'The Cardinal'; a pottery bust by John ...

Item Ref
9150

A superb, and rare, artwork by John Fortnum, with a very powerful presence, it is pottery, but simulating charred wood...as if the bust had been rescued from a fire, but had been subject to great heat. It is, in appearance, timeless; it could date from the Italian Renaissance and be of wood, perhaps once painted; it could be, as it is, 33 years old...it moves effortlessly through a 600 year time span. It is a free standing 'trompe l'oeil' in that it hides its true material and presents us with a wide range of perceptions.
This is a very evocative sculpture which can inspire many messages … on art, survival, religion, life, apparent damage as enhancement....truly a very thought provoking item, as well as being a glorious sculpture.

Signed and dated '86; this is number 7 of a limited edition of 8. How many others have survived the last 33 years is not known.
"My Sculpture can be seen in some of the wildest landscapes in Britain, from the North Atlantic seascapes of the Orkney Isles to the North York Moors, where I have used the wind, rain, and oxidation as natural elements in Landscape sculpture. In my smaller more intimate sculptures the human body, with its architectural and structural aspects, is an underlying theme. I am fascinated by the alchemy of heat on materials. I enjoy using different materials and experimenting with a wide range of sculptural possibilities." John Fortnum, born 1945.
SIZE: 25.5 inches tall, 20 inches wide, 12 inches deep.
PROVENANCE: London Private Collection.
£685

Bristol delft c1750

Item Ref
9181

A quite rare Bristol delft ‘bianco supra bianco’ scalloped edge dish, c.1750, in the fashionable Chinoiserie style; beautiful delicate brushwork. As usual with 18th century delftware there are some small ‘nibbles’ to the edge and a couple of kiln marks from its manufacture. A nice quality touch is that even the underside is decorated.
SIZE: 9 inches in diameter.
PROVENANCE: The Collection of Sir William Whitfield CBE, St Helen Hall, County Durham. (Image 4)
£148

Bristol delft bianco supra bianco plate c.1760-70 ...

Item Ref
9180

A rare large , multicoloured, Bristol delft plate, with scalloped edge, the centre delicately painted with a lakeside scene and two figures conversing. This is the highly fashionable Chinoiserie taste which swept the country at this time. Bianco supra bianco was probably introduced into England by Magnus Lundburg, an artisan from the Rorstrand factory in Sweden, in the 1750s, who was likely employed at the Redcliff Back Pottery in Bristol.
As is usual with delftware there are some nibbles to the edge.
SIZE: 12 inches diameter.
PROVENANCE: The Collection of Sir William Whitfield CBE, St Helen Hall, County Durham. (Image 4)
£298

Delft charger, 18th century.

Item Ref
9148

A handsome hand-painted Delft charger c.1770, very much influenced by Chinese porcelain patterns. As is common with this material the edges of the plate are chipped and it has been broken in half and glued.
13.5 inches in diameter.
PROVENANCE: Gloucestershire private collection.
£105

Portrait Bust of Sappho c.1900 by HL ...

Item Ref
lyric

A superb and rare terracotta Art Nouveau portrait bust of Sappho, the famous Ancient Greek poetess, sculpted by HL Blasche. There are plaster versions of this sculpture, but the terracotta ones are most uncommon.
Sappho was greatly loved for her personification of love and affection, and her creativity. Her poetry was so rhythmical, usually accompanied by music and dance, that it gained the reputation for being the Divine Inspiration of the Muses.
She was born on the Aegean island of Lesbos

about 615 BC. To the Greeks Homer was the Poet and Sappho was the Poetess. Plato called her The Tenth Muse.
Those who know the language of ancient Greece have long ago convinced us that much of the beauty of Greek lyric verse is lost in English translation.
The Greeks' appreciation of the poetry of Sappho gave her the recognition as one of the greatest of women poets and the greatest of all lyric poets.
She was married and the mother of a child but her poetry reveals her sexual attraction to women. Our English word for sexual love between women is derived from Lesbos the name of the island where Sappho lived. Her imagery and the intensity of her poetry transcends sexual reference; it is poetry lifted to an ethereal plane. It is said that Sappho's use of every word has a perfection and inimitable grace.
This bust, 24 inches tall, beautifully sculpted and painted, was made by Reps & Trinte of Magdeburg, Saxony in c. 1900. It bears their pre 1910 mark; 'R & T Mgdbg Gesetzl Geschibz'.
The company was founded by Carl Reps in 1889 and made artworks in terracotta, marble and bronze. They exhibited at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

SIZE: 24 inches tall.
PROVENANCE: In a Yorkshire Private collection since 1973.
£4,500

Dutch Delft charger, 18th century.

