This c.1760 Battersea enamel plaque pictured above depicts Maria Gunning, the Countess of Coventry. A famous Irish beauty and London society hostess, Gunning was once mobbed in Hyde Park. Her death, aged 27, from lead and mercury poisoning was attributed to her heavy use of make-up.
The plaque, with a portrait copied from Jean-Etienne Liotard’s 1749 painting of Gunning in Turkish costume, is guided at £1500-2000 in Woolley & Wallis’ English and European ceramics sale in Salisbury on October 18.
woolleyandwallis.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
A cheque believed to have been used to purchase three early copies of DH Lawrence’s (1885-1930) notorious novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, is estimated at £800-1200 in Lyon & Turnbull’s book sale in Edinburgh on October 11.
The book, banned in Britain for three decades, was first privately published in Italy in 1928. Those in Britain who wished to own a copy had to send a cheque to Italy, before Lawrence (then living in Switzerland) would instruct his contacts back in England to process the order.
The cheque for five pounds and two shillings is signed to DH Lawrence by HK Beazley & Co and dated August 10, 1928. Reference to the cheque exists in a series of letters written by the author and it carries his signature to the reverse.
A beach scene by Hubert Coop (1872-1953) showing children playing in a fishing boat will be included among the paintings at Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on October 14.
Consigned from a private source in the north of England, the 17in x 2ft 8in (43 x 81cm) oil on canvas is estimated at £600-900. Coop was born in Buckinghamshire and studied at the Lincoln School of Art before travelling widely throughout the UK painting coastal landscapes. The artist usually worked in watercolours, but occasionally produced oil paintings such as this one.
The contents of a 19th century country house library will be offered in a single-owner sale at Forum Auctions in London on October 12.
The library at Edge Hall in Cheshire, home to the Wolley-Dod family, was formed largely in the 19th century. It focuses on natural history, travel, economics, literature, illustrated books and bound sets and albums of prints.
Among the more affordable lots is a group of European costume studies dating from c.1820-30 estimated at £500-700.
Presumed to have been executed by an unknown English artist travelling to Italy, the 32 works include the regional dress of Dijon, Besançon, Berne, Lucerne, Zurich, the Valais, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and the monks of St Bernard.
forumauctions.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
