After a busy few days of viewing, the Country House Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 14th September saw strong levels of bidding, with early and unusual pieces selling well above their pre-sale estimates. The top lot of the sale was a Mahogany Drop Dial Wall Timepiece, signed Vulliamy, London and made circa 1840; clocks by known and desirable makers are still attracting attention, and the present Vulliamy clock sold for £5,800. Further interesting clocks in the sale included a good Mahogany Eight Day Longcase Clock, signed Barwise, London, circa 1800 (sold for £1,500), and a Mahogany Striking Table Clock, signed Henry Watts of Poole, circa 1820 (sold for £650).
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Results: Country House Sale 14th September
Oak and country furniture continued to see a strong demand amongst buyers, with plenty of interest resulting in prices well above estimate. Amongst the top lots of the day was an 17th Century Oak Joint Stool, which came with provenance from Frank Partridge Works of art that smashed the £200-300 estimate to sell for £2,500. Also selling well above estimate was an Early 19th Century Ash Comb Back Spindle Armchair (sold for £1,800), and a Joined Oak Side Table, circa 1720 (sold for £800). Good antique upholstery was also popular too, with a Pair of Early 20th Century Club Armchairs selling well at £1,600 against an estimate of £200-300.
Amongst the more unusual lots in the sale, were a rare 18th Century Irish Penal Cross, which sold for £1,700. Penal Crosses are small, portable devotional artefacts made in Ireland from the early 18th century to the middle of the 19th century, during a period of suppression of Catholicism by a Protestant Parliament. They are thought to be tokens from pilgrimages to Lough Derg in County Donegal, and the present example is dated 1762. Also of interest was a copy of The New Game of the Ascent of Mont Blanc, the third edition of a board game, made circa 1860. The game commemorated Albert Richard Smith’s ascent of Mont Blanc in 1851 and sold for £1,700. A Carved Oak Bust of a Saint, probably late 15th/early 16th century, sold well above estimate, too, at £2,000.
Of local interest was a collection of works by Castle Bolton artist Fred Lawson from a private collection. Sold in 15 lots, the collection was topped by “Scarth Nick House, Redmire with Peacocks Builders”, which sold for £750, and two depictions of the market square in Leyburn selling for £700 each. Also on offer, was a collection of works by Scottish artist William Miller Frazer, which were led by his view of the Lomonds, which sold for £700.
Highlights amongst the ceramics and Asian art in the sale included a Pair of Louis Philippe Gilt-Bronze and Sèvres Porcelain Candelabra, made circa 1845 (sold for £2,500), a Chinese Porcelain Jar in the Transitional Style (sold for £1,200), a Pair of Chinese Cloisonné Enamel Quail from the late 18th/early 18th Century (sold for £1,200), and a Pair of Chinese Porcelain Rouleau Vases (sold for £2,200).
The sale achieved a total hammer price of £251,100 with an 82% sold rate for 706 lots.
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