A market-fresh assemblage of ceramics by studio potter Michael Cardew (1901-83) and his assistants will go under the hammer at Barbara Kirk Auctions in Penzance on August 15.
The 146-lot collection was assembled in the 1950s-70s by the late Biddy and Dr John Holden of Dalabole. The couple were well-known supporters of the arts in north Cornwall and were close friends of Carder and his wife Mariel.
The pieces were made at Cardew’s Cornish studio in Wenford Bridge and during his 20-year stint in Abuja, Nigeria. They include examples by his assistants Svend Bayer, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott and the potter, Ladi Kwali (1925-84), who is known for her traditional Nigerian water jars.
This 14in (35cm) high example by Kwali, above, was purchased in 1962 from the Gres Nigeriens exhibition at the Galerie La Borne in Paris and is estimated at £1500-1800.
This original watercolour courtroom sketch above depicts the trial of British Liberal politician Jeremy Thorpe, the subject of the BBC’s recent popular adaptation A Very British Scandal.
The 21in x 2ft 5in (54 x 74cm) work was painted by watercolour illustrator Michael Frith (b.1951) and used during the trial by ITN News.
It shows Thorpe – who had refused to give evidence – sitting at the end of the bench watching proceedings.
The work carries an estimate of £600-800 and forms part of a small private collection of items relating to Thorpe, the scandal and the subsequent trial. It has been consigned by a friend of the politician to East Bristol Auctions in Hanham on August 17.
eastbristol.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
These 6in (15cm) high French cast silver two-light candelabra above are estimated at £1000-1500 in an August 10 sale at Dee Atkinson & Harrison in Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire.
They bear the maker’s mark for the French silversmith Georges Fouquet-Lapar, who learnt his trade from his father in law, Leon Lapar, registering his own mark in 1897.
dee-atkinson-harrison.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
A sale of books and works on paper at Forum Auctions in London on August 9 will feature a dozen original cutaway illustrations by British artist L Ashwell Wood (c.1903-73) for comic book Eagle.
Beginning in 1950, Wood went on to create hundreds of cutaways for the comic book over the course of two decades, many of which were later collected into a series of books called Inside Information.
This 1960s set above features gouache and watercolour illustrations for 12 aircraft featured in Inside Information on Civil Aircraft, with the largest measuring 11 x 2ft 1in (29 x 65cm).
Estimate £600-800.
forumauctions.co.uk or see this item on thesaleroom.com
