A George III mahogany bedside commode attributed to the great cabinet-maker Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) features in Dreweatts’ November 21 sale in Donnington Priory, Berkshire.
Pierced with a three-quarter gallery incorporating quatrefoil motifs, cupboard doors and a commode drawer, the c.1770 piece is guided at £1500-2000.
According to its handwritten labels, the 2ft 6in x 22in (78 x 55cm) piece was originally with the Gore Langton family of Newton Park in Bath and then by descent to the fifth Earl Temple of Stowe. By c.1940 it was with his nephew, Grenville Gore Langton.
Dreweatts notes in the catalogue that no specific commissions by Chippendale for Newton Park have been found, although Chippendale did complete commissions for the Earl Temple at Stowe. It therefore concludes that the history of the provenance of the items possibly “got confused over time”. A closely comparable pair of bedside commodes exist in the Blue Bedroom at Dumfries House, one of Chippendale’s best-known commissions.
dreweatts.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
A c.1830s quilt composed of strips of different Indian block-printed fabrics is one of the highlights of Tennants’ costume, accessories and textiles auction on November 24 in Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
On one piece of fabric in the two outside strips is this depiction of Zarafa, the female Nubian giraffe gifted from Muhammed Ali of Egypt to King Charles X of France in 1827, with her devoted handler Atir.
The young giraffe was captured in Sudan and taken to Khartoum on the back of a camel. Transferred onto a boat, she was taken down the Nile to Alexandria, before being sailed across the Mediterranean. Zarafa walked the 900km to Paris. The extraordinary travelling party drew crowds wherever they went. Estimate £1000-2000.
Special Auction Services will be holding a sale of teddy bears, dolls, and traditional toys on November 27-28 in Newbury – its largest auction to date. It will comprise more than 1000 lots with prices ranging from £30-5000.
Teddy bears are the focus on day one, with highlights including these Campbell Bears, tag numbered 221, 222 and 223 in red, white and blue.
The trio of First World War mascot bears come from an original group of 398 collected by twins David and Guy Campbell. The bears were acquired as a job lot from Sotheby’s in May 1999 by dealer Leanda Harwood, who split them up and resold them. Estimate £800-1200.
Frank Hampson was Eagle comic’s creator in 1950 and is best known for the highly detailed artwork of his most successful character, Dan McGregor Dare.
In this Eagle front cover story Colonel Dare and Digby launch Anastasia to locate the derelict ship Galactic Pioneer, his father’s vessel that had been lost in space some 30 years earlier. It comes from volume 10 of Eagle No 23 in August 1960.
The 16 x 13in (41 x 33cm) gouache on board is estimated at £1700-2200 in Comic Book Auctions’ sale concluding on November 25. The vendor, a commercial artist, sent the auctioneer Malcolm Phillips this accompanying note and sketch of encouragement, which will be included in the lot.
