Results: 20th Century Design Sale October 2022

The work of Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson once again drew in the crowds to Tennants Auctioneers’ 20^th Century Design Sale on 15^th October, and competitive bidding resulted in strong prices throughout the Mouseman section of the sale. The top lot, selling well above estimate, was a 1940s Mouseman Panelled Kneehole Desk, which sold for £7,500 (all figures quoted exclude buyer’s premium). Also selling well was a small but beautifully patinated 1930s Mouseman Bowl from the family collection of Mouseman craftsman George Cave, which sold for £2,000. Amongst the ‘Yorkshire Critters’ furniture and furnishings in the sale, a carved oak owl by Stan ‘Woodpeckerman’ Dodds – an unusual model for the craftsman – sold for £4,000.

Further notable lots of oak and Arts and Crafts included a Pair of Victorian Carved Oak Altar Angel Candlesticks (sold for £2,200), a circa 1930s Arts and Crafts Oak Dressing Chest made by leading retailer Heal’s (sold for £750), and a Chestnut Hanging Corner Cupboard by Stanley Webb Davis (sold for £650), a strong price for a corner cupboard.

Elsewhere in the sale, good prices were achieved for a Martin Brothers Stoneware Aquatic Vase (sold for £2,500), an exceptionally large Maw & Co. Ruby Lustre Charger of ‘The Stag Hunt’ (sold for £3,100), and an Art Deco ‘The Master Incolour’ Cocktail Shaker (sold for £2,200). With excellent provenance was an Austrian Secessionist Movement Hand-Knotted Wood Carpet dating from the 1900s, which sold for £3,000 against an estimate of £200-400. Despite the poor condition, the rug, which had resided from 1928-1951 in an Antwerp house designed by Henricus Joseph Huygh, attracted a number of international bidders.

The sale realised a total hammer price of £178,910 for 278 lots, with a 91% sold rate.

View Results