A ‘castle top’ card case by George Unite depicting St Paul’s Cathedral, estimate £800-1000 at Eldreds.
Among the silver section of the Eldreds Antiques & Fine Art sale in Plymouth on March 28 is this a ‘castle top’ card case (above).
It is by George Unite and depicts St Paul’s Cathedral viewed from the north-west. The card case measures 4 x 3in (10.5 x 7cm), is hallmarked for George Unite, Birmingham 1845 and carries an estimate of £800-1000.
eldreds.net or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
‘The Welsh Knife’, made c.1916 by Joubert & Cie, France, for the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the First World War, estimate £4000-6000 at Holts.
The sale of Fine Modern and Antique Arms at Holts in Wolferton, Norfolk, on March 20-21 includes, estimated at £4000-6000, this rare example of ‘The Welsh Knife’.
Made c.1916 by Joubert & Cie, France, for the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the First World War, these trench raiders’ swords have a monstrous 18in (45cm) blade that is close to 3in (8cm) at its widest and a pommel with skull-cracker spike. One side bears the inscription Dros Urddas Cymru (for the dignity of Wales).
holtsauctioneers.com or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
This oil on canvas signed and titled Stronachlacher…The Birthplace of Rob Roy, Alfred de Breanski RBA, estimate £6000-8000 at Halls.
This oil on canvas by Alfred de Breanski (1852-1928) shows a fisherman on a loch with cattle at the water’s edge in the foreground. It is signed lower left and titled and signed verso Stronachlacher…The Birthplace of Rob Roy, Alfred de Breanski RBA.
The 2ft 6in x 4ft 2in (77cm x 1.27m) work is estimated at £6000-8000 in Halls’ Fine Paintings and Antiques and Jewellery sale on March 22 in Shrewsbury.
fineart.hallsgb.com or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
As well as typical scenes of figures in gardens and river settings, this pair of early 19th century Cantonese famille rose platters carry the arms of Clerke (or Claerk) surrounded by a gilt ribbon reading the motto Munus et Monumentum Victoriae Henry VIII Spurs 1513 (see detail above).
This reference to a minor English victory against the French suggests the service was made (probably to mark the 300th anniversary) for a descendant of Sir John Clerke of Weston, who took the Duke de Longueville prisoner at the Battle of Spurs in 1513.
The pair carry an estimate of £400-600 in the Country House sale at David Duggleby in Scarborough on March 18.
davidduggleby.com or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
Two John Ward stoneware pots on offer at Adam Partridge’s auction: vessel covered in pale yellow and lilac glaze, estimate £4000-6000, and oval vase in a blue, green and rust glaze (£600-800).
“Sometimes I wonder how far into the future the craft of pottery will continue. Maybe as long as we have hands some people will still feel the urge to create something out of a ball of clay”.
The celebrated studio potter John Ward (1938-2023), who wrote these words, died in February aged 84. Many UK salerooms have sold his distinctive hand-built stoneware pots for substantial sums, including Adam Partridge in Macclesfield.
Two come up at the next Studio Ceramics auction on March 24: a 10in (25cm) vessel covered in pale yellow and lilac glaze (estimate £4000-6000) and a 6in (15cm) oval vase in a blue, green and rust glaze (£600-800).
adampartridge.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
Georg Jensen silver and malachite fringe necklace set with foliate pendants, estimate £1200-1800 at Dawsons.
Offered in Dawsons’ Jewellery, Watches & Silver Auction on March 23 is this Georg Jensen silver and malachite fringe necklace set with foliate pendants.
Made to a design by Henry Pilstrup, it bears a 1933-44 maker’s mark.
The estimate in the sale held in Maidenhead, Berkshire, is £1200-1800.
dawsonsauctions.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
Charles II stumpwork casket, estimate £700-1000 at Cheffins.
A single-owner collection which was amassed by Mike Handford over a period of over 40 years at his Cotswolds home will be offered by Cambridge saleroom Cheffins as part of The Fine Sale on March 22-23.
It comprises over 200 pieces, centred around 17th and 18th century decoration and early oak furniture.
Handford, who has been collecting antiques since his early teens, says: “I was mentored by some of the greats of antiques dealing of the time, such as Gerald Shaw, with one particular early purchase I remember being an 1812 square piano by Tomkison which I bought for ten bob, the equivalent of 50p today.
“I moved to London in the 1960s and spent some years at Goldsmith’s, while also teaching in south London. All the time I was also buying for my own collection from some of London’s most well-known dealers, such as Joanna Booth, Geoffrey Vann and Catherine Christophers, and I stuffed my wonderful Burford cottage, Hillsleigh, with my collection.”
After owning Hillsleigh for some 40 years, Handford has decided to sell the house and the antiques collection, and move to London full time. A group of 17th century stumpwork items includes the Charles II stumpwork casket shown here, estimated at £700-1000.
cheffins.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
Dining chairs believed to be designed by Sir Frank Brangwyn from the Salle Jacques Cartier dining room on Canadian Pacific’s Empress of Britain, estimate £2000-2500 at John Taylors.
These Art & Crafts oak open arm dining chairs are believed to be from the Salle Jacques Cartier dining room on Canadian Pacific’s Empress of Britain - one of the greatest ‘superliners’ of the 1930s.
The interior of the dining room, including furniture, was designed by Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956).
