Grimacing figure among auction highlights

WITH his wild hair, and face described by auctioneers as “grimacing”, a life-sized Polynesian carved wooden figure, which will go under the hammer at Moore Allen & Innocent’s selected antiques sale in Cirencester next week, stands out in the saleroom.

His rope beard and staring cowrie shell eyes all add to the feeling of menace, and with Antipodean artefacts performing so well at auction this year, auctioneers are confident with an estimate of £800 to £1,200.

To prove the point, from the same part of the world is an Aboriginal carved hardwood shield of navette form, decorated with emus and kangaroos, which is expected to fetch between £300 and £500.

Artefacts from the Far East have also been performing well this year, so there are high hopes for a Japanese Ginbari red translucent enamel vase of the Meiji period, decorated with birds among bamboo foliage, which carries an estimate of £700 to £1,000. 

Not everything has come half way across the world to be at the sale. A Gordon Russell mahogany and Rio rosewood dining table with six chairs, dated May 1965, was made just up the road in Broadway, Worcestershire. The 2.3 metre long table, with maker’s labels, carries an estimate of £400 to £600.

And in the furniture section is the piece expected to achieve the top price of the day – a handsome Regency mahogany Carlton House desk, with two banks of small drawers, two cupboards and a leather writing surface, which should make between £8,000 and £12,000.

Not everything in the sale, though, costs a princely sum. A circa 1900 Huntley & Palmer biscuit tin, fashioned as a stack of eight books bound by a strap, carries an estimate of just £40 to £60.

Toys as well represented in the sale. Particularly fetching is a Lehmann ‘Nina’ clockwork cat chasing a mouse, with an estimate of £200 to £300. A German tin model car, at 42cm long, and another smaller tin plate clockwork car, 25 cm long, are expected to make £80 to £120, while a pair of Johillco biplanes, each with their original box, carry an estimate of £40 to £60. 

Those original boxes are important to collectors, and sets of Britain’s soldiers benefit from having their boxes. Among them is a complete set of Gordon’s Highlanders (£40 to £60), 14 Knights of the Middle Ages (£40 to £60) and a Britain’s box containing three part sets of First World War army figures (£80 to £120).

There is also a large selection of silver. Among the stand-out lots is a collection of miniature silver items from the early 18th century, described by auctioneer Philip Allwood as “the best I’ve seen in 25 years”. 

Among them are a George I miniature coffee pot (£400 to £600), a Queen Anne miniature chocolate pot (£300 to £500), a George I miniature kettle (£400 to £600) and a William & Mary miniature wine taster (£300 to £500). 

While silver prices are riding high at £10 an ounce, the appeal of these miniatures to the collectors market means they may be worth as much as their full-size equivalents.

With over 500 lots going under the hammer, and prices for the best antiques remaining very healthy, it is likely that auctioneers and vendors will end the day as jolly – if not in such a state of undress – as a 19th century Continental bronze figure of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and intoxication, standing at 41cm, goblet raised in celebration (estimate £400 to £600).

The sale takes place at the Norcote saleroom in Cirencester from 10am on Friday, May 28.

A Regency mahogany Carlton House desk	A collection of toys including a Lehmann ‘Nina’ clockwork cat chasing a mouse
A Japanese Ginbari red translucent enamel vase of the Meiji	A circa 1900 Huntley & Palmer biscuit tin, fashioned as a stack of books
A Gordon Russell mahogany and Rio rosewood dining table with six chairs	A George I miniature coffee pot, part of a larger collection of miniature silverware from the early 18th century
A bronze figure of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and intoxication	A life-sized Polynesian carved wooden figure
An Aboriginal carved hardwood shield