Item Ref
9147

A handsome hand-painted Dutch Delft charger c.1770, very much influenced by Chinese porcelain patterns. As is usual with this material the edges of the plate are chipped.
13.5 inches in diameter.
PROVENANCE: Gloucestershire private collection.
SOLD

Polychrome maiolica albarello 16th century.

Item Ref
9132

A rare 16th Century maiolica dry drug jar, of elongated waisted cylindrical form, painted with scrolls, instruments and flowers on a blue background, the central cartouche inscribed 'C.D.ROSE'
These drug jars were subject to hard use, so as usual, there are chips on the rim and foot, also there are small areas where the glaze has been lost.

HEIGHT: 9 inches.
PROVENANCE: Berkshire private collection.
SOLD

Delft charger c.1760.

Item Ref

A well painted tin-glazed and attractive Delft charger, c.1760, probably Lambeth.
As is usual with delftware there are minor frittings to the rim; a hair-crack running around the bowl has been secured with handmade rivets. This was a skilled task and shows that at the time of the repair the charger was highly valued.
13.5 inches in diameter.
PROVENANCE: Yorkshire private collection for the last 45 years.
SOLD

Classically decorated vase c. 1850

Item Ref
8053

An interesting and unsigned unglazed pottery vase bearing a Classical relief, mid 19th c.
13.5 inches tall, in good condition.

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING
SOLD

Bristol delft charger c.1760

Item Ref
9177

A good quality delft charger or large dished plate, c.1760, Bristol, painted in the highly fashionable Chinoiserie manner. As usual with delftware there is minor fritting to the edges.
SIZE: 14.5 inches in diameter.
PROVENANCE: The Collection of Sir William Whitfield CBE, St. Helen Hall, County Durham. (see image 5)
SOLD

PORTRAIT OF ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH C.1730: ...

Item Ref
8824A

Oil on canvas in a good 18th century William Kent frame.
The Duchess sits beside an orange tree and holds one of its flowers.
Oranges were an expensive luxury in Northern Europe, coming as they did from the warm South. They also has considerable symbolic significance.
The orange tree bears leaves, flowers and fruit all at the same time. The leaves, which are evergreen, are the symbol of eternal love, the white flowers represent purity and generosity of spirit and the fruit represents hope for the future of a family or dynasty.
In the upper left of the portrait is depicted the coat of arms for the Spencer-Churchill family.
The Hon. ELIZABETH TREVOR, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH, was the daughter of the Thomas Trevor, second Baron Trevor of Bromham and wife of Charles Spencer, fifth Earl of Sunderland and third Duke of Marlborough.
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough KG, PC (1706 – 1758), known as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733.
He was a British soldier and politician. He briefly served as Lord Privy Seal in 1755. He led British forces during the Raid on St Malo in 1758.
He was the second son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland and Lady Anne Churchill, the second daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough.
Charles inherited the Sunderland title from his older brother in 1729, becoming 5th Earl of Sunderland, and then the Marlborough title from his aunt, Henrietta, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough in 1733.
He was one of the original governors of London's Foundling Hospital, the foundation of which in 1739 marked a watershed in British child care advocacy and attitudes.
The Duke and Duchess had five children:
Lady Diana Spencer (1734–1808). Married first Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke and secondly Topham Beauclerk.
Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery (January/March 1737 – 30 April 1831). Married Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke.
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough (26 January 1739 – 29 January 1817).
Lord Charles Spencer (31 March 1740 – 16 June 1820).
Lord Robert Spencer (3 May 1747 – 23 June 1831)
MARIA VERELST (1680-1744)was arguably the greatest female immigrant artist of the late Stuart/early Georgian era, she was the daughter of Dutch painter Herman Verelst (1641-1690) and niece of the more well-known Stuart court painter Simon Verelst (1644-1710). Maria moved to England at the age of three with her father following the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire and, following her father’s success, later became his student. Well-connected and highly skilled, Maria established herself quickly and her earliest recorded painting dates to c. 1695, painted when Maria was fourteen, and depicts William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1626-1695) [Welbeck Abbey]. Maria painted several works for Welbeck as well as thirteen portraits for James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos.
In addition to being a talented painter, Maria was also well educated and spoke a number of different languages which no doubt helped her secure patronage.
SIZE: 60 x 50.75 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Cheshire Family Private Collection for many years.
With Roy Precious Fine Art.
Collection of a Fellow of a Cambridge College.
SOLD

Delft charger, 18th century.

Item Ref
9149

A very attractive hand-painted Delft charger, probably Bristol c.1760, some typical slight fritting to the rim. As can be seen in Image 3 the plate has been broken and then repaired using rivets; this was a skilled task and shows that at the time of the repair the charger was highly valued.
13.5 inches in diameter.
PROVENANCE: Gloucestershire private collection.
SOLD