Results: Summer Fine, Asian & Transport Sale

A fine and rare pair of Victorian Terrestrial and Celestial 18” Library Globes sold for £16,000 in the Summer Fine Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 11^th July (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). The globes were made by Thomas Malby & Son, the famed 19^th century globemakers, publishers, and map and print colourers, and were sold with provenance from Ackworth Lodge, Ackworth, Pontefract. Fine furniture in the sale included such standout lots as a French Louis XVI-Style Kingwood and Bronze-Mounted Bureau Plat dating from the 19^th century, which sold for £13,000, and a Victorian Deep-Seated Upholstered Armchair in the manner of Howard & Sons sold for £4,200. Two good Windsor chairs elicited competitive bidding., selling for £2,200 each, and an interesting Lead Water Cistern dated 1735 and initialled S.I.E. and decorated with classical figures sold for £4,200.

An impressive naturalistically modelled Minton Majolica “Heron” Stick Stand, measuring just over one meter high sold for £2,200. Dated 1885, it was modelled for Minton by Paul Comolera (1818-1895), a French sculptor known for his fine models of birds and who is famous for his 5-foot-high figure of a peacock. Amongst the Works of Art in the sale, selling well above estimate were a French Gilt-Metal-Mounted Breche Violette Marble Urn (sold for £3,800), a Pair of Bronze Busts of Bacchus and Ariadne After the Antique (sold for £1,200), and a French Mid-19^th Century Bronze Figure of a Classical Maiden (sold for £2,800).

The top lot of the Clock section of the sale was a Rare French Monumental Ormolu Bronze Striking Mantel Clock, which was possibly made by Louis-Stanislas Lenoir-Ravrio circa 1820 and depicted ‘Zeus on the Throne’ sold for £12,000. Lenoir-Ravrio (1783-1846) was the sone of Andre-Antoine Ravrio, who was one of the finest French bronziers of the period, and the pair worked together for a number of years. A good Golden Age Walnut Marquetry Month Going Striking Longcase Clock by John Miller of London and made circa 1695 sold for £5,000, an Ebonised Striking Table Clock made in the late 18^th century by Robert Abney of London sold for £2,200, and a good French Engraved Brass Petite Sonnerie Striking Repeat Alarm Calendar Carriage Clock retailed in London circa 1880 sold for £3,000.

In the Asian Art Sale, a Chinese Porcelain Bitong (Brush Pot) probably dating to the Kangxi period sold for eight times the top estimate at £8,000; a good period piece in good condition, the pot also had a reeded rim which caught the attention of bidders. A 19^th century Pair of Chinese Porcelain Dogs of Fo, which were good examples of the type with nice decoration and a good size sold well at £6,500, as did a Set of Four Chinese Wucai Porcelain Month Cups with Kangxi reign marks that sold for £5,500 despite the condition. A further lot with high-quality painting was a Pair of Chinese Porcelain Sleeve Vases dating from the late 19^th century that sold for £1,800.

Also taking place on the same day was Tennants’ Summer Transport Sale in which a 1971 Ford Escort Mexico sold for £39,000, a 1968 MG Midget sold for £15,500, and amongst the automobilia in the sale a ‘Speed Demon’ Bronze by Mauris Guiraud-Riviere cast in France in the 1920s sold for £4,800 and two Avery-Hardoll 101 Petrol Pumps sold for £2,500 and £2,300.

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