Results: Country House Sale 14th September

After a busy few days of viewing, the Country House Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 14^th September saw strong levels of bidding, with early and unusual pieces selling well above their pre-sale estimates. The top lot of the sale was a Mahogany Drop Dial Wall Timepiece, signed Vulliamy, London and made circa 1840; clocks by known and desirable makers are still attracting attention, and the present Vulliamy clock sold for £5,800. Further interesting clocks in the sale included a good Mahogany Eight Day Longcase Clock, signed Barwise, London, circa 1800 (sold for £1,500), and a Mahogany Striking Table Clock, signed Henry Watts of Poole, circa 1820 (sold for £650).

Oak and country furniture continued to see a strong demand amongst buyers, with plenty of interest resulting in prices well above estimate. Amongst the top lots of the day was an 17^th Century Oak Joint Stool, which came with provenance from Frank Partridge Works of art that smashed the £200-300 estimate to sell for £2,500. Also selling well above estimate was an Early 19^th Century Ash Comb Back Spindle Armchair (sold for £1,800), and a Joined Oak Side Table, circa 1720 (sold for £800). Good antique upholstery was also popular too, with a Pair of Early 20^th Century Club Armchairs selling well at £1,600 against an estimate of £200-300.

Amongst the more unusual lots in the sale, were a rare 18^th Century Irish Penal Cross, which sold for £1,700. Penal Crosses are small, portable devotional artefacts made in Ireland from the early 18th century to the middle of the 19th century, during a period of suppression of Catholicism by a Protestant Parliament. They are thought to be tokens from pilgrimages to Lough Derg in County Donegal, and the present example is dated 1762. Also of interest was a copy of The New Game of the Ascent of Mont Blanc, the third edition of a board game, made circa 1860. The game commemorated Albert Richard Smith’s ascent of Mont Blanc in 1851 and sold for £1,700. A Carved Oak Bust of a Saint, probably late 15th/early 16th century, sold well above estimate, too, at £2,000.

Of local interest was a collection of works by Castle Bolton artist Fred Lawson from a private collection. Sold in 15 lots, the collection was topped by “Scarth Nick House, Redmire with Peacocks Builders”, which sold for £750, and two depictions of the market square in Leyburn selling for £700 each. Also on offer, was a collection of works by Scottish artist William Miller Frazer, which were led by his view of the Lomonds, which sold for £700.

Highlights amongst the ceramics and Asian art in the sale included a Pair of Louis Philippe Gilt-Bronze and Sèvres Porcelain Candelabra, made circa 1845 (sold for £2,500), a Chinese Porcelain Jar in the Transitional Style (sold for £1,200), a Pair of Chinese Cloisonné Enamel Quail from the late 18^th/early 18^th Century (sold for £1,200), and a Pair of Chinese Porcelain Rouleau Vases (sold for £2,200).

The sale achieved a total hammer price of £251,100 with an 82% sold rate for 706 lots.

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