Star Sales

A ski poster, a Hans Coper vase and a Kashmir shawl are among the showstoppers chosen by Caroline Wheater from the most recent UK auctions

Discover our highlights from recent auctions

1. Émigré Eminence Estimate £8,000-£12,000 Sold £10,000

Studio po!ery by the big name ceramicists of the 20th century – Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, Ewen Henderson, Elizabeth Fritsch, Jacqueline Poncelet, John Ward and John Maltby just for starters – is hot, and buying at auction is where you’ll "nd the best value. Hans Coper (1920-1981), who made this small, oval-shaped vase, was a German émigré who trained with Lucie Rie in the 1940s at her London studio. Coper developed his own highly distinctive style in #uenced by Cycladic art that he saw at the British Museum, and created sculptural stoneware forms by throwing clay into shapes then joining two or more pieces together. His glazes were always black and/or white, and here he has used white slip over manganese. While Rie was proli "c, rarely destroying any pots, Coper was the opposite, pu!ing a hammer through much of it, so when his pots come on the market they can fetch anything up to £50,000. This vessel, which sold at Dawson’s recently, carries an impressed HC seal, marking it out as a Coper. 01628 944100; dawsonsauctions.co.uk

2. Statement Piece

Estimate £800-£1,200 Sold £875 What a showstopper this giltwood side chair proved to be when it sold at Lyon & Turnbull recently. The style is Gothic Revival and the design is a!ributed to William Porden (1755-1822), a garden architect and furniture designer who trained under James Wya!, the in "uential English architect. The bu!on-back chair has been reupholstered with shimmering blue damask silk by Wa!s of Westminster. 0131 557 8844; lyonandturnbull.com

3. Snow Scene

Estimate £800-£1,200 Sold £1,000 Ski posters from the 1930s are avidly collected by keen skiers and graphic art fans alike. This exuberant design by Swiss artist Leo Keck (1906-1987) is advertising the snowy slopes of Zerma! in the Swiss Alps and sold at a recent Bonhams Decorative Art and Design sale. The lithographic poster, 101cm x 63cm, was in top condition and ready to frame. Keck created equally zesty posters for Gstaad, Lenk, Davos and St Moritz. 020 7447 7447; bonhams.com

4. Deco Nude

Estimate £200-£300 Sold £420 Despite a li!le damage – chips to the rim of the shade and to the onyx, and a li!le wear across the #gure – an art deco spelter table lamp sold for a healthy sum at Sworders’ popular 20th Century Decorative Art & Design sale in October. The metal lamp, 37cm high and modelled as a nude holding a globe light on an onyx plinth, was pure Thirties in style and still cuts a dash. It was one of several art deco spelter and onyx lamps among the sale’s lots. 01279 817778; sworder.co.uk

5. Fabric of Life

Estimate £700-£1,000 Sold £3,800 The impressive Marta & Maurice Clare Shawl Collection consisting of 22 lots of late 18th to mid 19th- century Kashmir and French shawls sold at fashion specialist Kerry Taylor Auctions last autumn. Amassed a !er the couple, both musicians, se$led in London in the 1970s, they were found at auctions, jumble sales and in junk shops. This woven Kashmir example dates to 1800 and sold for way over estimate. 020 8676 4600; kerrytaylorauctions.com

6. Simply Sèvres

Estimate £100-£200 Sold £220 From its establishment in 1738 at Vincennes, the Sèvres porcelain factory enjoyed royal patronage from Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. Its popularity continued a !er the French Revolution – Napoleon took delivery of the Marly Rouge service in 1809. This co"ee can and saucer, c1825, decorated with gilt #owerheads, sold at the latest Woolley & Wallis English & European Ceramics & Glass sale. 01722 424500; woolleyandwallis.co.uk

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