A private collection of antique clocks expected to total over £100,000 has been consigned to Shrewsbury auction house Halls. The group will be offered on May 15 in a Country House and Asian Art sale.
Among them is an 18th century mahogany musical table clock made in London by the Georgian clockmaker Eardley Norton, whose most famous commission was an astronomical clock for George III, which still stands in Buckingham House.
The 2ft (63cm) high clock has a six-pillar triple fusee movement and verge escapement and features a silvered arch marked MARCH, MINUET, SONG, COTILLION, MARCH, DANCE. It was formerly owned by W Strang, 1st Baron Strang (1893-1978), who purchased it while chargé d’affaires at the British Embassy in Moscow from 1930-33.
Estimate £8000-£12,000.
hallsgb.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
The May 22 sale at Dreweatts of Donnington Priory titled Japanese, Islamic and Indian Works of Art includes a collection of Iznik and Damascus tiles from the estate of the artist Sir Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017).
This substantial grouping occupies the first 42 lots of the sale including textbook examples such as this large 12in (30cm) Iznik polychrome glazed fritware tile made in Ottoman Turkey, c.1575.
Tiles of this design decorate the Has Oda (Privy Chamber) of Murad III in the Harem of the Topkapi Palace. This example was bought by Hodgkin from dealer Millner Manolatos in 2006 and was previously in a French private collection.
Estimate £6000-8000.
dreweatts.com or see this item on thesaleroom.com
The minaudière or ‘box bag’ – a larger and more glamorous accessory that replaced both the nécessaire vanity case and the evening bag in the 1930s – is said to have been the brainchild of Charles Arpels of Van Cleef & Arpels.
The minaudière – named after Arpels’ wife Estelle for her ‘minauderies’ or simpering airs – contained numerous clever compartments designed to hold everything that an elegant lady would need to carry.
This Art Deco diamond and ruby set minaudière by Van Cleef & Arpels c.1935 is estimated at €15,000-20,000 at Adam’s of Dublin on May 14. The lid has square calibré-cut rubies and diamonds and opens to reveal a mirror with three compartments, a lipstick and lighter holder mounted in 18ct gold.
adams.ie or see this item on thesaleroom.com
