Art Deco four-piece suite, sold for £4800 at Mander.
The three armchairs and a matching sofa are thought to have been made for the Cunard-White Star Line cruise ship RMS Queen Mary, which was launched in 1936.
An image of the main lounge appears to show them in situ. They were removed in the 1960s by a family member who worked for Cunard, when the boat was decommissioned.
What the Art Deco four-piece suite sold for £4800 by Mander is believed to have looked like on RMS Queen Mary.
The suite – unexpectedly heavy, said the auction house, presumably to stop it moving while sailing in rough sea – has been re-covered at least twice, according to the family. It is currently covered in a cream fabric, although would originally have sported maroon and pink velvet.
Entered for sale in Suffolk with modest hopes of £100-200, it brought £4800.
In the manner of Follot
French Art Deco suite in the manner of designer Paul Follot – £5000 at Cotswold Auction Company.
Another Art Deco five-piece suite commanded a similar sum at the Cotswold Auction Company (22% buyer’s premium) in Cirencester on July 26.
This French suite in figured walnut and upholstery was in the manner of the designer Paul Follot (1877-1941) and probably made in the Pomone Workshop of Bon Marche in Paris. The auction house speculated it may have appeared in the 1925 decorative arts exhibition in Paris, although the known history of the suite dates only to the 1970s when it was acquired from a dealer in Paddington.
The vendor cleaned the sofa, armchairs and salon chairs and used it for 20 years before reupholstering in 2005 with Pierre Frey Art Deco moquette in keeping with its original style.
Estimated at £5000-8000, it got away online at the lower end of expectations.
