Moulding a good impression with an auction of country house art
A COLLECTION of art and antiques, from period furnishings to paintings and armchairs to desks from three country houses, is to be sold by Tennants auction house in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on Saturday April 23.
Included in the sale will be the final instalment of lots from three prominent private estates, the bulk of which achieved strong prices when they starred in the Spring Fine Sale in March.
The featured estates are contents of a house, to be sold on behalf of the 7th Earl of Durham, contents of a house, St Judes on the Isle of Man and the contents
of The Laithes, Penrith.
However, one of the highlights of the sale is a large private collection of 19th century moulds for frame making and decorative plaster work.
The collection comprises nearly 140 wooden moulds, the majority made from boxwood, which are due to be sold in
12 lots. Several examples are stamped with the names of the craftsmen to which they once belonged.
A Tennants’ spokesman said: “The picture section of the sale offers a good mix of prints, watercolours and paintings incorporating landscapes, sporting and wildlife and genre pieces.
“Highlights include a decorative set of 26 framed lithographs from Sir William Nicholson’s ‘Alphabet Series’, sold together with the original binding.”
Good furniture on offer includes a harlequin set of eight mid-19th century yew and ash Windsor armchairs estimated at £4,000 and a rare 18th century eight to 10-seater solid yew gateleg dining table, estimated at £2,000.
Further lots of note in the sale include a commemorative mug, possibly made in the Newbottle Pottery around 1823 remembering two victims, Robert and James Shields, of the Plain Pit disaster at Rainton Colliery, Houghton-le-Spring, in which 53 men and boys were killed.
Interesting clocks include an 8in brass dial striking hooded wall clock from 1720 and an 1880 mahogany wall timepiece which was made by Frederick Cox of London.