IRISH JIGS & IRISH JUGS

A modest looking little glass jug, spotted in a consignment of items from a Somerset lady and destined initially for a general sale, will be featured in Lawrence’s Ceramics and Glass auction in Crewkerne on July 11th.

The jug was made in about 1815 by the Waterloo Glass House Company in Cork, Ireland. The company flourished from 1815 until about 1835 when it went bankrupt but, in its heyday, it received great praise from a reviewer in the `Cork Overseer` newspaper. Daniel Foley, the company’s owner, was saluted as follows: “Foley’s workmen are well selected, from whose superior skill the most beautiful glass will shortly make its appearance to dazzle the eyes of the public, and to outshine those of any competitor. He is to treat his men at Christmas with a whole roasted ox and everything adequate. They have a new band of music with glass instruments with bassoon serpents, horns, trumpets etc., and they have a glass pleasure boat, a cot and a glass set which when seen will astonish the world.”

Richard Gold at Lawrences comments, “In the light of Foley’s remarkable technical skills at making something as complex as a cot or a boat from a material like glass, it is just a little disappointing to see the skills of his workmen displayed only in this unassuming jug but glass collectors love Irish glass, especially something made by such a remarkable factory.” The 6” (15cm) high jug is expected to make £150-200.

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Free Valuation Mornings at the Castle Hotel...

Lawrences Free Valuation Mornings @ The Castle Hotel in Taunton every Friday between 9.00am and 11.30am.

Friday 14th June 2013
Valuations with Simon Jones (Ceramics & Collectors Items)

Friday 21st June 2013
Valuations with Bimmy Amor (Jewellery) & Simon Jones (Ceramics & Collectors Items)

Friday 28th June 2013
Valuations with Simon Jones (Ceramics & Collectors Items)

For further information, please contact Simon Jones on 01460 73041.

PLEASE NOTE, WE ALSO HOLD FREE VALUATION MORNINGS EVERY MONDAY BETWEEN 9.30am AND 12.30pm IN CREWKERNE

A warm welcome to Lawrences' clients, old and new.

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Lyme Regis Valuation Mornings...

FREE VALUATION MORNINGS
9.30am – 12.00noon

on the FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH 

PLEASE NOTE HOWEVER THAT IN JUNE, THE VALUATION MORNING WILL BE ON TUESDAY 11th JUNE 2013

at Martin Diplock Estate Agents, 36 Broad Street Town Centre, Lyme Regis , Dorset DT7 3QF

Two of our Specialists will be available to value your items
Simon Jones - General Valuations and Collectors Items and Miranda Bingham - Jewellery.

We will also be available for home visits in the afternoon. Please ring to make an appointment on 01460 73041.

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GOING FOR GOLD AT AUCTION...

A scarce Victorian Gold Coin was a highlight in Lawrences’ Spring Collectors Sale on May 23rd.
 
“It is a very rare 1839 Victoria ‘Una and the Lion’ £5 gold piece,” says Lawrences’ specialist, Jeff Day. “Too valuable to be circulated, it was struck only in `proof` and was issued only in expensive commemorative sets. It was produced in nine different variations and our coin is one of only 400 ever minted. The coin, 37mm in diameter and weighing about 39gms, was designed by William Wyon to commemorate the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign, and it is recognised as one of the most beautiful British coins ever produced.”
 
The young Queen, in the guise of the classical figure Una, is shown leading the British lion. It was the first time that a fictional character had been used to depict a monarch on a coin and the energy of the lion contrasts cleverly with the peace and grace of the Queen. The coin came from clients in East Dorset and was bought by a London buyer.
 
The coin was expected to realise £12,000 – 15,000 in auction but was bought for £36,000 (£43,000 with buyer’s premium). Jeff Day comments, “Gold coins continue to do well at auction, with many collectors and investors keen to add special rarities such as this to their collections.” 

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PISTOLS AND A PRIZE PIKE IN A DUEL FOR TOP HONOURS AT 1500-LOT AUCTION...

Lawrences’ 1500-lot Collectors sale took place over two days on May 23rd -24th and, on the first day, militaria, coins and medals were on offer. Amongst a host of four-figure successes, highlights included a Mughal sword with a 28” blade, dating from about 1770 (£1610); a Continental percussion pistol (£2620, image 57); a good cased pair of Westley Richards pocket pistols (£6090); and Naval Pattern brown bess musket with a 36” barrel (£4420). Requiring special strength to lift (let alone to handle),  a massive two-handed `town sword` with a 52” blade, a 21” hilt and a full 16” wide caught collectors’ eyes. This unwieldy ceremonial item bore a German Armourer’s mark and was bought for £1670.

