20 9th June 2012 auction reports bonhams’ oak sales at chester


continued from page 19


5in (1.97m) long Charles I refectory table with triple-boarded top, a carved front frieze and baluster turned legs joined by plain stretchers made £3500. Both were comprehensively outsold


by something of an oddity – and all the more valuable for that – at the Beedham Collection sale. This was a c.1640 joined octagonal-


topped table above a triangular cupboard. As the catalogue notes pointed out, octagonal tops on triangular bases are not unknown, but the addition of a cupboard is extremely rare and a fixed top, rather than a credence-type foldover, is rarer still. Bidders concurred and against an


estimate of £8000-12,000 it sold at £14,000. The Beedham Collection wasn’t, of


course, all high-priced academic pieces. Emptying the family home meant Paul


Above: early oak in demand at Bonhams Chester. Left: from the Beedham Collection on May 24, this rare triangular cupboard/table made £14,000. Centre and right: offered at the April 19 sale, the double-action gateleg table took £7000, as did the c.1615 tester bed.


reluctantly parting with pieces which had adorned it and been used in it – pewter mugs and dishes, pieces of stained glass, the occasional limestone bust from antiquity. Most sold in three figures. A c.1730-50 Caernarfonshire oak


high dresser standing 6ft 3in high by 4ft 11in wide (1.92 x 1.50m), with two shelves and a pair of cupboards above a base of three field drawers, which took a within-estimate £5500, was an eminently practical buy. So, too, were a c.1920 Knole sofa


and four en-suite armchairs which the Beedhams had bought at Henry Spencer & Sons when the Retford auctioneers were a power in the provinces back in 1978. Estimated at £1000-1500, the suite sold at £8000. A very good price but, of course, not


really the sort of thing collectors had come to buy – among them a number of


old Beedham clients well aware that the Beedhams didn’t put everything in their shop by a long chalk, preferring, as Paul said, to buy top quality, interesting pieces and keep them until they thought they could match a buyer to them. These included pieces such as a


c.1520-40 oak boarded chest carved to the lid with a pair of tracery-filled arches which took a mid-estimate £6500. “One former client flew across from


Jersey for the sale,” said Paul. “He insisted I go to the view with him. On the day he paid top rate for four pieces, which pleased me, and got one bargain which I’m happy to say pleased him.” The Beedham material included


various pieces of carved oak surviving from the furniture they had once adorned – such as a late 15th century English chip- carved oak beam section or corner post at £4500; a pair of c.1660-80 Cheshire-


made heraldic lion-and- unicorn altar rail or newel finials at £4200; a c.1570 French cassone front carved with the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe at £3800 and two c.1540 French frieze sections carved with men’s heads and later used as drawer fronts in the 19th century, at £1800. One might have expected


such lots to go to the specialist trade, but such is the confidence and expertise in the private sector that all went to collectors.


Right: one of a pair of c.1660-80 lion-and-unicorn altar rail or newel finials – £4200 at Bonhams Chester.


Showing the flag, and the colour of collectors’ money


BONHAMS’ (20/25% buyer’s premium) third regional room in Oxford enjoyed an interesting sale of militaria on April 24. Among other points, it underlined


just how much condition can count in this field. The best result, bringing £10,500


against an estimate of £2000-3000, was achieved by a 10th (Prince of Wales’s Own Royal) Light Dragoons (Hussars) guidon for No.3 Troop, c.1816-30, while another guidon for The Yorkshire Wolds Cavalry, a yeomanry regiment, dating from 1798-1808, went for £6000 (estimate £1500-2000). The former was in superb condition


despite its age and the fact it is made from silk, with regimental emblems painted on, while the other had a slight loss of the pale green silk but was still in very good condition considering how early it is. Both were sold to private collectors


over the phone during the antique arms and militaria sale.


Two British regimental guidons sold at Bonhams Oxford on April 24. Left: c.1816-30 10th Light Dragoons guidon – £10,500. Right: c.1798-1808 Yorkshire Wolds Cavalry guidon – £6000.


It is very rare to find examples in such


a state because they are very prone to wear and tear and colours do fade. In the same sale framed fragments of


a Troop guidon c.1816-20 for the 18th Light Dragoons made only about £90, well below the estimate of £300-500. All that remains are short sections from the honours ‘Peninsula’ and Waterloo’. An Ormond Union Cavalry guidon


c.1779-92 sold at Bonhams in May last year which was a very early and rare relic of this long-past Irish volunteer regiment, but had a slight loss of colour and fading, fetched just over £3800, above estimate of £2000-3000. The April 24 sale, from several vendors


but many from an unnamed private collection, did very well as a whole with only 15 out of 297 lots failing to get


away and £171,250 taken (95% sold by lot and 97% sold by value). There was international interest thanks to online bidding. Robin Lucas of Bonhams said the total


reflected the strength of the militaria market overall, adding that it was very buoyant and showing no sign of change.


Tom Derbyshire


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