Results: Country House Sale 16th & 17th May

The Country House Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 16^th & 17^th May saw bidders flock to Leyburn, seeking out traditional art and antiques, with rare and notable pieces achieving strong prices. Leading the sale was a White Marble Group of Two Fighting Lions after the Antique, which sold for £6,800 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). The quality of the carving and good provenance from The Property of the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, Charlton Park, inspired competitive bidding to push the hammer price well above the estimate. With good provenance too, was a Catalogue for the Sale of the Major Part of the Earl of Lonsdale’s Collection, a multi-day auction in 1947 of art, antiques and furnishings from Lowther Castle (sold for £3,100). A fascinating insight into the art market in the middle of the century, the catalogue included handwritten results and buyer’s names as was usual at the time.

Selling well, too, were two rare 17^th or 18^th century wooden trenchers, an early form of tableware in common use from the Medieval period. Given the utilitarian nature of the items, they were usually disposed of when no longer needed and rarely come up at auction. The two present examples were square-shaped turned wood with a central depression for food, and a separate dimple for salt; they sold for £800 each.

The first day of the sale saw The Selected Contents of Scorborough Lodge from the Estate of Stephen Thornley-Wilson go under the hammer, which included a good 19^th century Trio of Meissen Porcelain Figures after Micheal Victor Acier, which sold for £700. As ever, at auction, provenance is key and amongst the picture section family portraits with aristocratic connections sold well; from the Property of Sir Brook Boothby, ex Fonmon Castle a Portrait of Miss Boothby after Sir Joshua Reynolds sold for £600, and a 19^th century British School Portrait of Sir William Boothby sold for £450. From the Estate of the late Lord Lloyd of Berwick came a c.1810 French School chalk drawing of a Seated Young Man Sketching (sold for £400), and from other vendors interesting pictures included an 18^th/19^th century British School Portrait of a Fashionable Young Lady (sold for £400).

Further highlights of the sale included a Set of Seven Wedgwood Creamware Plates from the Gordon Highlanders Service made circa 1809 (sold for £600), a Royal Worcester Porcelain Potpourri Vase and Cover c. 1926 by Harry Davies (sold for £950), and a Lalique Frosted Glass Bacchantes Vase (sold for £1,400). Amongst the furniture, good 18^th century pieces sold well with two interesting lots with provenance from the Boothby family at Fonmon Castle, and possibly made in Malta, sold very well; a Continental Walnut Commode sold for £3,500, and a Continental Walnut and Boxwood Strung Chest sold for £3,600. Finally, amongst a strong set of results for clocks, a Mahogany Striking Table Clock, signed J Green, London, circa 1780 sold for £1,000.

The sale achieved a total hammer price of £225,750 with an 84% sold rate for 812 lots.

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