Rosebery’s crowned a record-breaking year with a December Quarterly Select Auction that had to be extended from two to three days thanks to the large amount of lots consigned.
The auctioneer’s house record of £75,000 for a single lot was broken when a Charles II restoration tin glaze plate achieved £105,000 on the hammer. In addition, lots from every department made good prices.
Notable lots in December were as follows:
Lot 155: A George I silver taper stick by James Seabrook, London, c.1714
Achieved: £1,600
While a great deal of silver is bought these days for its scrap value, this tiny 12cm stick, weighing just 3oz, punched well above its weight. It proves that collectors are still willing to pay for an early piece of silver from a good maker.
Lot 1903: A German 1939-1945 Ceremonial Sword
Achieved: £450
This sword was one of several lots of memorabilia concerning Flight Lieutenant William Reid who was shot down over Germany in 1943. A German officer reputedly gave this sword to him after the Russian liberation of his camp and Bill Reid marched back to England across Europe with it.
Lot 1299: A Chinese Emperor’s Dark Blue Kesi Kun-Fun (coat or robe) 19th century
Achieved: £12,000
Decorated with four gold dragon medallions in silk K’o-ssu containing respectively, the sun, moon, stars and mountain symbols. The Chinese embroidered sleeve bands and the borders with ju-i head-scrolls were probably added after 1911. According to the provenance, the Empress Dowager wore it.
Lot 1486: An 18th century German walnut bombe commode
Achieved: £2,300
It is rare to find good quality 18th century German furniture in England. This beautifully coloured commode was hotly contested in the auction room.
Lot 39: A set of four Regency cut glass decanters
Achieved: £1,200
The under bidder on this lot was the buyer of the majority of Rosebery’s wine lots which appeared later in the auction. He was clearly hoping to be able to decant the wine he was bidding for.
Lot 1778: Chateau Margaux 2000, Margaux 1er Grand Cru Classe, (6 bottles)
Achieved: £1,800
Rosebery’s had 12 wine lots from a Private American collector living in London. All sold within or above estimate, with hammer prices ranging from £110 for a single bottle to £1,800 for six.
Lot 5: A pair of Royal Worcester, John Stinton painted panels with named views of the Lake District, c.1918
Achieved £6,600
These hung above the vendor’s bed. He had no idea of their value and was shocked when they were estimated to be worth £3,000. They achieved more than double that figure thanks to a battle between a collector in the auction room and a telephone bidder.
Eastern Europe was the success story in Rosebery’s paintings department with all the top lots either by Eastern European artists or with Eastern European subject matter:
Lot 655: Victor Vasarely, French/Hungarian 1906-1997 – “Bug III”, acrylic on board, laid down on panel, signed, titled and dated 1956 on the reverse, 57x53.4cm (unframed).
Achieved: £18,000
This was the first time this picture, an early work by Vasarely, had been seen at auction.
Lot 669: Tymon Niesiolowski, Polish 1882-1965 - Bathers in woodland by the shores of a river; oil on unstretchered canvas, signed, 62x81cm
Achieved: £16,000
This lot achieved a high hammer price despite being heavily damaged. The artist’s work is rarely seen on the British auction market and this is believed to be a record price outside his native country.
Lot 441: Alexandra Povorina, Russian 1885-1963 - Steps to boats in bay, (recto); Girl by farm buildings (verso); oil on canvas, signed and dated 917, 56x46cm
Achieved: £5,500
This painting along with seven others came from the collection of the Estate of the late Hans Schwarz, Austrian 1922-2003. He was a painter and sculptor who arrived in Britain as a refugee and was heavily inflenced by Schiele and Kokoschka, the German Expressionists, and from French painters such as Bonnard.
Andy Warhol, American 1928-1987- "Red Lenin", 1987, (Feldman & Schellmann II. 403), printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York; screen print in colours on Arches 88 paper, signed in pencil by the executor of the Estate of Andy Warhol and numbered 61/120 on a stamped certificate of authenticity, 100x74.9cm
Achieved: £29,000
