The market for the Yorkshire furniture and furnishings of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson shows no sign of abating, with a raft of strong prices in Tennants Auctioneers’ 20th Century Design Sale on 29th February. Early pieces by Thompson himself are the most desired, and a 1930s hall table proved the point, selling for £5,700 (plus buyer’s premium) against an estimate of £2,500-3,500. Selling well above estimate at £950 were a set of 12 Mouseman napkin rings, a pair of ‘Triple Mouse’ bookends sold for £2,100 and a burr oak kidney-shaped table sold for £3,600.
Following in the footsteps of Mouseman, are a host of Yorkshire ‘Critter’ furniture makers, whose prices at auction are steadily rising. Strong results were seen for works by ‘Cat and Mouseman’, ‘Woodpeckerman’ and ‘Rabbitman’, and a particularly fine English Oak Cupboard by ‘Gnomeman’ sold for £3,700 against an estimate of £500-700.
Elsewhere in the sale, eye-catching and stylish lots of Art Deco sold strongly, such as an Art Deco Gilt Patinated Spelter Figural Lamp, modelled as two female forms, which sold for £1,400 against an estimate of £300-500, and a Art Deco Seven Piece Amboyna Burl and Walnut Bedroom Suite made by Bath Cabinet Makers, which sold for £1,200. An Italian Lenci Polychrome Pottery Figure – ‘Liu Tu’ – sold for £3,800.
A strong offering of studio pottery was led by three lots by master potter Lucie Rie; a Tea Service made in conjunction with fellow potter Hans Coper sold for £4,000 against an estimate of £2,000-3,000, a Stoneware Cylindrical Vase sold for £1,900, and a Pouring Vessel sold for £600. Modern Design furniture sold well, too, with a set of seven Erwin and Estelle Laverne Champagne Chairs designed in 1957 selling for £1,600.
The auction also saw Part II of the Taggart Tile Museum Collection come under the hammer, and good results were seen for the 20 lots, particularly for Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts tiles. Highlights of the collection included a set of thirty Art Nouveau 6” Tube Lined and Moulded Tiles, which sold for £1,200 against an estimate of £150-250, and a lot of thirty tiles which included an 8” Minton example designed by Christopher Dresser c.1870, which sold for £1,200.
We are currently accepting lots for the next 20th Century Design Sale on 20th June 2020, please contact 01969 623780 or enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk for details.
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