22 24th September 2011
auction reports Cold realities of the great
■ Fine fresh furniture sells well at Gloucestershire success but old standard pieces slump
Roland Arkell reports
THE two-day sale of September 1-2 was perhaps the best Chorley’s have enjoyed since moving from Southam to Prinknash Abbey four years ago – but it was as polarised as they come.
Consider a run of half-a-dozen two-
figure results in the furniture session. Lot 912: Edwardian mahogany cabinet
with glazed door, est £60-80 – £10. Lot 913: early 19th century oak corner
cupboard enclosed by a 21- pane astragal glazed door, est £70-90 – £20. Lot 914: four Regency mahogany
dining chairs, est £120-150 – £50. Lot 915: early Victorian oval breakfast
table, est £220-250 – £50. Lot 916: pair of George III mahogany
framed dining chairs, est £60-80 – £15. Lot 917: late 18th century oak hanging
corner cupboard, est £80-120 – £20. In a deeply divided market, this is
the cold reality of life as a regional auctioneer. When the routine no longer keeps things ticking over the pressure to source good items is greater than ever. Chorley’s were lucky to have a
number of fine pieces sourced from Lydney Park, Gloucestershire, the seat of the Bathurst family since 1719, being sold by instruction of the Viscount and Viscountess Bledisloe. Such freshness was a magnet for the trade who dominated the sale, buying all the major lots bar the silver tea caddies and ebony cabinet mentioned in this report. The lots from Lydney Park included
two pieces of Anglo-Chinese furniture. The first was a striking, near-matching
set of eight dining chairs – a loosely early 18th century English form but smothered in carved detail including floral scroll and strapwork to curved vase-shaped splats and grotesque masks to the cabriole legs. These very heavy chairs (made from
an unidentified Oriental hardwood) were of a type thought to have been made in Canton for the British market c.1720. A similar set of 12 sold at Christie’s
New York in 2001 for a premium- inclusive $182,000 (they had been sold by Sotheby’s in 1968 for £883). Another
set of 12 related chairs made a premium- inclusive £128,000 at Christie’s King Street in November 1995. The Lydney Park set, that may have
been commissioned by a family member, comprised six chairs with the same carving to back and legs and two in slightly darker timber with variations to the splats. Chorley’s estimated them at £80,000-
120,000 and, in a market that has not moved a great deal in a decade, the lower estimate was enough to secure them. The next lot was a pair of tea/card
tables with triple semi-circular tops and carved decoration very much in the same style as the chairs. These sold at £20,000. A curious item of more local appeal
was a chestnut four-tier whatnot made by C. Fowler of Gloucester to mark the Coronation of Edward VII. In addition to fleur-de-lys finials and tiers carved with the shamrock, rose and thistle, each of the three ebonised back panels were carved with planets as they were aligned on June 26 1902 and a cupboard below carried the crests of the Duke of Gloucester and the City of Gloucester. It
sold at £1200 (estimate £500-700). A fitting end to the sale was provided
by a fine Victorian Gothic partners’ desk in oak. It had been used by Arthur Watts in his office at Watts of Lydney, a well- known local coach firm. Of greater import to the many bidders
in the room and on the telephone was its impressive size – 8ft 2in (2.5m) across – its neo-Gothic styling and the unusual shaped breakfront form to the top. Estimated at up to £8000, it took £26,000. The outstanding English porcelain
from Lydney forms part of a separate report but there were a number of miscellaneous items that attracted the attention of collectors.
Above: set of eight Anglo-Chinese dining chairs c.1720 from Lydney Park sold at £80,000 at Chorley’s pictured alongside one of a pair of George III mahogany dining chairs, which took just £15.
Left: Victorian Gothic oak partner’s desk – £26,000.
One was a needlework sampler
dated 1804 worked by the wonderfully named Mehetabel Smith who attended Ackworth, the Quaker school in Pontefract. A similar ‘medallion’ sampler worked with hexagons populated by birds, plants and geometric motifs by Sarah Moon, 1791 took £8500 against an £80 estimate at Tennants of Leyburn in March 2006. If anything, interest has increased
since the publication the following year of the book Ackworth School Samplers by Carol Humphrey of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The school itself, founded as a co-
educational boarding school in 1779, has more than 100 examples in its collection, and has proved a strong buyer. This example, in untouched condition,
attracted bidders from the USA and Canada leapt past its £80-100 estimate to bring £5500. Lydney Park is known for its collection of Oceanic art acquired by the first
Viscount Bledisloe, the Conservative politician Charles Bathurst (1867- 1958) during his time as Governor General of New Zealand. However, a Tongan
club or apa’apai that shot to £9800 carried a different provenance.
Above: ebony table cabinet by Peter Waals and decorated by Louise Powell – £3600 at Chorley’s.
continued on page 27
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