South-west England


George I burr walnut chest on stand

26 June 2002

Brown furniture has proved hard to shift at auction in recent months but the success of this George I burr walnut chest on stand offered at the Bristol Auction Rooms on June 18 may signal the tide is turning.

National Trust win battle for Tyntesfield

24 June 2002

Helped by a £17.425m grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund – the largest sum it has ever given – the National Trust announced last week that it had bought Tyntesfield, a Victorian neo-gothic country house near Bristol.

Winners at Lake Lugano and Brooklands

14 June 2002

The German painter Hans Purrmann (1880-1966) is described by Bénézit as an artist who was heavily influenced by Matisse (with whom he had contact in Paris from 1906-1914), but who lacked the greater artist’s “sense de lumière et de la couleur”.

25 lenses put Exeter in the world picture

23 May 2002

Major photograph sales are usually confined to London and New York salerooms, but since selling the Earl Craven family archive of daguerreotypes last year Bearne’s of Exeter (buyer’s premium 15 per cent) are now on the international circuit.

Carter and Co. plate

15 May 2002

PRE 1921 the Poole pottery firm, one of the most innovative of the 20th century British potteries, was known as Carter & Co. Headed up by Jesse Carter, the firm produced very few domestic wares focusing instead on tiles and architectural and garden ceramics.

A Mickey Mouse affair to be happy about

15 May 2002

Furniture and pictures can usually be relied upon to bag the biggest prices in provincial auctions but while this was so at Bristol Auction Rooms April sale there were also interesting works in some of the other sections.

Gold pair-cased pocket watch

09 May 2002

This gold pair-cased pocket watch was brought into the offices of Charterhouse auctioneers of Sherborne, Dorset in a plastic carrier bag – albeit a Harrods bag – by a vendor who had kept it in his sock drawer for many years.

Student philanthropist’s Owenite play at £1200

03 May 2002

SOLD at £1200 to Jarndyce in this sale of photographs, historical documents, autographs and ephemera was an 1838 manuscript of The Student, a play by Frederick Bate.

Early 19th century diamond necklace

02 May 2002

“It was like the 1970s all over again,” said John Benjamin of Woolley and Wallis, describing the breadth of quality at his jewellery sale in Salisbury on April 24-25.

Artist suffers third raid in five weeks

02 May 2002

ROBERT Lenkiewicz, one of Britain’s most controversial artists, has been burgled for the third time in five weeks in what is widely believed to be a ‘stolen to order’ theft.

Three steps to Bournemouth

25 April 2002

HAMPSHIRE organiser Valerie Sleeney of Grandma’s Attic Fairs holds the first staging of the year of her flagship event at The Pavilion Ballroom, Bournemouth on April 27 and 28.

Staffordshire’s pretty answer to Limoges

24 April 2002

Limoges enamel has its English equivalent in the rustic little boxes produced by artisans in the South Staffordshire towns of Bilston and Wolverhampton during the late 18th century.

Venus puts buyers on 17th century watch

17 April 2002

Two small locally consigned lots provided the best seller and cover lot at the buoyant March 23 sale held by Michael J. Bowman (15% buyer’s premium) at Chudleigh Town Hall.

Late 18th century cricketing badge enjoys long innings

17 April 2002

The season has not quite begun, but this late 18th century cricketing badge enjoyed a long innings at Duke’s Dorchester salerooms on April 11-12.

US vendor sees better times in the UK

12 April 2002

Echoing encouraging sentiments of provincial auctioneers across the UK, Bristol Auction Rooms specialist David Rees felt “the trade were more comfortable buying for stock” at his March sale than in previous months, adding: “It was the best sale we’ve had since November.”

Gazette readers help police secure six-year jail term for conman

03 April 2002

A CONMAN with an “appalling record”, who cheated antique dealers across the country has been jailed for six years at Salisbury Crown Court.

You can still get value out of the Victorians

26 March 2002

What will £1500 buy in today’s picture market? If quality is going to be my criterion and oil painting is my medium, then not very much, one might be forced to conclude after reading the latest report on how the market is polarising between an increasingly expensive best and a totally undesirable rest.

Clarice Cliff pieces total £25,000

22 March 2002

Decorative arts are especially popular in this part of the West Country, where New Age culture and the wealth of new technology has created a sympathetic market for antiques in general and the arts and crafts in particular.

Chelsea fable painted part-tea service

22 March 2002

A series of strong bids brought a total of £51,900 for a Chelsea fable painted part-tea service at Lawrence’s of Crewkerne on March 14.

Lady of the rings suffers from unsure provenance

22 March 2002

Shortly before her execution at Fotheringay Castle in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots gave this portrait ring, right, to her lady in waiting, Mary Strickland, as a keepsake. This was the story told to Devon auctioneer Robin Fenner by the vendor, whose late mother was the last of the Boynton Stricklands.

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