Essex

A painting by the obscure Welsh artist James Dickson Innes (1887-1914) generated keen bidding at Essex saleroom Stacey’s (24% buyer’s premium) on February 26.

This late 19th century ‘natural history’ specimen purports to be the mummified body of a creature that was half mammal and half fish.

Sworders is to sell the primary contents of North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire – including a collection of European tapestries that have been at the property for over a century.

Good times ahead were predicted by Guy Schooling, chairman of Sworders (23% buyer’s premium), after the January 9 Homes & Interiors sale at Stansted Mountfitchet which was topped by a WAS Benson brass mantel clock.

The so-called ‘Great Bardfield Artists’, named after the Essex village where a community of painters and designers lived from the 1930s onwards, has become fertile ground for local auction house Sworders (22% buyer’s premium).

This 17th century Indian painting attributed to one of the best artists of the Mughal court sold for £42,000 at Sworders’ December 5 Country House Sale.

When the vendor consigned a 3ft 2in (97cm) tall carved figure of Nelson into the Rayleigh rooms of Stacey’s (20% buyer’s premium), he believed it to be a ship’s figurehead.

The presence of two Turkish gentlemen at the Objects of Desire sale at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet on October 18 had raised a few eyebrows – if only because they appeared singularly disinterested in the contents of this ‘handbags and gladrags’ sale.

A nude painting by the 19th century English artist William Etty (1787-1849) starred in Sworders’ (22% buyer’s premium) sale in Essex. The 2ft 2in x 19in (66 x 49cm) oil on panel shows a naked woman in a wooded landscape, her head and body turned away from the viewer.

Documentary pieces of early English porcelain always command a premium.

This 17th century Indian painting attributed to one of the finest artists of the Mughal court was recently discovered in a private collection in Suffolk. Sworders will offer it for sale in their December 5 Country House Sale with an estimate of £10,000-15,000.

Jewellery designers of the 1930s and '40s were attracted to Bakelite, a plastic resin developed in 1907 for industrial purposes, as it was both hard enough to cut and polish and available in a wide range of colours.

Five years ago I wrote a piece about Essex dealer Guy Chevenix-Trench of Antiques by Design who was standing at the 'Salvo' fair.

Victorian landscapes can often be difficult to shift at auction, but a fine panoramic view near Redhill in Surrey by Edward John Cobbett (1815-99) gave a boost to the Boningtons (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Epping on August 21.