A group of important pieces of Arts and Crafts Silver from the Lion Collection will be on offer in the 20th Century Design Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 1st March. The Lion Collection was carefully curated by John L. Davis, who is renowned for his collections of tobacco boxes, caddy spoons, buckles and contemporary silver, all of which have been researched and published by the owner. The collection comprises a fascinating group of items, which offers fine pieces by some of the greatest makers and designers working in the first half of the 20th century such as Archibald Knox for Liberty, Henry George Murphy, Omar Ramsden and Alwyn Carr, along with rare examples by the Keswick School of Industrial Arts.
Highlights on offer include an Arts and Crafts Silver and Enamel Vase designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co. in 1901 (estimate: £5,000-7,000 all figures exclude buyer’s premium), an Arts and Crafts Silver and Enamel Biscuit Box by Omar Ramsden and Alwyn Carr (estimate: £4,000-6,000), and an Arts and Crafts Silver-Mounted Wood Mazer Bowl and Cover by Henry George Murphy (estimate: £3,000-5,000). There will also be a selection of Arts and Crafts silver napkin rings, which are part of an extensive collection of napkin rings from the Lion Collection that will be sold in Tennants’ Fine Jewellery, Watches and Silver Sale on 14th March, and the Antiques and Interiors Sale on 7th March.
The sale will also offer part of the Dr Eileen Cobb Collection, including a colourful selection of decorative pottery cats, such as a Polychrome Faience Model of a Cat made circa 1900 by Émile Gallé (estimate: £1,000-1,500). Dr Cobb was a pioneering example of a woman who entered the male-dominated medical profession in the 1950s, rising to the rank of Senior Registrar and working in paediatric anaesthesia at Great Ormand Street Hospital. Alongside her husband, surgeon Nigel Cobb, she spent her retirement travelling and avidly collecting furniture, furnishings and antiques for their homes, with a special interest in Chinese porcelain and cats. Further highlights from the Cobb collection include an example of the Serendipity 2 Chair by John Makepeace (estimate: £2,000-3,000). The Serendipity 2 Chair was originally designed for use by the Chancellor and Principal in Plymouth University’s graduation ceremonies, and examples are held in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Finely made modern furniture from the collection includes two Williams and Cleal Workshop English Walnut Display Cupboards and a Cabinet (estimate: £700-1,000), a Pair of Williams and Cleals Workshop Bedside Tables (estimate: £300-500), and a Robert Ingham Burr Ash Veneered and Wenge Coffee Table (estimate: £300-500). A further good example of modern furniture making from other vendors is seen in a Magma Oak Armchair by Peter Cummings of Reeth, North Yorkshire (estimate: £300-500).
An exceptional Arts and Crafts Donegal Carpet, made circa 1900 by Alexander Morton and Co., is offered with an estimate of £2,000-3,000. Designed by Gavin Morton, the rug was made in the company’s Donegal plant where they made carpets based on Turkish designs aimed at the market created by Arts & Crafts supremo William Morris.
Amongst the Mouseman in the sale are two period 1930s pieces, which were made for Ronald and Lilian Crossley’s Arts and Crafts house Tudor Croft in Guisborough. The pieces comprise a 1933 Mouseman Burr Oak Log Box (estimate: £4,000-6,000), and a circa 1934 Mouseman English Oak Dinner Gong with two signature mice (estimate: £1,000-1,500). Ron Crossley ran the family brickworks in Commondale, and the house was constructed using their speciality 'Tudor' bricks. Robert Thompson was commissioned to help fit the house, including panelling the living and dining rooms, fitting and inglenook fireplace, beams, and front door as well as free-standing pieces of furniture. Indeed, there was even a Mouseman beam, carved with 'RGC 1935' supporting the loggia on the southern face of the house.
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