Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson (1876-1955), Tennants Auctioneers is holding a special auction dedicated to the work of the iconic Yorkshire craftsman on 13th June. Tennants’ Mouseman specialist Diane Sinnott says of the sale: “Having worked with Mouseman for over thirty years, I am absolutely thrilled to be celebrating this milestone anniversary with what is set to be a landmark sale”.
The sale will offer 300 lots, and at the heart of the sale will be three exceptional private collections. The North Yorkshire Collection offers a beautifully curated collection, put together over the course of a decade by a dedicated collector, including host of Mouseman carvings some of which are rare models, furniture and small pieces sourced from Kilburn and auction. The highlight of the collection is a Mouseman English Oak Carving of Fighting Stallions, offered with an estimate of £8,000-12,000 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium).
The North East Collection offers a varied selection of furniture, carvings and small pieces, many of which were sourced direct from Kilburn, including a very rare Mouseman English Oak Carving of Racing Greyhounds (estimate: £4,000-6,000), and an unusually large bespoke Mouseman English Oak Bowl with not one but six carved mice running around the bottom (estimate: £2,000-3,000).
The Stone Lodge Interior features the fitted Mouseman Interior of Stone Lodge of Skipton Road, Silsden, which was completed in 1953. Now demolished, the Mouseman removed from the property includes beautiful panelling, a fireplace, numerous doors, and delightful English Oak Newel Posts featuring an owl and mouse carvings (estimate: £2,000-3,000).
There will also be a host of other good lots from other vendors, including monk’s chairs, tables, bookends and a very rare English Oak Steamer Deck Chair dating from the 1920s or 1930s (estimate: £2,000-3,000).
The sale will be on view at Tennants Auctioneers, Leyburn, from 11th -12th June, and a fully illustrated catalogue is now available online.
ABOUT ROBERT ‘MOUSEMAN’ THOMPSON
Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson (1876-1955) created an extraordinary legacy from his home in the village of Kilburn, in the heart of North Yorkshire. As a young man, he was deeply inspired by the traditional materials and craftsmanship of medieval carvers and joiners; the desire to emulate the spirit of their work was sparked and set the course for the rest of his life.
Thompson lived in an era when mass production and uniformity was taking over, and the traditional, skilled craftsmen were disappearing from our landscape. However, in this little corner of Yorkshire, one man was keeping the skills alive. Using beautifully figured native oak and traditional tools, every piece of Mouseman has its own distinctive fingerprint and character. With his modest rural workshop and dedication to emulating the craftsmen of the past, Thompson embodied the ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement.
As his style and craft evolved, Thompson came to carve a mouse on every item he produced, which would become his signature and trademark. He later recounted to his family:
‘I though how a mouse manages to scrape and chew away the hardest wood with its chisel-like teeth, and it works quietly; nobody takes much notice. I thought that was maybe like this workshop hidden away in the Hambleton Hills. It is what you might call industry in quiet places, so I put the mouse on all my work’.
The sale will run alongside the 20th Century Design Sale, and the Modern and Contemporary Art Sale, taking place on the same day.
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