The Country House Sale on 10th January was the opening auction of 2026 at Tennants Auctioneers and saw confident bidding and high levels of interest for good country house style furnishing pieces and antiques with provenance.
Strong results were seen amongst the pictures in the sale, with traditional animal pictures a notable theme in the sale, with Two Horses Communing in a Landscape in the manner of George Stubbs selling for ten times the estimate at £2,500, and Game Larder with Mallard and Woodcock by a Follower of Benjamin Blake selling for £1,600 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). A quirky lot comprising three early 20th century portraits of racing pigeons by Ch H Wadworth sold well at £1,500; the pigeons were owned by George Nunns of West Yorkshire, an enthusiastic pigeon fancier, racer and breeder who provided the Ministry of Defence with long-distance racing pigeons during both world wars. The sale included numerous lots being sold on behalf of the Joint Administrators of Mount St Mary’s College and Barlborough Hall School, Derbyshire, including two religious portraits, one in the Manner of Federico Barocci (c.1533-1612) and one in the Manner of Luca Giordano (1634-1705), which sold for £550 each.
Amongst the traditional furnishing antiques in the sale were a good selection of rugs and carpets, including a Chelabert ‘Eagle Kazak’ Rug, made in the South Caucasus circa 1900 (sold for £1,500), a Tabriz Carpet from North West Iran (sold for £950), and a Yomut Asmalyk made circa 1880 in the South Easter Caspian Region (sold for £600). Notable amongst the clocks were a Mahogany Wall Timepiece made by F.W. Elliot (sold for £850), and a circa 1760 Black Chinoiserie Eight Day Longcase Clock by William Harrison of London (sold for £800).
Meissen sold well amongst the Ceramics and Works of Art in the sale, with a Meissen Porcelain Figure Group of “The Betrothal” made circa 1750 and modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler selling for £1,700, a Meissen Porcelain Five-Piece Monkey Band after models by Kändler selling for £1,400, and a circa 1740 Meissen Porcelain Armorial Plate From the Ferrero Service selling for £1,000. Interest was seen, too for a French Faience Aesthetic Movement Table Lamp by Théodore Deck (sold for £950), a Victorian Silver-Mounted Coromandel Decanter Box from the 1870s (sold for £750), and a Collection of Six Derbyshire Blue John Fluorite Turned Bowls (sold for £1,000).
Highlights of the furniture section included an Ash and Elm-Seated Rocking Windsor Chair, likely made in the Thames Valley, which sold for £1,200. Good practical pieces of furniture were in high demand too, with many lots well exceeding pre-sale expectations. These included Two Late 19th Century Carved Oak Bookcases (sold for £2,900), a Pair of Victorian Oak Benches (sold for £2,000), a Pair of 20th Century Feather-Filled Knoll-Style Drop End Sofas (sold for £1,600, and a George Smith Feather-Filled Knole-Style Sofa (sold for £4,000).
The Country House Sale realised a total hammer price of £239,210 for 649 lots, and a 92% sold rate.
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