An eclectic and decorative mixture of antiques and contemporary art went under the hammer in a single-owner sale of the Selected Contents of Bell Hall, Naburn, York at Tennants Auctioneers on 15th November.
The collection was put together over several decades, and drew together good period oak furniture, folk art, 19th century samplers, and Asian art alongside modern and contemporary paintings, ceramics and works of art, many pieces with an animal theme. The sale attracted buyers from near and far, and competitive bidding led to numerous lots smashing their pre-sale estimates.
The top lot of the sale was a Flemish Verdure Tapestry, made around the 17th century and depicting a rural wooden landscape with hunting lodge woven in silks and wool, which sold for £5,500 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Exceeding expectations in the furniture section of the sale were a George III-Style Carved Mahogany Four-Poster Bed (sold for £1,800), a George IV Barrel-Shape Armchair (sold for £750), a Feather-Filled Knole-Style Sofa (sold for £1,000), and a Brass-Studded Teak or Hardwood Zanzibar Chest from the early 20th century (sold for £700).
Naïve and provincial paintings were much in favour, with a Portrait of a Prize-Winning White Bullock Standing in a River Landscape in the Manner of John Boultbee (1753-1812) selling for £3,000, an 18th/19th century British Provincial School Portrait of a Young Boy selling for £350, and a charming 19th century British Provincial School Portrait of a Young Girl holding a doll selling for £1,400. Amongst the modern and contemporary pictures in the sale was a pair of works depicting Topiary Gardens by M.C. Kidd, which sold for £1,700. Selling well above estimate was an Indian School Miniature Portrait of a Rajah from the second half of the 19th century, which sold for £550. In demand, too were three driftwood ornithological sculptures by Guy Taplin, the ‘Bird Man of Essex’; “Heron” and “Canada Goose” sold for £1,800 each, and “Dunlin” sold for £1,500.
English Delft Flower Bricks proved very popular, with three examples dating from circa 1750 selling well above estimate achieving hammer prices of £900, £650 and £420. Other English ceramic highlights were a Pair of Staffordshire Pottery Disraeli Greyhounds, circa 1850 (sold for £850), and a Spode Pearlware Indian Sporting Series Meat Dish, circa 1810 (sold for £700), and from further afield was a Delft Punch Bowl, 18th Century that sold for £1,000. Also of interest amongst the Work of Art in the sale was a Black Forest Carved Linden Wood Bull, Cow and Calf Group by Johann Huggler (sold for £2,500), and a Glass Paperweight by Paul J. Stankard (sold for £500).
The sale realised a total hammer price of £120,140 for the 314 lots, and a 99.7% sold rate.
View Results
