ON THE SPOT
An exquisite French Empire-style stool and intricate lacquer box are among lots that have caused a salesroom stir this month,
These 19th-century dalmatians recently sold for a song – I wish I’d been in the salesroom to bid!
Danish Delicacy Estimate £80-£120 Sold £600
Timeless design and top cra smanship have gone hand in hand at the eponymously named Danish silver company, Georg Jensen, since its foundation in Copenhagen in 1904. Not only was Georg Jensen a peerless designer, whose antique jewellery, hollowware and atware continue to fetch thousands of pounds, he sought freelance collaborators to add further air to the company’s o ering. One of these was the artist and furniture designer Johan Rohde, whose cutlery designs form part of the Jensen legacy. Especially well-known lines are Acorn (Konge) created in 1915, and Acanthus (Dronning), created in 1917; look out too for Scroll (Saga), c1927, and Rune (Mayan), c1937. None of these designs are in production today, so when a 14-piece collection of
Acanthus silver atware came up for sale at Che ns, collectors pounced. The dessert cutlery numbered six dessert knives, ve dessert forks and three dessert spoons, all in original boxes. The atware was made in 1968 and stamped ‘Sterling Denmark’, with London import marks. Today, the majority of new Georg Jensen cutlery is stainless steel, making silver items all the more desirable. 01223 213343; cheffins.co.uk/fineart
Furniture Find Estimate £100-£150 Sold £150
This unusual art nouveau-cumArts & Cra s-style high-back elbow chair sold at Che ns recently, and has stylised tulip motifs on the pierced back rail and wavy arm struts. The turn-of-thecentury piece was made by James Shoolbred & Co of To enham Court Road, London. The early 19th-century store was originally a draper’s shop, but by the 1860s had expanded out into domestic furniture. Collectors look out for the James Shoolbred & Co ivorine labels.
01223 213343; cheffins.co.uk/fineart
. Sweet Treat Estimate £400-£600 Sold £820
Advertising and kitchen ephemera are enjoying a resurgence at the moment, and this late 19th-century shop display case for Fry’s chocolate hit the fashion mark at Fieldings’ popular Decades of Design sale in October. The ebonised case measured
68 x 45 x 24cm, and, with its painted arch, mirror base and glazed sloping front, would make an excellent display cabinet for almost any small collectable or set of quirky kitchen paraphernalia. 01384 444140; fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk
. Exquisite Perch Estimate £800-£1,200 Sold £3,812
This majestic mahogany and carved giltwood stool came from the Bonhams Contents of a 19th Century Baltic Villa sale, whose antique gems tempted beady-eyed buyers. Made in the late 19th or early 20th century, but re ecting the earlier French Empire style, the stool rests on paw feet and is decorated with swans, their upstretched wings supporting two handles. It measures 106cm wide and 73cm high and could have been placed at a window, a dressing table or a piano.
020 7447 7447; bonhams.com
. Faithful Friends Estimate £30-£50 Sold £50
Dalmatians were originally bred as carriage dogs to run alongside horse-drawn coaches, and were a popular subject for the Midlands po eries that made Sta ordshire gures. Dating to the late 19th century, these well-executed earthenware dogs were sold at Catherine Southon Auctioneers. They would have been made in a mould, red, then glazed and decorated with gilt. Spaniel lapdogs, huntsmen’s whippets and greyhounds also remain charming and a ordable nds. 020 8313 3655; catherinesouthon.co.uk
. Intricate Carving Estimate £20,000-£30,000 Sold £27,500
Lacquer art was unique to Chinese artisans who used resin from the
Rhus vernici ua family of trees to make their carved decorative objects. Turned wood usually formed the base of a piece, onto which lacquer was applied then worked into pa erns and scenes. Red ‘cinnabar’ lacquer (coloured with mercury sulphide) was the most common type. This exquisite cinnabar box, dating to the Qianlong period (1736-1795), sold at Christie’s and features immortals in a mountainous landscape.
020 7839 9060; christies.com