Trevanion Auctioneers kicked off an otherwise soggy start to summer with some blistering results in their two day June auction.
Day one began with some great results for silver, but it was a silver plated claret jug that stole the show. The jug was made by top quality makers Elkington & Co, but it was the fact that it was designed by Christopher Dresser (British, 1834-1904) that made it truly special. ‘Dresser is widely regarded as the world’s first modern industrial designer, and brought a unique aesthetic to his pieces that makes them unmistakable,’ explains managing partner Christina Trevanion. ‘His designs were driven by his core principles of truth (letting materials speak for themselves), beauty (creating a beautiful shape rather than decorating something plain or boring) and power (imbuing pieces with energy and impact), and these principles certainly light up this beautiful jug’. After a protracted bidding battle between international buyers, the jug finally sold for £5,600 plus fees.
Jewellery also performed well on day one, and it was pair of early 20th century diamond earrings that really grabbed buyers’ attention. Set in white metal and formed of old cut diamond-set studs suspending larger old cut diamonds, the earrings had a total diamond weight estimated at three carats. They sold for an impressive £7000 plus fees, and were followed by a beautiful pink sapphire and diamond three stone ring, which made £4200 plus fees.
Day two of the auction kicked off in style with the sale of a stunning portrait by acclaimed Irish artist Roderic O’Conor (Irish, 1860-1940). ‘O’Conor was descended from ancient Irish nobility,’ says fine art valuer Simon Grover. ‘He was a friend of Paul Gaugin, spending time with him in the Pont-Aven artists colony, and he was influenced by the post-impressionist movement, using strong colours, thick impasto and distorted lines to create powerful images with a heightened reality. He hated art dealers and rarely sold his work in his lifetime, so most pieces remained buried in his studio until years after his death’. Painted in oils on wooden panel in 1928, the portrait is titled ‘La Jeune Roumaine’ [The Young Romanian], and was bought for £10,000 plus fees by a delighted Channel Islands buyer.
Day two also saw the sale of a rare and important George III longcase clock by John Clifton of Liverpool. The market for longcase clocks – often known colloquially as grandfather clocks – is generally regarded as being quite flat at the moment, but this example set buyers’ pulses racing because its movement or mechanism used an unusual and complex arrangement of four concentric tubes to drive the hands. ‘Most longcase clocks use two concentric tubes to drive the hour and minute hands, and better examples use three tubes to also drive a second hand or a date hand,’ notes Associate Director Ashley Jones. ‘This example used four tubes to drive both a second hand and a date hand, which is incredibly difficult to engineer, and shows both the skill and ambition of the maker John Clifton’.
Consigned for sale by a Cheshire family, the clock also appealed to the maritime market, displaying both a rolling moon phase and the ‘Time Of High Tide At Liverpool’, and attracted numerous bidders in the room and online. It flew past its high estimate, eventually selling for £4,600 plus fees.
‘Our June auction was a truly eclectic event, highlighting that even when people talk about a difficult market, rare and high quality pieces will still sell well if properly catalogued and estimated,’ says Christina. ‘If you have unusual pieces you’re considering selling, now could be the perfect time to bring them to the auction market.’ Trevanion Auctioneers are now accepting entries for their July auction. Too book a valuation appointment call 01948 800202.