Medals performed well with prices as high as £1850, with a Waterloo medal awarded to Henry Rambenthal of the King’s German Legion making £1550. Coins proved to be a particular strength, with a set of cased gold proofs exceeding their top estimate to make £3290 and three boxed Churchill memorial medallions taking £1440. A £2 gold piece from 1902 on a 9ct chain made £950. A very scarce 1839 £5 gold piece took the day’s top price. This fine quality coin with Una and the Lion one one side and the head of the young Queen Victoria on the other was bought by a London buyer against stiff competition after being contested to £43000.

On the second day, there were remarkable prices paid for items as diverse as a 3.5” gauge locomotive and tender (£1550, image 930); two further Finescale model locomotives (£5730); an Irish Victorian dolls house from County Antrim (£2860), a large Jumeau doll, with pierced ears (£2150); over 150 pharmacist’s jars, carefully scrubbed clean of any former toxic contents (£2980); an early gramophone and horn (£1790); and a violin by Augustin Claudot (£1430). A rare set of six posters entitled `Seeing it Through` depicting heroic civilians from the 2nd World War, designed by war artist E. H. Kennington, made £2270; and a collection of fine old lace was chased to £1910. From a selection of sporting items, a cast iron coat rack set with a fox mask made £1490; a leopard skin mounted by celebrated taxidermists Van Ingen & Van Ingen of Mysore made £1730; a fine cased stuffed pike caught at Chelmsford in 1905 surprised many to make £3460; and a Hardy `Perfect` fishing reel was landed for £1430. Total for the two days exceeded £300,000.

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AMBER GIVES A WARM GLOW TO AUCTION - BUT DIAMONDS DAZZLE AGAIN...

Lawrences’ recent auction of jewellery in Crewkerne was another great success with scores of bids ensuring that many lots found new owners at prices above the auctioneers’ expectations. A small group of paste set buttons  and buckles caught buyers’ eyes and were bought for £1400. and some lots containing amber beads also sold well with one necklace exceeding £1130. However, the top price for amber was paid for an eagerly contested ancient necklace. It was set with numerous tiny insects encased for eternity within the forty pale orange beads and exceeded its £4000-6000 estimate to take £14100.

Gold was bought very keenly despite a slight dip in the market, with a heavily-laden charm bracelet taking £1940 and a 9 carat cigarette case making £1540. Amongst the watches on offer, a gold Rolex Oyster made £1720 and a more modern lady’s 18 ct Automatic Oyster Datejust by Rolex was bought for £2710. A complementary gentleman’s watch was secured for £3330.

Highlights elsewhere included £5300 for a pair of diamond drop earrings; £2830 for a hand brooch made of gold, enamel and garnet; and £3940 for a Victorian diamond brooch pendant. The day’s top price was reserved for a truly spectacular diamond necklace that had passed down through the Lascelles family (related to the 5th Earl of Harewood). Formed of 37 graduated diamond clusters interspersed with as many foliate drops, it was presented in its original case and went above its £20000-30000 estimate to take £41950.

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SEVRES STEALS THE SHOW AT AUCTION...

Lawrences’ auctions of Decorative Arts, Ceramics, Glass and Oriental Works of Art always contain a vast variety of objects, ranging from ancient Chinese artefacts and Japanese prints through to modern stained glass and Art Deco bronzes. Such sales attract a keen following and the recent sale in Crewkerne was no exception.

Highlights within the selection of Decorative Arts include £770 paid for an elegantly flared (but slightly damaged) 1960’s bowl by Lucie Rie; a collection of 21 pieces of geometric pottery from the popular Troika studios in Cornwall that made £1730; and a charmingly decorated pottery cat in the Galle style, the friendly feline depicted with a winningly eager expression that raised bids to £1070. The highest price was paid for a two stained glass `Arts & Crafts` panels attributed to Morris & Co, comprising one frame of 60 small glass panes (or `quarries`) and another of 12 panes. The designs included quaintly sinuous images of flowers, animals and insects in shades of amber and ochre and were bought for £4060.