These chairs were made by HH Martyn & Co, Cheltenham, in 1930, and had been in the vendor’s family for more than 55 years. The seller says: “I do not recall where the chairs originally came from but my father was an avid sale-goer in the Stratford-on-Avon/Rugby area, and he also had relatives in the furniture trade in the Warwickshire/Gloucester area.”
They are offer at Louth, Lincolnshire, saleroom John Taylors on March 14 estimated at £2000-2500.
johntaylors.com or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
Oil on canvas titled La Roux (The Redhead) by Belgian artist Emile Barthélémy Fabry, estimate £1000-2000 at Roseberys.
A painting by Belgian artist Emile Barthélémy Fabry (1865-1966) is among the lots offered from the Saatchi & Saatchi collection at Roseberys’ Modern British & 20th Century Art auction on March 14.
The 12 x 10in (31 x 26cm) oil on canvas is titled La Roux (The Redhead) and is estimated at £1000-2000.
Fabry trained at the Academy of Fine Arts Brussels and went on to study under the Orientalist painter Jean-François Portaels at the Royal Academy. His style ranged from Symbolist to Pointillist and later he painted the decorations in the Art Nouveau-inspired Hotel Solvay, a UNESCO Heritage monument in Brussels designed by Horta.
The sale will offer 39 lots owned by the advertising company, some of which featured in Alistair Hicks’ 1989 book New British Art in the Saatchi Collection.
The firm was founded in 1970 by Maurice (now Lord Saatchi) and Charles Saatchi, the brothers who departed the company in 1995.
roseberys.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
A collection of items related to the ‘Queen’s Milliner’ Kate Day comes up for auction at Chilcotts estimated together at £600-800.
Kate Day was making hats for Queen Elizabeth II even before her coronation and continued afterwards, known as the ‘Queen’s Milliner’. Her designs were pivotal to Elizabeth’s early, elegant style and were seen at many events and royal visits. She was the only milliner to receive a Royal Warrant in the young queen’s first year.
Day was one of three milliners whose creations were worn during the royal visit to Australia in 1954.
A collection of items related to Day comes up for auction at Honiton, Devon, saleroom Chilcotts on March 11 estimated together at £600-800.
They include a circular gold brooch, the centre monogrammed E II R, surmounted with an enamelled crown and decorated with a pearl set ribboned bow. A gift to thank Day for her designs, it is still in its original red leather presentation case from the Crown Jewellers of the time, Collingwood.
She worked out of a discreet studio in Mount Street, Mayfair; while she did not have a shop front, she did have the Royal Warrant sign and another, stating By Appointment to HM Queen Elizabeth II, Milliners in gold lettering, which were displayed inside the premises. Both are included in the collection.
chilcottsauctions.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
A large collection of early 20th century photographs of Shanghai is estimated at £300-500 in Lay’s auction.
The photo shown here is part of a large collection of early 20th century photographs of Shanghai estimated at £300-500 in Lay’s March 9 auction in Redruth.
It comprises over a hundred black and white images in various sizes depicting life in the city including street scenes, labourers, portraiture, architecture, river scenes, shops, restaurants, vendors, flood scenes, boats and so on.
They come from the estate of William Arthur Blackburn Leach, who took the photos using either a ‘3A Graflex’ or a ‘Thornton Pickard Special Ruby’, developed by MacTavish & Co and Burr Photo Co, Shanghai, between the years 1902-25.
Norwich-born Leach (1872-1962) became a carpenter and engineer, going to China in 1902 after he had qualified for a position in the Public Works Department of the Shanghai Municipal Council. He left in 1926.
During his time in China he held interests in a Christian Mission school and helped to support street children.
davidlay.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
A c.1820 two-colour gold fine fob seal created for Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Hawkestone and of Hardwicke, estimate £600-800 at Noonans.
Noonans’ Jewellery auction on March 14 includes a highly decorative c.1820 two-colour gold fine fob seal created for Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill of Hawkestone and of Hardwicke (1772-1842).
The British general was one of Wellington’s chief military lieutenants during the Peninsular War, including at the Battle of Waterloo. He replaced Wellington as general commander in chief when the duke became prime minister in 1828.
The seal is inset with a carnelian intaglio engraved with an achievement of arms beneath a baron’s coronet, incorporating the collar chains of the Orders of the Bath and the Portuguese Tower and Sword.
Estimate £600-800.
noonans.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
Medals awarded to George Nattrass, who fought at the Battle of Arnhem - Operation Market Garden - in September 1944, are on offer at Tennants on March 22 estimated at £800-1200.
The 1939-45 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal and an ‘International Prisoners of War Medal’ will be sold alongside the commemorative medal issued on the 50th anniversary of the battle, a published copy of an account of Nattrass’ experience during the battle and as a prisoner of war based on his diary, and other items.
As a senior sergeant of the 15th Platoon, D Company of the 7th King’s Own Scottish Borderers, he landed in Reijerskamp, 13km from Arnhem bridge that was their target to capture. Only one battalion reached the bridge; the rest became trapped at Oosterbeek.
After an exhausting battle the 890 soldiers were reduced to 90 and Nattrass was the only remaining senior sergeant when he was badly injured in the closing hours of the battle and then captured.
tennants.co.uk or this item can be seen at thesaleroom.com
