Chorley's

A small portrait sketch of a young boy by George Henry Harlow (1787-1819) drew lively interest at the recent Fine Art & Antiques sale in Gloucestershire.

A great many of the lots that brought prices in the £1000-10,000 range in a recent Cheltenham sale were multiples of varying size – some running to as many as a hundred volumes – but noted here are a couple with that same Spetchley Park provenance that can be more precisely defined.

Naive-style Cornish art has been on a good run at regional auctions over recent months.

Works from either a distinguished collection or well-known owner offered with appealing estimates are an enticing prospect at auction.

A Constable-esque landscape turned a few heads at Chorley’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) latest fine art and antiques sale.

The book section of a twice postponed Gloucestershire sale – one that included the rare white Chelsea owl featured on the front page of ATG No 2486 – comprised books from the library at Spetchley Park in the neighbouring county of Worcestershire.

Having postponed the sale in November and again in January, Chorley’s finally got to sell an exceptional private collection of early English porcelain in Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire, on March 24.

The postponed January auction at Gloucestershire saleroom Chorley’s will take place on March 23-24.

A high-quality veduta of Venice by one of Canaletto’s followers was the runaway star at Chorley’s (22.5/15/12.5/10% buyer’s premium) two-day auction in Gloucestershire.

Some aspects of the traditional antiques market continue to perform with zest – and ‘folk art’ is among them.

Good art at a great price in regional sales

Such has been the fall in prices of Georgian card tables that it has become the norm for auctioneers to estimate most at well below £1000.

Samuel Palmer (1805-81) prints are not unusual on the market but one of two that were offered as a single lot at Chorley’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) in Cheltenham carried an interesting inscription by the artist’s son, AH Palmer.

Second-dibs sales at regional salerooms – those that follow after a major London auctioneer has cherry-picked the contents of a stately country house – can sometimes acquire the slighting epithet of ‘crumbs from a rich man’s table’.

Group of paintings by one of the less well-known masters of the medium comes to light

An early 17th century Limoges enamel draw purse attracted a flurry of bids at Chorley’s Attic Sale in Gloucestershire. Set with period portraits of a lady on one side and a gentleman on the other, the accessory has remained intact for about 400 years – in most examples the fabric has deteriorated significantly.

A spate of early to mid-20th century portraits of society figures and important personalities generated stiff competition at UK sales in London and the regions.