Amongst the wide range of porcelain on offer, £780 was paid for a Chelsea Derby part tea service; £1370 for a first period Worcester tea bowl and saucer; £1670 for a small first period coffee can [image 1482]; and £1070 for a Meissen group of three figures. Strong bidding for Chinese porcelain yielded £3880 for a 17th Century `Kraak` Porcelain deep dish, £3820 for an onion-shaped vase of the Kangxi era (17th Century); and £2390 for a pair of blue and white saucer plates, probably Jiajing (mid-16th Century).

Collectors and dealers alike all adored a beautifully elegant flared Sevres cache pot, painted with exotic birds and scrolled floral panels upon a fresh pale turquoise ground. Dated to 1766, this 7-inch (19cm) pot soared to £41820 and led the day’s prices.

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HOLY SCROLL AND A SNAPPY SNAIL RACE FOR TOP HONOURS IN 800 LOT AUCTION...

Lawrences’ Spring Auction in Crewkerne began on April 23rd with 800 lots of silver and vertu. The sale lasted six hours but there were highlights throughout and bidding was very brisk for items of the greatest rarity or curiosity. A handmade caddy spoon with an enamelled detail in the curled handle was made by the celebrated silversmith Omar Ramsden in 1927 – it made £1970. A modern shallow dish by the same maker from 1938 took £3340. From 1806, a pair of salts  by similarly celebrated Georgian silversmith Paul Storr, made for 1st Lord Carrington, were bought for £2500.  A rare and early tea caddy by Ebenezer Roe dated from 1712 and made £3340 whilst a highly decorative Victorian claret jug dated from 1886 and made £2740. A superb and complete Victorian dressing box, made by Ortner and Houle, bore the coronet of a Countess and was bought for £2980. Top prices were paid for small items of rarity and quality: a rare novelty vest case in the form of a stylised dog, just 2.5 in/ 6.5cm long, dated from 1907 and scampered away at £1130. A late 19th Century Middle Eastern silvergilt Esther scroll and holder caught collector’s eyes from across the world. It had a 7 inch/ 18cm long tubular octagonal body containing an illuminated parchment scroll (64 in/139cm in length), finely inscribed with minutely written Hebrew text. It was bought for £13140. A tiny (2.5 in/ 6cm) cast silver model of a snail, its base opening to show a vinaigrette dated from 1884. Its performance at auction belied the snail’s sluggish reputation for the little novelty raced up to £9800 before the hammer fell.  The total for the day exceeded £240,000.

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WINTRY MASTERPIECE WARMS UP EAGER BUYERS IN PICTURE AUCTION...

Lawrences offered over 270 lots of pictures in their Spring Fine Art auction. The prints, watercolours and oils spanned five centuries and prices showed a reassuring strength in the market right across the board.

An etching by David Hockney of Maurice Payne (1971) was bought for £2270 and all the proceeds will go to a local charity, whilst two coloured woodcuts from a deceased estate in Dorset far exceeded recent auction prices for Charles Ginner’s work by making £2740. Highlights in the selection of watercolours could not have been more different. Six elegant and colourful gouaches by Christoph Ludwig Agricola (1667-1719) made £21,500 after some determined bidding and an expressive charcoal drawing by celebrated Cumbrian artist Sheila Fell (1931-1979) took £4780. A small charcoal study of geese by the eminent Impressionist artist Camille Pissarro was contested to £2980.

In the selection of oil paintings, two fine `Primitive` works of prize rams by Thomas Weaver offered sufficient rarity and quaint provincial charm to take a combined total of £13,100. An unusual triptych of `The Song of Solomon` in the style of Sir Edward Burne-Jones was bought for £4660; a rare bronze of `Sheila` by Sir Jacob Epstein made £4780; and a restful oil of a lady sewing by a window by Tom Gentleman took £4180. The two highest prices were reserved for very different outdoor subjects. One was an invigorating but elegant scene of the Leney family riding on a Kent beach on a bright and fresh day, painted by Heywood Hardy and offered for sale by a Somerset descendant. This made £56,100. A large, bitterly cold but beautifully atmospheric oil painting of sheep in an Aberdeenshire copse in a wintry twilight by Joseph Farquharson (1846-1935) attracted keen bidding before exceeding its £50,000-80,000 estimate to be bought for £145,700. The total for the picture sale exceeded £400,000

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