Tim sells bargains he hunted down
They’re not going for a song but the genial host of Bargain Hunt is parting with some of his antique collection
AUCTIONEERING is Tim Wonnacott’s first love. He conducted his debut standing on an upturned bucket in a farmyard. It was a skill he learned from his father, Major Raymond Wonnacott, an auctioneer in South West England.
Now the irreplaceable star of Bargain Hunt, the hit BBC TV afternoon show – it will never be the same without him – is doing what all collectors must undertake some time or another: he’s thinning down and clearing out some of the things he’s prepared to live without.
After fronting the show for 13 years, some of the personal discoveries the former Sotheby’s grandee made at antiques fairs around the country he visited while recording the 1,300 episodes, will be hitting the auction block.
Instead of standing on the rostrum, though, Tim will be sitting in the audience. The sale will be conducted by Sworders Fine Art in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, on December 4-5. The first 250 lots are expected to raise around £100,000. More will follow in Sworders sales next year.
“Collecting is an infectious drug, one that stays with you all your life,” Tim says. “The thrill of finding an item priced at £50 that you knew could sell for £500 was fantastic”.
Viewers might even remember some of the notable lots. During filming Tim would frequently share his personal purchases, his excitement surrounding the discovery infectious.
He loves the buzz of the pursuit, wandering for miles and miles around large antique fairs such as Newark and Ardingly. On one of his filming expeditions he wore a pedometer, recording a total distance travelled of 7 miles.
A career devoted to researching antiques – he once spent days pouring through the archives at Lancaster furniture makers Gillows, matching invoices to a collection of pieces in a Sotheby’s house sale at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire – he has naturally been spoilt for buying opportunities and has amassed a fascinating personal collection.
The sale is to make space and enable a house move, but selecting what to part with has not been easy.
“Firstly it has been really difficult deciding what to sell and what to keep”, Tim adds. “Space, of course, is a major consideration and objects with keen family or personal and emotive connections are all in the potential keep category. But, even then, the choices are far from easy.
“Secondly, like one’s children, one should never show favouritism, even for objects. But some pieces which Sworders will offer are so idiosyncratic, that saying goodbye is particularly painful.
“Auctions are marvellous things because you learn the true value of your items. It will be a thrill to see how it goes.”
Sworders chairman, Guy Schooling said: “The firm is honoured to have been nominated (by Tim) for the task.” George III silver nipple shield by Phipps & Robinson, London, 1805. Estimate: £200-£300
Among the most valuable single lots is a late 16th century Rheinish carving showing Herod and Salome estimated at £5,000-£7,000 that was once in the renowned Welby Collection. “I remain in awe of the quality of the carved detail,” Tim says.
Four paintings of storks and cranes by Henry Stacy Marks (1829-1898) were painted probably for the Duke of Westminster at Eaton Hall in Chester as part of Alfred Waterhouse’s complete re-build begun in 1870, are estimated at £8,000-£12,000.
Hugh Grosvenor, First Duke of Westminster was Marks’ principal patron, commissioning the artist to produce among other pictures, 12 panels of birds for the drawing room between 1874 and 1880 producing.
It is possible these paintings were included in the Grosvenor commission for Eaton Hall because a sale of surplus contents from the Waterhouse buildings, undertaken by Chester auctioneers Swettenhams in 1960, included works by Marks, after which the Waterhouse structure was largely demolished retaining only the chapel and outbuildings.
As might be imagined, the sale includes the quirky and unique – just like their owner.
A silver and nephrite heart-shaped box containing a bean carried by the Gulf Stream from the Caribbean Islands to the Isle of Uist is estimated at £300-£500.
Assayed (tested for quality) in Birmingham in 1905, the box also contains a heart-shaped, handwritten note, which reads: “Seed of the Entador Scandens”, “Fairy Beans” and “These beans are looked upon as charms in the islands where they are found… they are supposed to bring good luck”.
The base of the box is signed “To Ralph and Marjorie from A F, Christmas, 1907”.
Says Tim: “Deposited on a romantic Scottish beach, (the seed was) so beloved by the discoverer, that he (or she) had a silver box made and engraved to record the event.”
A solid silver diamond scoop in the form of a dustpan, assayed in London in 1897 and purchased in 1987 from silversmiths Heath & Middleton, is estimated at £150-200. “To have so many loose diamonds lying around that you needed such a utensil is in itself intriguing,” Tim adds.
And from the sublime to the… well essential for the wet nurse whose charge is teething; a George III silver nipple shield by Phipps & Robinson (London 1805), which is estimated at £200-£300.
■ More information: Sworders, telephone 01279 817778.