Duke of Westminster's Armchair

For more traditional tastes, we have Lot 378, a late Victorian Irish walnut armchair of Howard type. It was made circa 1880 by Strahan & Co of Dublin. The firm Robert Strahan & Co, Dublin (fl 1776-1969) is recorded as being that of cabinet maker, upholsterer, auctioneer and undertaker. This armchair once belonged to the Duke of Westminster and is sold together with a copy of H R Shaw's book Country Heritage: The Stately Homes of the North West Counties and North Wales, where the chair is photographed in the Duke's sitting room at Eaton Hall.

Piero Fornasetti

Fornasetti, the luxury artistic design company was founded by Piero Fornasetti in 1940. The company is known for its porcelain and handmade decorative objects for the home. We are pleased to be offering a set of five plates by Piero Fornasetti (Lot 279). The design, Pesci (Passage of Fish), dates to 1955 and shows each plate decorated with a differing shoal of fish.

The auction also features Lot 329, a 20th century low occasional table, designed in the manner of Piero Fornasetti. The table top is brightly decorated with a Trompe-l'œil decoration, featuring an orange, a letter, and a knife and fork.

Traditional Prints

The auction offers a selection of British and European prints and engravings covering a range of traditional themes, including architecture, landscapes, ornithology, classical mythology, as well as designs for tapestries and murals. Highlighted here is Lot 338, a set of six coloured engravings of parrots and parakeets by British School (20th century).

Antique Wine Labels

For the wine connoisseur, we have Lot 225, ten English pottery and creamware wine or bin labels dating from the 19th century. The selection includes five Wedgwood examples, as well as an example by W. & J. Burrow (of London & Malvern). These come to auction from a family associated with the wine trade and thence by descent and with associations to Farrow & Jackson. Farrow & Jackson were London Engineers with a side line in making and selling specialised equipment and such to the Wine and Spirits trade starting around 1860.

The majority of the labels are all wines we are familiar with but with two exceptions, 'Bucelas' and 'Carcavelos'. Note how the modern spellings differ from the wine labels. Both are in the Lisboa area of Portugal. Carcavelos, typically a robust red made from Ramisco grapes, which is distinctive if only for being one of the few grape varieties in Europe not to have been grafted onto American phylloxera-resistant rootstocks. The Bucelas region of wine production is mostly based on the Arinto grape variety, producing a white wine with distinctive acidity. These varieties were much better known to the British in the 18th and 19th centuries than they are now, but both grape varieties are, in common with all Portuguese wines, having a renaissance. Showing their renown in previous ages, Bucelas makes an appearance in Shakespeare, Henry VI (part II) as 'Charneco' wine (in the Bucelas area).

Medici Lions by George Skey

Finally, we wanted to take a look at Lot 412, a pair of models of the Medici lions from George Skey’s Wilnecote Works, Tamworth. Dating from the late 19th century, the opposing lions are decorated in mostly brown glaze and feature impressed factory marks.

Skey was originally a coal mine owner.  Fortuitously for him he discovered a seam of clay running near his mine and with the useful transport network afforded to him for the movement of coal he was able to capitalise upon this.

He created utilitarian items such as stoves and pipes but also ornamental objects such as the lions presented in this lot. The lions his factory produced are probably his best remembered works and are reminiscent of others produced at factories around Staffordshire at this time but tend to have a naïve charm.

The original Medici lions are a pair of imposing marble sculptures placed at the Villa Medici, Rome in 1598 and now reside at the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence. One is a Roman 2nd Century original and the second a 16th century pendant.

Auction Details

Wednesday 10 July, 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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