A hitherto unknown Doccia porcelain figure is a stand-out lot in Chiswick Auctions’ ceramics and glass sale on July 25 in London. The model of The Executioner, originally based on a bronze figure of the Roman god Mars by the Florentine sculptor Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (1656-1740), probably descended through the same family since c.1750.
Only one other version of this figure is known and it currently resides in the Museo di Doccia in Florence. Another variation, holding the severed head of St John the Baptist in his raised hand, is in the Wallace Collection. No other versions in porcelain are known to survive and this version has never been seen before.
Almost certainly on its original base, the 9½in (25cm) figure is estimated at £3000-4000.
Sewing specialist Bleasdales will offer a set of 56 silver and enamel thimbles of the kings and queens of England by maker Peter Swingler on July 19 in Warwick.
From William I (1066-87) to Queen Elizabeth II (1953-), each of the 56 examples has an enamelled oval portrait, flanked by a lion and a unicorn, and ranges in date from 1982-2003.
Estimate £2000-3000.
bleasdalesltd.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
This mahogany and inlaid longcase clock carries hopes of £2000-3000 in Lawrences of Crewkerne’s sale on July 14 in Somerset.
Inscribed Joseph Denton, Hull, the 7ft 10in (2.4m) high clock has a brass eight-day, four-pillar movement with an anchor escapement, and a 12-inch silvered chapter ring with subsidiary seconds and date dials.
lawrences.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
Halls’ Shrewsbury salerooms on July 19 will offer a chandelier said to have belonged to Princess Caroline Murat (1833-1902), a great-niece of Napoleon Bonaparte.
She was the granddaughter of Joachim Murat, King of Naples (who had been one of Napoleon’s marshals and married his younger sister, Caroline Bonaparte). She lived and died at Radisham Hall, Suffolk, after marrying John Lewis Garden, a big-game hunter.
The 19th century French ormolu and cut-glass Louis XVI style 12-branch chandelier has been consigned by a Shropshire vendor and is valued at £2000-4000.
hallsgb.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
