Success for new Suffolk sale
The first of a new schedule of specialist auctions held by a Suffolk auction house has attracted a global audience.
The sale entitled, The Collector, started with the successful sale of a late-Elizabethan/James I oak and inlaid canted English cupboard, which had attracted early interest. The c. 1600-1610 Sussex cupboard triggered fierce bidding on the internet and over the telephone before eventually selling for a hammer of £15,000.
However, the real star lot of the auction was the very last lot of the day, a rare 17th-century model of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, in olivewood, intricately inlaid with mother-of-pearl, bone and ebony with rosettes, lozenges and stellar motifs, with removable sections.
The model had a main dome lifting to reveal the interior, such as a central tower surrounded by four panels inscribed in Latin with the four points of the compass, in front of the main entrance an inlaid design of the Jerusalem cross.
With interest from across the world, the winning bid from the UK buyer was a total of £27,000.
Oliver Miller, Managing Director at Bishop & Miller, said: “This first auction was fantastic, we had some really interesting pieces. It was really nice to see that our auctions are making an impact with collectors across the globe, as an auctioneer it is always nice to be able to sell unique pieces and this auction was full of these type of lots.”
Other highlights of the inaugural sale included:
- A Stuart, late 17th-century crystal memento mori jewel, with an enamelled reclining skeleton above script I REST, below a facetted rock crystal panel with the reverse inscribed AC Feby 27 92 sold for a total of £3,240
- A rare William & Mary side table, English, circa 1690. An exceptionally small side table with twin plank top above a front frieze with drawer, multi-turned legs joined by shaped stretchers, on original bun feet, sold for a total of £3,840
- An exceedingly fine Louis XVI necessaire with an octagonal gold container with a hinged cover, lined with red velvet, achieved a total of £10,800
- A fine mid-17th century needlework with the discovery of Moses in the bulrushes, with figures representing the pharaohs above, a crocodile representing the Nile in the foreground, with mica windows and seed pearl necklaces, Exodus 2. The piece sold for a total of £6,480
- A fine 16th-century walnut Spanish ta ble, circa 1580. This beautiful piece of furniture had rectangular legs above angled square section channel foldable legs united by an iron stretcher, supporting the single plank top. Sold for £6,000 (including buyer’s premium)
