A rare Victorian Carved Walnut Metamorphic Extending Dining Table made circa 1880 in the style of Johnstone & Jeanes sold for £11,000 in the Spring Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 14th March (all figures exclude buyer’s premium. An eminently practical piece of furniture for large houses, the table had thirteen removable leaves, meaning it converted from 1.5m long to nearly 5m long. Furniture saw handsome, useful pieces selling well throughout, with highlights including a rare Yewwood Wake Table with broad planks dating from the 19th century (sold for £5,000), and a late 17th century Charles II Oak Dresser Base amongst the good country furniture (sold for £2,800). Selling well, too, were smart furnishing pieces, such as a fine pair of 18th Century Carved Walnut Wing-Back Armchairs that sold for £6,500.
One of the top-performing disciplines in the sale was clocks and barometers, which saw outstanding prices amongst which was a rare French Ormolu and Patinated Bronze Striking Mantel Clock by Maison Jolly of Paris, which depicted a Native American hunter and sold for £7,500. A good circa 1780 Mahogany Eight Day Chiming Longcase Clock by Edward Pistor of London sold well at £4,000, and a circa 1870 French Brass Engraved Striking and Repeating Carriage Clock by Joseph Soldano sold for £1,900. Selling above estimate, too, was a good circa 1850 Rosewood Eight Day Marine Chronometer, made by Barraud of London who supplied the Royal Navy; the case was inscribed ‘H. Thurburn Esq.’ and it sold for £6,000.
The sale also saw some strong prices amongst the rugs and carpets, led by an unusually large Ushak Carpet, made circa 1910 in Central West Anatolia that sold for £6,200. A good Karajah Runner from North West Iran sold for £1,000, and a Kork Kashan Rug, circa 1920 from Central Iran sold for £1,200. In the ceramics and works of art section, an Italian School 17th Century Bronze Portrait Bust of St Francis Xavier, with provenance from Mount St Mary’s College and Barlborough Hall School, Derbyshire, sold for £3,500, and a good Pair of Meissen Porcelain Vases dating from the late 19th century sold for £2,200.
There were two outstanding results amongst the Asian Art, a Chinese Porcelain Double Gourd Vase, in the Chongzhen style, which sold for £7,000, and a Chinese Cloisonne Vase, Fangdu probably dating from the Wanli period, which sold for £3,500.
In the British, European and Sporting Art Sale, a private collection of genre pictures was led by an impressive interior scene by Italian artist Vittorio Reggianini (1868-1939), which sold for £18,000. Afternoon Tea with the Little Lady illustrates Reggianini’s preferred subject matter of the upper middle classes relaxing in opulent interiors, and his mastery of painting fine silks and satins. The whole collection sold for a total hammer price of just under £50,000. A good pair of still life paintings of fruit and flowers by Dutch artist Jacobus Linthorst (1784-1815) sold for £8,000, and a small French street scent, “Quai de la Mégisserie” by Eugène Galien-Laloue (1854-1941) sold for £5,800.
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