of names, but a book of heroes. God forbid it should ever be lost.” It is estimated at £10,000-20,000.
The memorabilia has come from the estate of an avid Gloucestershire-based collector who purchased the Churchill-related items and the Book of Heroes at Bonhams and other auctions some years ago. They include all the paperwork showing provenance.
Other lots include Churchill’s false teeth and a microphone he is believed to have used on VE Day to announce the end of the Second World War, both guided at £5000-8000.
5. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly film poster
Poster for the Rome premiere of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly dating from 1966, estimated at £40,000-80,000 at Propstore.
This one-of-a-kind large-scale poster created for the Rome premiere of classic Spaghetti Western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly dating from 1966, an Italian 24-Sheet, is estimated at £40,000-80,000.
It leads a Propstore auction on February 8 which features rare posters from the archive of one of the world’s most prominent Clint Eastwood memorabilia collectors, David Frangioni.
However, lots are also available estimated from three to four figures, such as a 1965 Italian one-panel poster Italian one-panel (‘2-Fogli’) linen-backed poster for A Fistful of Dollars, guided at £3000-6000.
