A Fossil Stingray dating from the Eocene period (56-33.9 million years ago) is to go under the hammer in Tennants Auctioneers’ Country House Sale on 13th September. Embedded in a matrix of sedimentary stone, the 25-inch stingray (Heliobatis radians) sits alongside a smaller Diplomystus, an extinct freshwater and marine fish distantly related to the modern anchovy and herring. The fossil was found in Green River, Wyoming, and will be offered with an estimate of £3,000-4,000 (all figures plus buyer’s premium).
The Country House Sale also offers a good range of interesting and eclectic antiques and furnishing pieces, such as two modern Orkney Chairs, handmade in the Orkneys by craftsman Fraser Anderson. Orkney chairs combine traditional timber and woven straw forming a high curved or canopied back, which were designed to sit in front of a fire and keep the draughts of a traditional Orkney croft at bay. A canopy top example is offered with an estimate of £500-700, and a rocking example is offered with an estimate of £1,000-1,500.
A large and varied selection of over 160 pictures will also be offered in the sale, with something to suit every taste, from contemporary sporting art by the likes of John Trickett and Malcolm Coward to Dutch landscapes and 18th century portraits. There are several private collections of pictures on offer, too, including a selection of works by Brian Irving (1931-2013) including a pair of watercolours of Rievaulx Abbey and Upper Wharfedale (estimate: £70-100), and the second tranche of a private collection of works by Staithes School artist Florence Adelina Hess (1891-1974), with provenance from her long-time friend Doris Bilbrough. Highlights of the collection include Figures Unloading Fishing Boats on a North Yorkshire Pier (estimate: £180-250). Also on offer in the sale is a selection of Yorkshire works from the collection of Alfred A Haley of Walton, Wakefield, which have been passed down through his descendants. Alfred Haley was a wealthy mill owner, who supported Yorkshire artists by buying their work, and in the process became friends with many.
One of the earliest lots in the sale is a circa 1690 Potsdam Goblet, the cut glass engraved with trailing plants (estimate: £300-400), and dating from a century later is an interesting Lowestoft Porcelain Spoon Tray made circa 1780 (estimate: £200-300). Two plumbago (graphite) on vellum miniature portraits by James Furguson (1710-1776), one depicting Mrs John Withers, are offered in a together with an estimate of £400-600, and a patinated bronze sculpture of a youth, ‘Le Bucheron’, After Louis Leopold Chambard (1811-1895), carries an estimate of £1,000-1,500. Finally, in the ceramics and works of art section, is an early 20th century Wemyss Pottery ‘Kenmore’ Vase, decorated with thistles (estimate: £1,000-1,500).
Amongst the clocks in the sale are a circa 1820 Mahogany Eight Day Longcase Clock by P Gill & Son, Aberdeen (estimate: £300-500), and from later in the century a Mahogany Wall Timepiece, by Schuler & Co of Shoreditch (estimate: £250-350), and a French Boulle Striking Mantel Clock (estimate: £300-400). A good selection of forty carpets and rugs include a Pair of Malayer Runners, made in West Iran circa 1930 (estimate: £600-900), a circa 1900 Kirman Carpet from West Iran, sold with provenance from a Private Collection from Tweedsmuir, Biggar (estimate: £600-900), and a late 20th century Narrow Karajah Runner from Northwest Iran (estimate: £250-350). Interesting, too, is a Pair of circa 1900 Jaff Kurd Storage Bangs from Iranian Kurdistan (estimate: £200-300).
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