Antiques Trade Gazette 13
Nelson is out of touch
“The market may have peaked in 2005 with the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, but there is still very good demand for general Nelson memorabilia”
pointing to last October’s Trafalgar flag price. “The market may have peaked in 2005 with the euphoria surrounding the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar but there is still very good demand for general Nelson memorabilia,” he commented. Bidders may have been more selective
in some areas of the sale but a bank of 14 telephones was kept busy throughout. The sale posted a healthy 72 per cent selling rate by lot and produced the firm’s second highest tally to date at £406,000. The largest contributor to its success
was a seven-lot, £89,100 private consignment of drawings by the French
master Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714- 1789) whose illustrations of a series of French ports by royal commission hang in the Louvre. The vendor’s father had bought this
group in France 40 years ago and they were formerly in the collection of Baron Reynouard, Versailles. Drawings by Vernet make relatively
infrequent auction appearances and if reasonably estimated are eagerly sought after. This sensibly pitched and provenanced assemblage attracted several new buyers from France and the north of England who battled with the London trade for ownership. The drawings in pen, ink and wash
AD101182_ATG_SCULPTURE_AD191182_ATG_SCULPTURE 04/11/2010 09:48 Page 1 was the £18,000 French bid for a less
variously depicted ships and harbours. The largest and the most interesting composition from a ship model specialist’s viewpoint, was a 14in by 18½in (36 x 47cm) close-up study of a warship’s prow with a lion figurehead and British warships in the background. It elicited £28,000 from the London trade against a suggested £2500-4000. More of a surprise to Mr Miller
exceptional 12 by 15in (31 x 38cm) Vernet study of A Xebec at anchor unloading its cargo. Two large sculptural 19th century
narwhal tusks also attracted stiff competition. Many view these corkscrew- twist tusks with their warm yellow patina as works of art and prices have been on the rise in the last few years. As with rhinoceros horn, it is forbidden to sell new tusks but fakes abound. The patina and provenance of these 6ft 10in (2.1m) and 6ft 3in (1.9m) examples from an Irish collection reassured buyers of their authenticity with a UK dealer paying £11,000 each. Other decorative entries included a
2ft 8in (81cm) mid 18th century English “Little Admiral” chandler’s trade sign, carved in limewood and depicting a sea captain, that made £12,000. A brass treadplate from HMS Kelvin,
the destroyer used by Winston Churchill to view the D-Day landings, bearing an inscription recalling the historic occasion, had been recently discovered in a flower bed. It was bought on commission by a UK dealer at £1600.
Right: a mid 18th century English
chandler’s trade sign fetched £12,000.
Adolfo Wildt Vergine ESTIMATE £50,000-70,000
19th & 20th Century European Sculpture AUCTION IN LONDON 23 NOVEMBER 2010
ENQUIRIES +44 (0)20 7293 5745 I SOTHEBYS.COM
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