Two impressive stained-glass windows by renowned Ecclesiastical manufacturers Hardman & Co. are to be sold in the 20th Century Design Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 17th June with an estimate of £20,000-25,000 plus buyer’s premium. The windows were originally made in 1889 for All Saints Church in Emscote, Warwick, donated in loving memory of George and Sarah Nelson by their sons. The church was demolished in 1967, having sustained irreparable structural damage during the Coventry air raids in 1940. At this point, the windows were returned to Hardman’s workshop, before they were purchased from the vicar of All Saints by Darrell Buttery, a teacher and champion of civic culture from York.
The windows were once situated in the north and south transepts of the church and depict The Tree of Jesse and The Epistle for All Saints Day; each window comprised eight lights and are sold alongside two quatrefoil tracery panels from one of the windows. West Midlands-based Hardman & Co. operated between 1838 and 2008 and were one of the world’s leading stained-glass manufacturers and worked closely with Gothic Revival architect Augustus Pugin on numerous projects, including Westminster Palace. Also on offer in the sale are a set of eight Victorian Stained, Painted and Leaded Glass Quatrefoil Tracery Panels, depicting ecclesiastical scenes featuring saints including the Venerable Bede, St Aidan, St Laurence, St Ninian and St Theodore (estimate: £800-1,200).
An interesting offering of ceramics in the sale, dating from the late 19th century to contemporary makers include a Maw & Co. Ruby Lustre Charger made in 1886 decorated with their distinctive leaping stag design (estimate: £600-900). Five pieces by the famed 20th century potter Lucie Rie are also on offer, led by a Stoneware Footed Bowl, decorated with a yellow glaze and offered with an estimate of £500-800. From a good collection of Contemporary Ceramics comes a tall stoneware vase by Richard Batterham, which was purchased in the 1990s directly from the potter, who was one of the most revered potters of domestic stoneware (estimate: £1,000-1,500).
From the T.B. and R. Jordan Collection is a selection of fine furniture. The Jordans, in addition to being leading specialists in the Staithes Group of painters, were passionate about Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau furniture. Highlights of their collection include an Arts and Crafts Shapland & Petter Inlaid Oak Sideboard (estimate: £1,000-1,500), and an Art Nouveau Inlaid Mahogany Hall Robe (estimate: £1,000-1,500).
Amongst a varied offering of Mouseman in the sale is a suite of bedroom furniture, commissioned in 1951 and led by an Oak Panelled Double Wardrobe inscribed ’19 D.A.B 51’ (estimate: £3,000-4,000). Interesting chairs include an Oak Monk’s Chair carved with initials ‘C J’ and the Yorkshire rose (estimate: £3,000-4,000), and a set of three Oak Panel Back Chairs from the 1930s, with the backs decorated with a carved sheep, a goat and a ram (estimate: £1,500-2,500). Fine pieces of decorative Mousemen are led by a carved oak Pheasant (estimate: £3,000-5,000), and a carved oak newel post figure of a Merry Monk, with a tiny carved mouse poking out of his sleeve (estimate: £2,000-3,000). Also on offer are two Mouseman bowls, one of which is the largest (42cm diameter) Mouseman bowl to have been sold at Tennants, and one the smallest (12cm diameter). The large bowl, offered with an estimate of £1,000-1,500, was a bespoke commission, and the smaller nut dish is sold alongside a slightly larger dish with an estimate of £150-250.
View Sale
