Wolverhampton’s local history will provide the focus of a sale of collectors’ items at nearby saleroom Cuttlestones on April 20.
Among the lots is this 12 x 23in (30 x 58cm) vintage enamel sign advertising the Wolverhampton firm Wearwell Cycles shown above. Established in 1889, Wearwell became a major player in the production of pedal bikes and motorcycles, and a big sponsor of cycle racing, reaching its peak in the early 20th century. In 1972, the company was sold off and production moved out of the city.
The brand has since been resurrected by a great-great-grandson of the company’s founder and is now based in St Albans.
Estimate £200-300.
Just under 300 lots of Islamic and Indian art will go under the hammer in a dedicated sale at London saleroom Chiswick Auctions on April 27.
Among the ‘more affordable’ entries is a late 19th century north Indian portrait miniature of an elderly man. Catalogued as ‘Company School, Delhi’, the ivory piece depicts the sitter with a long white beard, wearing rosary beads around his neck and dressed in green – a favourite colour for Muslims. His name, Faqir Noor al-Din, Light of the World, is written in sepia ink on the back.
Estimate £180-200.
chiswickauctions.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
The Peter Wilson auction house of Nantwich in Cheshire will offer an Arts & Crafts oak-framed, copper-panelled jardinière and stand in a sale on April 25-26.
The 3ft 4in x 11in (1.02m x 28cm) piece is decorated with hammered copper work detail and features brass handles and rosettes.
Estimate £180-220.
peterwilson.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
This sweeping landscape by Owen Bowen (1873-1967) is estimated at £250-400 in the April 28 sale held at Tennants of Leyburn, North Yorkshire. The 10½ x 16in (27 x 41cm) oil on board, titled Haymaking in an Extensive Landscape, dates to 1925.
An advocate of en plein air painting, Bowen worked on the principle that the foundation of landscape painting was light, so he committed to painting outside whenever possible.
His views were aligned with those of the Impressionist-inspired Staithes Group on the Yorkshire coast, which he joined. Other artists from the group will also feature at Tennants, including Mark Senior (1862-1927), Fred Jackson (1859-1918), Ernest Rigg (1868-1947) and Fred Mayor (1866-1916).
